"Coach the lifter, not the lift"

Anyone who tells you there is only one way to snatch and clean & jerk is full of shit. Watch any A session in the World Championships or Olympics and you'll see why.

So much of what's wrong with coaching is the "my way or the highway" mentality. One of the main issues being coaches trying to make lifters lift in a way that fits in a box of what they deem "acceptable" instead of letting them lift in a way that's the most effective, regardless of what style it is.

There are two main styles in weightlifting, catapult and triple extension. There are many differences between the two, the main one being when the initiation of the hips coming through begins, also known as the double knee bend. Most lifters will not end up being strictly one style or the other, but instead end up being a mix with an emphasis on one style. Think of it like a spectrum, with catapult on one side and triple extension on the other. There are a few lifters out there who are one on end of the spectrum, but the majority of the population will lie somewhere in the middle of the two sides.

When an athlete walks into a gym and wants to learn weightlifting, the goal of a coach should not be to make that athlete lift in any particular style. The goal should be to watch the athlete move and coach them in the direction that will make them lift more efficiently.

Everyone is different, every lifter is unique and has natural strengths and weaknesses. While you shouldn't rely solely on the strengths and ignore the weaknesses, someone's natural ability to move will pretty much tell you how their body wants to lift.

"If you make a mistake, but you consistently make the same mistake in the same way every time, you can still be a good weightlifter" - Glenn Pendlay

A big issue I see in coaching is fixing minute details that don't affect the lifter. Did Dimas throw his head back on his extension? Yes. Is anyone gonna tell him not to? I would hope not.

A lifter doesn't have to move perfectly by a certain styles standards to be efficient, a lifter has to put heavy weight over their head, and keep improving to be efficient.

Ultimately it comes down to the idea that a coaches job isn't to change a lifters unique style and approach to the sport. A coaches job is to make a lifter better any way they can.