- Do your research by asking lifters, coaches and reading any information you can find - OTHER THAN WHAT THAT COACH SAYS ABOUT THEMSELVES.
- If a coach claims to have coached previous great lifters, talk to those lifters directly. You should be aware why a lifter left a coach to train with someone else.
- Coaches with character will NOT privately FB message, text or call a lifter affiliated with another team or coach in order to recruit them. Actually, they will not initiate conversation at all regardless of their intention of recruiting.
- When a coach wants to make a suggestion to a lifter's technique or training, they will contact that lifter's coach, not the lifter.
- Coaches with character will NOT accept an affiliated lifter to their team without first discussing it with the lifter's current coach.
- Work with a coach before affiliating with his/her team.
I If you encounter a coach who misrepresents their accomplishments, has a questionable reputation within their weightlifting community, cannot maintain their lifters for long periods of time, or demonstrates #3, #4, or #5, you are taking a risk with not only your long-term weightlifting progress, but your emotional and psychological approach to the sport.
