I have never had a powerlifting "coach" in my entire career. However, I have had a lot of amazing handlers. What's the difference between a coach and a handler you ask, I'll tell you.
A coach's job can be teaching and guiding you through your lifts, programming your training, or both. Whereas a handler really does neither. A handler makes sure you have no needs the day you are competing.
A handler will spoil you rotten all day. He or she will make sure you don't have to touch a plate while warming up, fetch your water or food for you, remind you to stay hydrated, see where you are in a flight, make sure you are in the lineup during warmups, and on and on.
While competing I loved not having to worry about when I needed to get up for my next warmup. It was great being told, "Get up, the bar is loaded." I remember stressing so badly to hear where I was in the flight. With a good handler, worry no more. That person should be able to know how far out you are.
What about chasing down the meet promoter to find out how long the break is between flights. Timing is so important in competing. No matter your concern, a good handler should be able to take care of it.
If you want to handle a friend at a meet take this all in. Feel free to ask questions below. If you are looking to have someone handle you, have them read this. Make sure to tell them what you a are looking for.
I'll tell you this, I have had two amazing handlers over my career. I don't think I would have ever benched 600 raw if it weren't for Matt Rhodes handling me or 900 equipped without Karsten Luca. Thanks boys!
