Back Room Talk Coach Spotlight: Emile Ndekezi - From Teaching to Elite Coaching
This episode of Back Room Talk takes us inside the remarkable journey of Emile Ndekezi, who transitioned from seven years as a high school teacher to becoming a sought-after coach with a waitlist of clients in less than a year. Emile shares how his intentional approach to coaching, commitment to working with younger athletes, and focus on creating genuine connections has allowed him to build a thriving practice while maintaining work-life balance.
The Teacher Becomes the Student
"I was kind of disillusioned with the job," Emile reflects on his teaching career. While he taught social studies and physical education for seven years, Emile found himself increasingly drawn to fitness coaching on the side. His passion for movement began early, playing soccer throughout his youth and experimenting with strength training in university.
The turning point came when Emile realized he couldn't sustain both careers with his all-in personality: "I was doing both teaching and coaching at the same time, and I was like, if I just keep doing both of these, I'm just going to burn myself out. I can't do both things all in all the time."
Making the leap from the security of teaching to the uncertainty of full-time coaching wasn't easy. "It was initially scary because I was moving from a profession that is, even though I was starting to lose a passion for it, it was very safe," Emile shares. But his desire to follow his passion outweighed the risk: "I just don't want to live with regrets."
Building a Foundation Through Education
During his final six months of teaching, Emile enrolled in OPEX's Coaching Certificate Program (CCP). "For me, it was a system," he explains. "A system that I could use, start to finish, from intake, ongoing assessment, consoles, and all that in one space."
What's unique about Emile's story is that he discovered CoachRx before joining CCP—the reverse of most coaches' journeys. After meeting an OPEX coach who impressed him with his intentional approach, Emile began researching: "I was kind of doing the body [assessment] before I heard of CCP. I was kind of doing the assessment before I even knew of CCP."
This foundation of education, combined with his teaching background, gave Emile a systematic approach that would eventually help him stand out in a crowded market.
Finding His Niche with Young Athletes
One of the keys to Emile's rapid success was identifying an underserved market: young athletes aged 12-15. "I've been working on different little projects such as working with younger athletes, because I've realized that's a space which not a lot of intention goes into, not a lot of people feel comfortable doing."
His background in education gave him unique insights into communicating with this demographic. Rather than overcomplicating training with technical terminology, Emile focuses on creating movement constraints that naturally guide young athletes into proper positions: "Teaching a 14-year-old how to hinge is one of the most challenging things that I've ever done."
For these young athletes, Emile ties everything back to performance: "Their goals are, 'I want to be a better hockey player, I want to be a better volleyball player.'" This performance focus makes it easier to introduce lifestyle guidelines like sleep and recovery: "It's a very simple conversation. It's just like, 'We train hard, but if you want to be able to recover and be back the next day and give this good effort again, these are some of the things that we need to start implementing.'"
The Hybrid Coaching Approach
Emile's practice combines in-person, remote, and hybrid coaching models, all unified through CoachRx. "100% of my remote clients, everything is via CoachRx," he explains. This technology has impressed even his newest clients: "One of the girls who just started working with me maybe four weeks ago, she was amazed at CoachRx. She's like, 'The level of accountability in this app is crazy.'"
His coaching methodology follows the OPEX model, incorporating:
Comprehensive initial assessments
Regular check-ins (both informal weekly and structured monthly)
Individualized programming
Lifestyle guidelines tailored to each client
For hybrid clients who see him once or twice a week, the app provides continuity between sessions, allowing Emile to coach them effectively even when they're not physically together.
From Minimalist Training to Maximum Impact
A recent project highlights Emile's approach to making fitness accessible. After clients told him they lacked equipment or time, he conducted a month-long experiment limiting himself to minimal equipment – dumbbells, kettlebells, and resistance bands.
"I wanted to show people that you don't have to have access to a fully stocked gym with trap bars and sleds and all this stuff," he explains. "For me, that was just one of the things where I wanted to make fitness as approachable as possible."
This experiment led to the development of a minimalist training program he's now sharing with clients who face similar constraints – demonstrating his ability to solve real problems rather than just showcasing his knowledge.
The Value of Alignment and Intentionality
If Emile could go back and give himself advice, he emphasizes the importance of value alignment between coach and client: "Be clearer to myself and the people that I work with about values to make sure that values align."
While the pressure to acquire clients can be intense when starting out, Emile recommends patience and selectivity: "The process might be a little bit slower in getting those clients, but be really intentional about making sure that you and the people that you work with are aligned in values."
This intentionality extends to his approach to social media as well. Rather than chasing influencer status, Emile uses social platforms primarily for education: "I don't generally view it as a way to get clients... I view it as a way for people to start conversations."
The Future: Creating Scalable Value
Having reached a comfortable place in his business, Emile is now exploring ways to help more people without increasing his personal time investment: "Getting to a point where a good chunk of my coaching business, I'm able to coach people around the world without necessarily always being on, either in person or online with them at the exact time they're training."
He's developing subscription-based training models through CoachRx that will allow him to provide more generalized options alongside his high-touch personalized coaching.
For Emile, the most rewarding milestone has been reaching financial comfort after the initial grind: "When I first started coaching, it felt like I was 21 again because I had an entire career, and then I go into full-time coaching at 30 years old... it felt like starting from square one."
Now, with a sustainable business model and work-life balance that includes dedicated time for himself (Tuesdays are reserved for late starts and personal training), Emile represents what's possible when education, intentionality, and genuine care for clients come together.
Practical Coaching Insights: Movement First, Words Second
When it comes to coaching younger athletes, Emile takes a unique approach that emphasizes creating the right movement environment over technical explanations. "One of the things I find working with kids has been really fun is creating restraints for movement," he explains. "If it's an adult, I can tell them, we can break down a hinge, I can do a couple of drills, and they'll probably figure it out. But with a kid, I need to be creative about how I get them naturally to this position without me talking too much."
This constraint-based approach stems from understanding the limited movement vocabulary most young athletes possess. As Emile's colleague pointed out, "Imagine if you only had 50 to 100 words in your vocabulary, how challenging it would be for you to communicate." For coaches who work with youth or beginners, this insight is crucial – many clients simply don't have the reference points we take for granted.
Rather than getting caught in technical jargon that might confuse young athletes, Emile creates scenarios and drills that naturally guide them into proper positions. This approach has proven more effective than verbal instruction alone and transfers well to his adult clients too.
Continuous Education: Apply Fast, Learn Deep
Emile's approach to professional development stands out for its emphasis on immediate application. "I think the biggest continuing learning tool is putting into practice whatever it is that you are learning as soon as you can," he shares. "I've purchased some courses and sat on the information for a couple of months, but when I apply it, then it becomes real."
Instead of just consuming content, Emile tests new methods on himself first, then gradually introduces them with clients who are open to experimentation. "I sometimes will test out different formats, different approaches with some of my athletes and I'll let them know, 'guys, I'm just testing some stuff out' and I'll get some feedback."
For coaches looking to stay fresh, Emile recommends the "Coach Them Up" podcast, which features conversations with top strength and conditioning coaches. He describes it as "basically like a mentorship from some of the best coaches... learning from other people's mistakes instead of always learning from your own."
His continuing education also includes pursuing certifications in complementary areas. Last summer, he deepened his knowledge of kettlebell training through StrongFirst certification, showing his commitment to expanding his toolkit while mastering fundamentals.
Client Success: When Goals Evolve
One of Emile's most valuable insights comes from recognizing that client goals naturally evolve over time – and coaches need systems to detect and adapt to these changes.
"Separating what I think success looks like versus what they think success looks like" has been a crucial lesson for Emile. He shares the example of a client who initially focused on weight loss and strength for a specific event: "He made incredible progress towards that, lost a substantial amount of weight. But this year coming up, the goal isn't the same... for him, it's just 'I want to improve my endurance on some of these specific events.'"
This evolution can go undetected without regular check-ins. "If you're not having that regular conversation, you might think that you are reaching success for a certain person, but that's not their goal anymore," Emile explains. This insight led him to implement structured monthly consultations through CoachRx, ensuring goals stay aligned.
What makes this approach particularly effective is Emile's observation that "sometimes people don't necessarily want to admit" that their priorities have changed. Creating a safe space for these conversations prevents the frustration of pursuing outdated objectives.
Building a Waitlist Through Word-of-Mouth
In less than a year, Emile went from zero clients to a full roster with a waitlist – all without aggressive marketing tactics. His approach focused on quality over quantity: "Just doing the very best I can with the people right in front of me. And that's really mushroomed out."
Rather than spending heavily on advertising or becoming an "influencer," Emile focused on exceptional service that generated natural referrals. He also identified and leaned into an underserved niche – youth athlete development – where his teacher background gave him a unique advantage.
For coaches looking to build their business, Emile's success demonstrates that establishing expertise in a specific area while delivering consistent results creates powerful word-of-mouth momentum. His approach values depth of impact over breadth of reach – a refreshing perspective in an industry often focused on follower counts and social media metrics.
Work-Life Balance: The Tuesday Protocol
Despite his thriving practice, Emile has developed a sustainable approach to prevent the burnout that drove him from teaching. His "Tuesday Protocol" serves as an excellent example for coaches managing their energy:
"Tuesdays, I just make sure that I don't go in until quite late in the day. So that's my day when I can just relax, get a workout, do my own workout whenever I want. If I need to sleep in, sleep in a little bit, just do what I need to."
This dedicated self-care time isn't negotiable – it's a non-negotiable part of his schedule that helps maintain his enthusiasm and effectiveness. Additionally, Emile is clear about his capacity limits: "I have a cap on how much mental space I can provide. And once I hit that cap, just making it clear to anyone who wants to work with me that 'hey, at this moment, I'm not able to take on more clients' and just making sure I protect that space."
For coaches who struggle with boundaries, Emile's approach demonstrates that limiting client volume can actually accelerate business growth by improving quality of service and preserving personal wellbeing.
The In-Person Advantage for Remote Coaching
Perhaps one of Emile's most valuable insights for the modern coaching landscape is how in-person experience fundamentally improves remote coaching quality. While many coaches now start their careers online, Emile deliberately chose to build his foundation with hands-on coaching first.
"Working in person has allowed me to proactively problem-solve or react to possible issues that I might see later," he explains. This approach gave him insights that purely online coaches often miss: "I don't know if you've ever purchased a program from someone and you do it and you're like, 'I'm not sure this person actually did this program' or 'it says this workout should take 20 minutes but it actually takes an hour and a half.'"
Working with clients in person revealed practical issues invisible on paper. Emile shares a specific example: "We were working on some superset periods with someone and I was like, 'Hey, these two pairings, as much as it looks good on paper, every time I implement it, the second one just doesn't work that well.'"
These real-world observations enable him to create more effective remote programs by anticipating challenges before they occur. For coaches considering remote coaching, Emile's experience suggests that starting with in-person clients provides an invaluable foundation that improves virtual coaching effectiveness.
Connect with Emile
Follow Emile's journey and learn from his approach to coaching on Instagram: @trainingwithemile
Next Steps
Want to use the coaching platform used by Austin and thousands of top coaches? Stay ahead of the curve and provide the best for your clients with CoachRx.
