Jul 30, 2026 · 45 min · 10 segments
Episode # 153 Coach-athlete expectations, unpacked. Jesse sits down with Marilyn — former pro triathlete and Ironman Malaysia champion — to talk about what coaches actually expect from athletes, and…
Marilyn ChycotaHost
Jesse VondracekHost
I love it, and this is a topic, you know, we can take in a lot of different directions, and what I'd love to provide for everyone is examples of different scenarios, and, and people can listen and figure out where they slot in, right? And so, like you even sent me earlier this week a example of this was a, a random coach who sent a bullet point list to athletes.
You know, I, I do the same thing when, when athletes, like you said, when they start with me.
You send them, "Hey, these are my expectations as a coach." And yeah, like you said, that could've been like 10 years ago, and maybe it's changed over time.
Oh, this is a completely different coach to a different set of athletes, and it's intended for professional athletes.
"When I give you direction in training, there are only three acceptable responses.
Three, execute instructions exactly as asked, then we'll evaluate the outcome together.
The only unacceptable response is ignoring the instructions, doing half of it, replacing it with what you feel like doing.
The best athletes trust the process, communicate when needed, and commit fully.
If none of the above are done, you'll be released from your contract immediately." So that's just like a really interesting, you know, philosophy and, and way of approaching things, and I can certainly relate in that when I was a professional athlete, I've been in an environment, so my coach for a long time We had a conversation at the beginning when I came to him and I said, like, "My goal is to win an Ironman and be a professional long-distance triathlete." And he said, "Well, this is what it's gonna take, and these are my expectations." And there was...
And that didn't mean that I nailed every single week and I got every single workout done perfectly, or that it was, I was able to execute every single thing exactly as asked.
But I showed up and did the work to the best of my ability every single day, and, and that was all-encompassing as an athlete, whether it was, like, looking after my health, or executing the sessions, or my nutrition, or sleep, or whatever it was he was asking me of a coach.
And if I didn't do that for any extended period of time, then the relationship was, it was clear it was gonna be over.
I love it, and this is a topic, you know, we can take in a lot of different directions, and what I'd love to provide for everyone is examples of different scenarios, and, and people can listen and figure out where they slot in, right? And so, like you even sent me earlier this week a example of this was a, a random coach who sent a bullet point list to athletes.
You know, I, I do the same thing when, when athletes, like you said, when they start with me.
You send them, "Hey, these are my expectations as a coach." And yeah, like you said, that could've been like 10 years ago, and maybe it's changed over time.
Oh, this is a completely different coach to a different set of athletes, and it's intended for professional athletes.
"When I give you direction in training, there are only three acceptable responses.
Three, execute instructions exactly as asked, then we'll evaluate the outcome together.
The only unacceptable response is ignoring the instructions, doing half of it, replacing it with what you feel like doing.
The best athletes trust the process, communicate when needed, and commit fully.
If none of the above are done, you'll be released from your contract immediately." So that's just like a really interesting, you know, philosophy and, and way of approaching things, and I can certainly relate in that when I was a professional athlete, I've been in an environment, so my coach for a long time We had a conversation at the beginning when I came to him and I said, like, "My goal is to win an Ironman and be a professional long-distance triathlete." And he said, "Well, this is what it's gonna take, and these are my expectations." And there was...
And that didn't mean that I nailed every single week and I got every single workout done perfectly, or that it was, I was able to execute every single thing exactly as asked.
But I showed up and did the work to the best of my ability every single day, and, and that was all-encompassing as an athlete, whether it was, like, looking after my health, or executing the sessions, or my nutrition, or sleep, or whatever it was he was asking me of a coach.
And if I didn't do that for any extended period of time, then the relationship was, it was clear it was gonna be over.
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