Hiring a great coach isn’t about luck — it’s about finding someone with the potential to grow into greatness. While it’s rare for a seasoned Certified CrossFit Level 4 Coach to walk through your doors (although we did luck out with the one and only Jenni Orr), identifying raw talent and fostering their development can yield amazing results. At CrossFit Roots, we’ve hired and nurtured many coaches, including those who’ve gone on to earn Level 3 and Level 4 credentials. Here are some of the things I look for when hiring great coaches.
Make It Professional
The hiring process is not just a routine task, but a crucial step in shaping your gym’s future. It’s the gateway to bringing in individuals who will uphold your gym’s values and contribute to its growth.
You need an individual who will show up on time, do what’s expected of them, follow instructions, and present with a professional appearance. If that’s what you want and need, you have to lead with that on your side. That starts with a job description, posting the job within your networks, collecting resumes, and holding interviews.
Communicate Expectations Clearly
The job description is not just a formality but a clear communication of what you expect from the employee and what you commit to as the employer. It sets the tone for a transparent and professional relationship from the start.
Here are a few of the expectations communicated in our job description for coaches:
- Plan and execute high-quality, challenging, and safe classes using the CrossFit methodology.
- Respond to member needs. Provide personalized experiences. Build positive relationships.
- Attend and contribute to monthly scheduled meetings and special events.
- Actively engage in professional development and continuing education efforts.
- Represent CrossFit Roots’ culture by adhering to shop etiquette standards, teaching and defending the CrossFit methodology, and walking the talk.
The next step is to post the job in places where potential candidates already hang out. Here are a few:
- In your gym’s monthly newsletter or as a separate email to members
- On your social media channels
- On job boards such as Indeed and Barbell Jobs
- Within your CrossFit network! Send an email to the friend you met at a competition, the person you chatted with at the Games, and the affiliate owner you saw at the Affiliate Gathering. You never know what people’s situations might be, and they may have a friend or coach moving to your area who could be a perfect candidate.
The real work begins once the job advertisement is posted and applications start rolling in. It’s incredible to me how many times we will post a job advertisement, and someone will email us with:
“Hey, I’d love to work at your gym and help out if you’re still hiring.”
That’s an immediate no in my book. If they do not follow the directions given in a job ad, that’s an issue. If your ad says to submit a resume and cover letter, that’s what they should do. Additionally, if they don’t take the time to capitalize words, use proper grammar, and polish their written communication, that gives me a good clue as to how they will respond to member emails. And more importantly, how seriously they take the hiring process.
When reviewing applications and resumes, here are a few things I look for:
- Is the resume free of errors and typos?
- Do they have experience coaching CrossFit, high school or college strength and conditioning, or a sport?
- Do they have experience working in roles that involve regular interaction with people?
- What other CrossFit coursework have they done? Online courses, in-person courses?
- Have they done CrossFit competitions?
- Do they do CrossFit themselves? Do they take classes? Are they part of a CrossFit gym or garage community?
- Do they have a current CrossFit credential?
- And … did they capitalize the ‘F’ in CrossFit?
A note on credentials. Keep an open mind for the kind of filter you will use. If the person has never done CrossFit and does not have a CrossFit credential, that’s a red flag; however, don’t go into the hiring process thinking it’s Level 4 or bust. Everyone has to start somewhere. As far as I’m concerned, if the applicant has been a dedicated CrossFit athlete for years, participated in the Open, and/or LOVES and knows the methodology, and has passed all the other filters, I’m ready to talk.
Involve Your Team
Involving your core team in the hiring process will help you get valuable input and diverse perspectives. A number of years ago, a longtime member at Roots, Kay Cee Drass, sat down with me and detailed her hiring process – I still use it to this day. She recommended holding two rounds of interviews for promising candidates and involving a different subset of my core team for each interview. This practice allows me to see how each member connects, or doesn’t, with the potential hire and gives us insight into the consistency of how they show up each day. If anyone on my core team has a reservation about hiring an individual, this is significant, and I want to hear about it. If the concerns are significant or shared by the team, this helps me follow my gut and not make the hire.
Hiring a cohesive team is vital to furthering the culture and training environment I want at Roots. It’s also driven by my internal desire to recreate the vibe of my high school and college sports days. Being part of a team instills a shared sense of work and pride in what you do. It can help the team rise to any occasion and can help nurture younger coaches. Teammates look out for one another, support each other, and have a shared loyalty to the goal. Our hires need to be a good fit for this effort.
Hold Interviews
Interviews are essential, even if time-consuming. In the first round, gauge the candidate’s communication skills, motivation, and alignment with your gym’s values. If they pass, move to a second interview where they coach a class or a one-on-one session, depending on their experience. During this stage, assess their preparation, ability to see and correct movements, and interaction with athletes.
Initial Interview
In the initial interview, you’re trying to see if you “hit it off.” This can be realized through a purposeful set of interview questions asked by you and your team. During this interview, I’m looking for people who see the basics in the methodology, on the gym floor, and in movement.
Here are a few interview questions we ask:
- Tell us a bit about yourself.
- Talk us through a typical day of coaching for you.
- What is your motivation for coaching and applying for this position?
- What’s more important to you — to be liked as a coach or to have your athletes move correctly?
- You have an athlete who is putting too much weight on the bar. How do you handle this situation?
- What are two weaknesses you have as a coach?
- What are the pros and cons of using yourself as an example when talking with an athlete about how to approach the workout in class?
- Walk us through the gym and tell us everything you notice.
- Do you have any questions for us?
I also like to see who follows up after the interview. These small efforts give me insight into how they will follow up with clients, be timely, etc.
Second Interview
Once you determine which applicants to proceed with, it’s time to see them coach. For individuals who have never coached before, this can seem intimidating, and that’s OK; I still think it has merit. You can tailor the situation to them by having them coach a one-on-one if they have never coached a group class. If they have coached a group class, throw them in.
Send them the workout in advance and if you have a lesson plan that your gym follows, pass that along as well. Then, take the class along with a few members and coaches.
During these sessions, I’m looking for preparation efforts and glimpses of potential. As a starting point, it’s easy to tell if someone has a plan. If someone is going to do well here, they need to have an inherent desire to be prepared for the job. Having them coach is one way to vet that desire.
Regarding the other areas of potential, I’m examining them using the six criteria of effective training.
- Did they teach the movement?
- Did they see some gross faults and did they make an effort to correct them?
- Were they able to hold the classes’ attention, and could they interact with individuals outside of their age bracket?
- When they demonstrated movements, did it reflect someone who has put effort into their movements?
- How open were they to this assignment? This is an incredibly nerve-racking ask! I understand that, but how the person handles it tells me a lot about how they will handle the various situations thrown at them when we dive into coach development.
From there, you have to go with your gut. If something seems egregious or makes you legitimately uncomfortable in your skin to the point that you feel bad for exposing your athletes to this coach, don’t override that feeling. On the flip side, if you find yourself lost in the moment, enjoy watching the coach interact with each athlete, and would be happy to see this person walk into your gym each day, those are good signs you’ve found a keeper.
Make the Hire
Once you’ve made the decision, send them the job offer! I prefer making a phone call and following up with an email. The email should include the job offer, pay rate, expected hours, and any other details on their employment, such as the onboarding process, which I’ll discuss in a future article.
If you’re new to the hiring process, it can seem intimidating and awkward, but with a little planning and using your team for support and insight, it can become instrumental in growing the team you desire. By involving your coaches in the process, you’re not only gaining additional insight on the hire, but you’re also providing development for your coach by exposing them to new efforts and tasks. I believe every affiliate should have a big vision for the team of coaches they develop, and starting with a professional hiring process is part of that.
about the author
Nicole Christensen (CF-L4) opened CrossFit Roots in 2009 from her one-car garage in Boulder, Colorado. Fifteen years later, CrossFit Roots is still thriving. She was hired to CrossFit’s Seminar Staff in 2010 and worked as a Flowmaster for the CrossFit Level 1 and Level 2 Certificate Courses. Most recently, Nicole has served as manager for the CrossFit Level 4 evaluation. She thrives on the shop floor at CrossFit Roots, coaching athletes, working out in group classes, and developing coaches. She’s a Mom to two awesome little girls who will likely have more pull-ups than she does within a few short years.
How to Hire Great CrossFit Coaches