Triathlon

What qualities do you look for when recruiting athletes?

Recruiting Athletes: Key Qualities for Success Revealed!

Hi, thanks for your question. Yeah, when looking and recruiting young athletes, I'm always looking at how they were developed. Was the focus on fundamentals? Were the priorities fundamentals or were the priorities just volume, volume, volume? You know, as young athletes, they're at the age where they just absorb those skills, that short speed, quick agility and speed, and the fundamentals of stroke development in the water, you know, bike skills and run skills and mobility and all that. With athletes that have had a long history of injuries, oftentimes their focus has not been on skills and the focus has been on volume, volume, volume, volume. And that is kind of a red flag. Also another red flag is when the recruitment with an athlete is driven by the parent instead of the athlete. I want self-sufficient athletes that have good social skills, good personality to get along with others and the ship needs to be driven by the athlete with the parent involved, of course. I like having the parent involved. I like having the parent on the calls, but the ship needs to be driven by the athlete.

When recruiting young athletes, I'm always looking at how they were developed. Was the focus on fundamentals? Did the athlete have a long history of injuries or was it focused on volume? Another red flag is when the recruitment with an athlete is driven by the parent instead of the athlete. I want self-sufficient athletes that are driving the ship, with the parent involved.

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When recruiting athletes, I prioritize certain qualities. Firstly, I look at how they were developed as young athletes. Were the focus and priorities on fundamentals or just on volume of training? It's crucial for young athletes to absorb and develop essential skills like speed, agility, stroke development in water sports, and bike and run skills. If an athlete has a history of frequent injuries, it may indicate a lack of emphasis on skill development and excessive volume training, which raises concerns. Another red flag is when the recruitment process is driven solely by the parent rather than the athlete themselves. I prefer self-sufficient athletes who possess good social skills and a compatible personality for working well with others. It's important to have parents involved, but the athlete should be taking the lead in driving their own journey.

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2019 USOPC and USAT Paralympic Coach of the year, 2021 USA Triathlon Development Coach of the Year, Level III USA Triathlon Coach, Head Triathlon Coach of University of Arizona  and Balanced Art Multisport 