I'm curious about something, and I legitimately want to know the answer. As I've mentioned here before, I've worked with a number of "known" athletes before they became "known," and I know a crap load of guys who've done the same - high school and college coaches who played a role in the development of a kid who ended up becoming a professional athlete.
Too many times, I've seen high school and college strength coaches - and sport coaches - work with a guy for YEARS, and then when the kid makes the pros, he ends up with some private trainer in the city where he's playing for a few months, and the next thing you know, the trainer's website has pictures and testimonials from the kid talking about how the trainer took him to the "next level," and how the kid "owes" the trainer for one thing or another.
Listen, I'm not pointing any fingers here, because people have the right to make money, and to do that, they need to market. But, I'm delving deeper into it than that. It's fine to tell the general public that so-and-so is in your facility, because that generates interest, and it gets the local parents to pay you to train their high school kids. Obviously, that's where money is.
Let's think, however, about what we tell other coaches. At what point is it acceptable to say you "changed" an athlete and made him better to the point where you influenced his career and had an impact on his performance and his bottom line? I legitimately don't know the answer to this. I've worked with certain guys on specific things that have helped them out in the span of a week or two. I've also spent YEARS working with other kids, to the point where I can watch them on TV, see a difference in the gait I've watched a million times, and text them later asking if their plantar fasciitis is acting up again. Lots of guys I know are in the same position.
So my question is this: Between other coaches and people who actually know what the f--k they're doing and won't buy into marketing BS, when is it acceptable to claim you had an impact?