I feel I have been blessed with a combination of having

Now, having a smidgeon of natural athletic ability is both a blessing and a curse, as a lot of you may have realized. This smidgeon as allowed me, as an athlete, to be good ... but not that good. I call this the Goldilocks zone. By this I mean I'm good enough so that the smell of victory is often nearby, constantly beckoning; but my limited abilties keep it out of reach. Unless you're on the podium all the time you probably can relate to this. And here I claim this Goldilocks zone to be my advantage in coaching. Let me explain:

Early in my years of training, I worked hard and tried new things ... but still mediocre results. Then I'd work harder and try other things ... perhaps some improvement. And so on for the past 15 years. That is, nothing came instantly, easily, (or naturally) for me in my triathlon career. Still, I was determined to figure things out -- if not for personal victories, then for the intellectual challenge of it! And so I seached tenaciously (and am still searching!)

Look, you're no doubt aware by now that I'm not a Triathlon Legend or even a pro triathlete as many coaches out there are. But don't be deterred by my lack of Ironman victories! I feel that what I have to offer is unique knowledge unavailable to most decorated and accomplished triathletes. You see, the problem with going with a really decorated athlete as your coach is, judging from my experience, that since athletics came so natural to them, they may not be able to teach exactly what it is that makes them fast.

Example: Recently I've had a few friends get coached by a pro triathlete -- one who's a very, very good swimmer. They worked with him for over a year. I was genuinely interested in these swimmers' progress, both for their sake, and to learn something myself. This particular coach's swim ability has always baffled me because he is not built like your typical D-I swimmer. He is not 6' 4" broad as a barn with size 13 feet. He is not muscularly sculpted like the Speedo models. But despite all appearances, he sure knows how to move through the water! I told my friends to embrace his teachings for surely he held the secret to fast swimming. But now a year or so later, my friends aren't any faster in the water and when I try to pick their brain for key insights or methods this coach imparted, they only reply with vague generalities like "he said its all about Tempo." What does that mean?? I want specifics!! I could go on and on with other examples, especially with the elite runners I've come across and tried to pick their brain to little avail.

Please understand I'm not trying to diss this coach -- he is a great fellow and has inspired many, many people to levels previously unavailable to them. I am just raising the questions: "Can a natural athlete teach the subtleties of speed?" "Can an elite speak to the limitations of the (above) average age-grouper?"

Now let me explain how, though I'm no pro, I offer many advantages as a coach. You see, the path I've taken to be 'good enough' has been very twisty with lots of trial and error. And due to my nature, I've documented most every step of the way via journals, logs, or video. I've done this fastidious documentation with the sole purpose to one day pass on what I've learned in order to help others realize their potential. Let me digress a little,

When I was a kid, I was the best passer (football) and shooter (basketball) in the school. (Just trust me on this.) Yet I was one of the slowest runners which negated these skills. I'm sure I could have been a D-I football or basketball player if I were even simply an average runner, but no, I was way below average. I so badly wanted to go to UCLA and play basketball for the Bruins. Or play quarterback for Pitt where my hero at the time was Dan Marino. So imagine my disappointment when I couldn't even outrun my linemen! Later in life I adapted and found non-running sports (golf & crew) to excel at but in the back of my mind I always wondered why I was slow and why no one could help me? And corny as it may sound, I made it my mission to be this person who would help others overcome what may indeed be changeable. I gave up golf and crew and jumped right into the belly of the beast -- my below average running! I made it a lifelong challenge--not necessarily to be great, but to at least be decent at running. I threw in swimming and cycling because triathlon (to me) seemed more interesting than just running. And here I am, documenting every step of the process.

And so perhaps you are beginning to understand the combination of coaching skills that I list above. My insatiable quest for knowledge coupled with slightly above average athletics skills has led me down a path that has given me favorable results that can be adapted and shared with others. But I may not have explained the 4^{th coaching skill from above}, a strong analytical skillset. I know that solving problems usually goes deeper than superficial observations, that there are usually many intertwined contributing factors to a problem which need to be considered, and that finding a solution will be arduous and painstaking. However, I love this process! Plus I've taken more Ph.D-level statistics, comp. sci. and mathematics courses than you can shake a stick at: so I'm ready for anything!

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The triathlon season is now upon us and due to my own training I will be taking fewer and fewer athletes to coach. Please do not wait too long to contact me!