I'd think that new changes might be that there is now pretty good video instruction. Like, CDR might make a good series that covers all the bases, including tactics. I'd still think that a coach would be priceless. They work with each rider and their personality. They sometimes do counterintuitive things, or challenge or irritate a rider to force them to react and do something that they hadn't done before. All sorts of subtle and tricky stuff. ...Which can make all the difference. I guess you could call it the psychology, to give it a label, but I think it can often go even farther than that. They can see the whole person. It's the difference between a video class and a real class -- and then some. A race or sport in some ways is indeed like a mini-war. It's not just instruction but it's being there, on the fly, at the crux moments -- sometimes it's counsel at a remove -- like Brando in the Godfather. Like the Master in Karate Kid. This stuff is not fooling or make believe.

Also, it seems like a coach can help all the fierce warriors get along and not waste energy thinking about each other and the pecking order. Or even waste energy thinking wrongly about rivals. Nervousness and insecurity coming from posing and the arms-race can go away, I would think, with a coach.

It's interesting to me that Walden would focus almost entirely on juniors. That's when riders can be shaped, I suppose. Maybe he wasn't even that interested in senior racing -- so I'm not sure if he was thinking that he was grooming for the future, but that the impact of racing was maybe for the young. I don't know. He was not expressive about WHY he did hardly anything. He stayed stoic. He was one of the old guard, ex-WW2 dudes. What was really important to him wasn't easy to put your finger on. Maybe it was the character thing.

I wonder how determinant coaches might be. It might be big. Like a coached team to me would likely dominate. Then if two teams were coached, it would be a contest between them.

Like generals in a war.

Or maybe not? Maybe videos can replace a lot of that oldschool stuff? Heck, I hear colleges nowadays are moving to video-education and saying that in research it is shown to produce quality. So you get your onboard (power) data and download, analyze and go from there. Maybe a coach can be across the planet from you and just work with your data. Who knows! Times change!