80/20 Rule for Education

If you’ve coached anyone through anything, you’ve probably come across the 80/20 rule. 

You know, the classic 80% of the time you should do this and 20% of the time you should do that.

The 80/20 rule is probably 2 days older than dirt, but as a timeless cliche, it holds many truths. For example… 

Strength Coaches will tell you 80% of your workouts you need to just punch the clock and show up. 20% of your workouts will feel amazing. 

Nutrition Coaches will say that 80% of your diet should consist of healthy whole foods, 20% of your diet can be intuitive or ‘fun’ meals. 

Lifestyle Coaches remind us that 80% of our life is in our control, do not dwell on the 20% that we cannot control. 

For the purpose of this article, I want to reiterate a statement I say to all of our new Parisi Coaches…

Parisi will give you 80% of the educational resources you need to be successful, leaving you with 20% of your education in areas of interest or further exploration. 

To break it down further, I like to show Coaches, rookies and veterans alike, how to break down their education into 10 areas. I’m a believer that if you are able to hone in on this list, you are destined for a long and successful career in Sports Performance.

1. Linear Speed
2. Multi-Directional Speed
3. Strength Training Principles
4. Power Development 
5. Warm-up Strategies 
6. Specific Strength (think Olympic Lifting or Mobility focused)
7. Functional Anatomy (specifically as it relates to developmental anatomy among different aged individuals)
8. Nutritional Sciences 
9. Recovery (though similar to nutrition, think sleep and C.N.S. management)
10. Coaching Psychology

Now, I’m not here to argue the overlap between some of these areas. Yes, Power development touches on strength training principles. Linear speed concepts absolutely carry over to multi-directional speed. 

Isn’t that what makes our industry amazing, though? If you improve in one area, we can conceptually take those principles and tie it in to another realm of performance. 

Back to the purpose of this article. The 80/20 rule and my original statement that Parisi will provide you with 80% of what you need to know. 

Let’s look at that list again. If you are a Parisi Coach, you already know that Parisi has created resources for EVERY SINGLE AREA.

That’s actually 10/10, or 100% of what I needed for this example.

But I said 80% and I mean it. Parisi will give you 80% of what you need to know, and just like your nutrition and lifestyle health, that 80% is going to be the most important information that makes you successful. The other 20% is derived from your curiosity from your baseline knowledge. 

Examples of the other 20% could be how carbohydrate timing impacts performance. Maybe it’s more research on how the nervous system operates. Another popular 20% choice is Olympic Lifting specifics. Spoiler alert for Parisi Coaches: Parisi has that Oly Course coming in early 2021. 

What’s important to understand is that Parisi isn’t the name of your gym.

In 1992 maybe it was, however in 2020 It’s much, much more than that.

Parisi is the name of an education platform for Coaches. Coaches that are part of a truly elite network. Coaches that share a common desire to improve the health, fitness, and performance of youth athletes across America.

Welcome to the party.

About the Author

Casey Lee is the Director of Fitness and Performance at The Edge in northern Vermont. The Edge has been with the Parisi network since 2011 and Casey has been there for every step of the way. Coaching from Jump Start to Olympic hopefuls, Casey has utilized every educational offering Parisi has given over the last decade. Parisi’s education has helped ensure his facilities longevity as well as the career success for himself and every Performance Coach on staff.