Cultivating A Coaching Culture

By Alan Shaw, Co-Founder and Head Coach of Rhapsody Fitness in Charleston, SC

We’ve established the key differences between an instructor and coach. Now it’s time to take it up a notch and tackle coaching culture – what it is and what it takes.

A coaching culture is a dynamic in which both coaches and athletes thrive through mutual respect and shared experience.

Making it happen takes curating a symbiotic environment that supports both coaching and coachability. Spoiler alert, it only jives if your coaches and athletes alike are all in.

Coach Gina DiGiacomo at Rhapsody Fitness in Charleston, SC.

FOR COACHES

Set the gold standard. At Rhapsody Fitness, each coach knows the expectation for running a class, facility maintenance, membership care and community engagement. The bar is high and they aim to raise it each and every day.
Take pride. Each of our coaches is a CrossFit Level 2 or 3 Trainer coupled with dynamic experience and expertise. They invest a great deal of time, energy and brain power in becoming the best at what they do and sharing that value with our members.
Stay hungry. Innately curious and insatiably driven, Team Rhapsody thrives on learning new approaches, challenging themselves and honing their craft.
Appreciate the human puzzle. Our coaches look at each athlete as a unique, intricate puzzle – piecing together where to tweak, what will motivate and how to push each athlete to perform at their best. Game on.
Teach, not talk. The ultimate goal for Team Rhapsody is your wellness and independence outside our four walls. We want you to use what you learn in class to pick up a bag of dog food off the floor, or safely put a heavy box onto the top shelf of your closet. Our objective is to teach, not just instruct.

FOR ATHLETES

Be a great guest. When you walk onto the floor, you’re in the coach’s house and will get the best experience by respecting their rules and guidance.
In coach we trust. At Rhapsody, we’re in the relationship business and, as such, our coaches are committed to earning your trust over time through their empathetic and personalized approach.
Drive on. In line with our core values, bring an insatiable hunger to push yourself and become better. That energy is magnetic and begs to be coached.
Be humble. With that hunger needs to come humility. Leave your ego at the door and come to class prepared to learn from your coaches and train for your best self tomorrow.
Buy in. At Rhapsody, we’re not about quick fixes or cutting corners – this is about putting in the hard work over time for real results. You’ll get the most out of being a part of our community if you buy into this approach hook, line and sinker.
Stand on your own, stand with your team. CrossFit is unique in that it’s both an individual and team sport. With each class, you’re challenging your edge and aiming to crush your goals, while also working in shared solidarity with the person next to you. There’s nothing else like it and one of the many reasons why we’re obsessed with it.

Much like CrossFit, creating a coaching culture is both an individual effort – for each coach to do their thing and each athlete to be here for all of it – and a team effort requiring the whole community to opt in.

There are a few moving parts and personalities that must come together to make coaching culture happen, but when it does…that’s rhapsody.

Ready to let some Rhapsody into your life? To learn more about Rhapsody Fitness in Charleston and our range of programs, get in touch with Team Rhapsody today.