Leading athletics coach looks back on an immense career and shares some of the lessons hes learned

Top level coaches dont come much more experienced than Dan Pfaff, a man who has devoted his life to his craft. The 69-year-old began coaching as a teenager out of a mixture of curiosity and a huge appetite for knowledge but also a desire to help not just his friends but his guidance counsellor.

The Americans journey has seen him rise from high school coach through to a number of high-profile positions globally, mentoring 49 Olympians (nine medallists), 51 world championship competitors (nine medallists), and five world-record holders.

Most famously, he guided Canadas Donovan Bailey to 100m gold at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and Greg Rutherford to long jump gold on Super Saturday at the London 2012 Games, a period during which he also worked for UK Athletics at the helm of the Lee Valley Athletics Centre.

Pfaff is considered a leader in high performance coaching and is currently head coach at ALTIS, a US-based elite training environment for athletes and coaching education platform.

How and when did your our own coaching journey start? Who or what got you involved?

I grew up in a rural area whereby kids did whatever sport was on the calendar, so I had a diverse background in sport. Some of the coaches were solid, many were not, so at an early age I spent hours in the library reading books, articles and interviews written by great coaches in all sorts of sport seeking a better way to do things and foster improvements. That of course gave me counsel for myself and team-mates, so I had a kind of a player/coach beginning.

What was your track and field background?

Again, small school with maybe 15 athletes on the team, so we did all the events. My love was pole vaulting and the hurdles. As I mentioned, I researched all the events in order to help team-mates get better and to aid a wonderful coach who watched over us but had almost no background in the sport. He was a guidance counsellor.

Who have been your mentors?

My father was a farmer and construction crew lead so he was my first and most powerful mentor. In his occupations, a generalist background is critical, along with the need to build expert networks and that rubbed off on me.

Tom Tellez was my main athletics mentor [at the University of Houston]. I stalked him for years on the speaker circuit and eventually spent two years as a graduate student under him. He was a consummate educator, biomechanist and programming genius.

Victor Lopez was a fellow grad student and he exposed me to European and Caribbean methodologies along with the art of coaching, while Bjorn Bloomberg from Sweden was another pillar exposing me to eastern bloc ideologies and the history of sports training.

How would you define, or how do you view, the role of the coach?

The coach should be a mentor supreme in all facets of the sport and life wellness. I look at it as a trade apprenticeship paradigm.

How have you managed to cater for and balance so many different disciplines across your career?

I was raised to be a generalist and to seek diverse networks of expertise to aid me when I hit challenges. I am a product of various coaching education systems, two university degrees that demanded critical thinking and filtering of information and hundreds of athletes who allowed me to be a part of their journey.

Whats the main coaching approach which transfers across all the disciplines?

For me it begins with an ergonomic analysis of the sport, a deep dive into the history of what has been tried before and a curious mindset with limited ego.

What have you added and discarded from your training?

I was blessed with some great mentors so no huge revamping was needed, to be honest. I have probably done a better job of ranking priorities of menu items within the programme and became a lot more fluid with adjustments to the scheme. Of course I did some really poor work during my first two decades but most of that was in not understanding the essentials and overcooking trends or going down science rabbit holes on some concepts.

What is the greatest lesson you have learned over the years?

The power of debriefing with staff and athletes involved in a project. There should be layers and diversity to the debrief process in order to glean deeper insights, trust and understanding by all.

How would you sum up your philosophy to coaching?

To offer help and hope to anyone who seeks my guidance. To exhibit best practice in all things at all times and to be open to change.

Is it best to always try to keep things simple, especially when we live in an age of so much information?

The human body and condition is complex so it is easy to seek linear solutions and reductionism in order to stay sane and manage numbers. That said, at some point we have to develop first principles and anchor points for teaching. I am 50 years into this journey and still wrestle with the tug of war.

What do you love most about being a coach and what drives you nuts about it?

I am addicted to the puzzle of excellence in movement. I cant turn off my eyes or brain when I see movement, whether in athletes or my neighbour walking the dog. I gain huge energy from solving these puzzles and of course the energy from a reciprocal relationship is priceless. The insanity bit comes from folks who dont really respect the profession and craft.

What are the biggest traps or most common mistakes you see younger coaches making or falling into?

Rigidity of thinking and living in a bubble. Secondly, not understanding that the journey is a long one and it takes many detours. Not everyone can be an expert coach with a degree and a few years at the coal face.

What are the ingredients which you think add up to being a good coach?

Knowledge and refinement of skills over time. Have a PhD mindset in your discipline. I am biased to generalist approaches.

Is there one moment which stands out to you across your career which gave you the most satisfaction?

I have never been a favourites sort of guy. I embrace every experience and glean joy from every interaction I have had in sport. I often remember and tell stories about athletes who never elevated to high status but exceeded expectations by far.

Is there enough value placed on coaching and do you worry too much focus or emphasis can be placed on the coach?

In athletics, I think respect for coaching has declined massively over the past decade or so from a community level all the way up to federation levels. We are our worst enemy at times. No other sport gives away the man hours and services that we give to our charges and helicopter parents are always shopping for the shiny toys on the internet.

There is always a team around the athlete, sometimes formal, sometimes informal. Many people have influence on todays athletes so laying blame at the foot of a coach is often very short-sighted.

How do you think the role has changed during your career and are the fundamentals still the same?

I think the financial side for both athlete and coach has been severely limited and is a big drain on development. We have to produce fast and often at the expense of the athletes development in order to stay in roles now. Coaching is also now challenged daily by mass media information, a lot of it just really bad, but we have to defend non-stop against it.

How do you strike the balance between the athlete leading the partnership and the coach making sure they get their message across?

Athletes earn the right to gain more say, input and direction within my groups. As the athlete grows in understanding, they have more valid reporting and ideas. It should never be a battle.

Is failure really the greatest teacher?

It is an essential tool to progress. The problem is that we often view it as a negative rather than a springboard to new solutions.