The Development Of An Elite Athlete

     When you see an elite athlete in competition, there is perhaps a moment where you might think they were simply born that way.  So often we hear the word 'talent' thrown around as if some people are endowed with genetic gifts that make them superior to the rest of us.  While it may be true that there are certain genetic advantages among a percentage of the population, focusing on talent ignores things like discipline, process, and plain old hard work.  In fact, over the years I've seen that talent can actually be an impediment to athletes because it gives them a false sense of confidence at lower levels and doesn't prepare them for the inevitable challenges that come as they push forward. For me, when I evaluate an athlete, I am not looking at how talented they are, but rather how much drive they have.  Do they have the drive to be disciplined?  Are they ready to overcome the challenges they will face?  Will they work hard at their craft and do the work that is necessary?  These are the questions that interest me.  Time and time again I've seen the 'talented' athlete flounder as soon as they step up a level.  They crumble under pressure because they are used to dominating.  In fact, from what I have seen, the athletes who go the furthest, are the ones who have a process to develop their abilities.  They weren't born as hyper-talented individuals, but rather they worked steadily at their craft and constantly improved.  Everyone knows the tale of how slow and steady wins the race, but people still seem to overestimate athletes who show initial promise while ignoring the ones who are steadily grinding forward.

     For an athlete to fulfill their ultimate potential two things are required - drive and process.  So, what is drive?  Drive is desire.  People with desire want to move forward.  They have dreams they are working towards.  Drive is determination.  People with determination are prepared to overcome obstacles.  They aren't discouraged by setbacks, but instead, welcome the opportunity to learn something from their failures.  Drive is steadfastness.  People who are steadfast put their nose to the grindstone and do the work even when it's not fun.  They know that sometimes moving forward just plain sucks.  When other people quit, they keep going.  Drive is discipline.  People with discipline stay on course.  They don't jump from thing to thing.  They know what they need to do and they do it.  They don't hesitate, they don't get distracted - they just do it.  Drive is passion.  People with passion are excited about what they are doing; they have goals, but they don't fixate on them.  They stay in the moment and find enjoyment in the process.  For an athlete to succeed, they must, must, MUST have drive.  This is the number one most important attribute for an athlete to be successful.  To be clear, drive can be developed.  All it takes is one step forward.  Figure out what your dreams are and pursue them.  Then another step.  Resolve to keep going in the face of failure.  Then another step.  Do the work, even when it isn't fun.  Then another step.  Find passion in what you do.  Then you just keep going.  It's nothing that complicated.  You just keep going.  Keep moving forward.

     The other half of the equation in an athlete's success is having the right process.  An athlete can have all the drive in the world, but if they aren't going in the right direction, they won't make it far.   That's where a coach comes in.  And, not just any coach, an elite athlete needs an elite coach.  Someone who sees the big picture.  A good coach needs to be good at problem solving.  They also need to be relentlessly critical.  When I say, they need to be critical, I don't mean negative.  What they need to do is see the weaknesses in an athlete and constantly work on rooting those weaknesses out and making improvements across the board.  Perhaps most important in a coach, is the ability to constantly evolve.  They have to be able to look failure in the eye, and immediately work on making changes.  Having good process is all about moving forward - test, train, re-evaluate, make changes, train some more, repeat.  

     Two years ago I started working with a young cyclist.  He had visited me while he was on a road trip around the country and I told him that if he really wanted to pursue cycling he had to drop everything and move from Minnesota to San Diego.  I wouldn't charge him anything for coaching, but he would have to do exactly what I told him.  Up to that point, I had worked with several athletes, but I had never had the opportunity to try everything I wanted to.  Some athletes argued with me about training philosophy, others argued with me about nutrition, some did most of what I told them to do but ignored certain things.  So, this was finally my opportunity to see what I could do as a coach.  

       That cyclist was named Innokenty and the first thing we did was to test his power.  I sent him out for 20 minutes to see what he could do and he came back with a power of 320 watts, which put his Threshold at about 305 watts.  He weighed about 165 pounds at the time, which meant he was strong, but far from elite.  That Fall, we went to work on changing everything.  We started with a bike fit, then we changed his training.  We altered his nutrition.  We lifted weights.  We worked on his mindset, his bike handling, his tactics, his process, we changed his equipment, studied aerodynamics, analyzed bike races together, and on and on.  As the months passed, his 20-minute power steadily rose from 320 watts to 390 watts.  
I should mention that I incorrectly stated in a previous post that his power went up by 100 watts last season.  I'll come right out and say it, I was wrong.  I failed to account for differences in power meter output as well as the overinflation of Q ring data (which skews power upwards by 3-4%).  So, in fact, Inno's 20-minute power only improved by 70 watts last year.  

Despite his increase in power, Inno had an up and down spring as he developed as a racer.  He finally turned a corner in the month of June and went on a tear during the summer, winning races left and right.  

    After that first year working together, I knew there were things I wanted to change.  We bought Inno a new TT bike so that he could compete on a level playing field with the best in the nation.  We also looked into his training and made a lot of adjustments in terms biomechanics and overall training.  Coming into the 2016 season, we had high hopes, and indeed, Inno did quite well, placing on the podium in nearly every race he entered.  However wins proved to be elusive.  It seemed as if we went from one mistake to another.  The low point of the season came at the Redlands Classic, which is one of the premier national level stage races.  We had high hopes for what Inno could do, but after five days of racing he ended up a disappointing 89th overall.  That was a humbling experience, and it made us realize that if we were going to do this, we would need to significantly up our game.  So, we went back to the drawing board and made some significant changes to Inno's training.  

2nd place to the eventual Redlands Classic winner.

      A week after Redlands, Inno took a convincing win at the State Championship Road Race.  It was a welcome relief after all the hard work and frustration we had endured up to that point.  All signs seemed to be pointing towards future success.  And then, not long after, disaster.  Inno crashed four times in a week and a half, culminating with two broken wrists, a seriously damaged bike, and sense of disillusionment about the future.  Despite the challenge, we refocused and resolved to keep working even harder.   Inno got on the trainer and began logging hours and hours of work while he was in dual casts.  I tweaked things again, putting more of an emphasis on volume, and we targeted North Star Grand Prix as his first race back.  Luckily, a strong showing in the early season caught the attention of KHS/IPA Sports, and Inno found himself with an opportunity to prove himself with a new team.  North Star is a national level race, and it was a case of jumping right back into the deep end.  Despite the difficulty, Inno did well, placing a solid, if unspectacular, 40th overall.   

       At this point, we had one last objective on the calendar - Cascade Classic.  We knew the TT suited him, and we figured if we could get a win there it would be a big deal.  So, Inno kept training and building his volume. As part of his preparation, he did The Tour Of Americas Dairyland, getting into a two-man breakaway with the reigning Crit Champ Daniel Holloway.  He followed that up with a win in the TT and the overall at the Bicycle, Blues, and BBQ Omnium.  Finally, it was time to line up for Cascade.  190 of the best riders in the nation lined up to compete.  From day one, Inno rode steadily, to finish safely with the front group at the top of McKenzie Pass.  On the day of the TT he laid it all out there and he ended up placing 5th.  When all was said and done, Inno finished the race in 9th place overall.  

Photo Credit: Mathew Pastick

    This was a tough year all around, but we both grew a lot.  Inno developed as a rider, and we have a clear sense of what he needs to do to take another step forward so that he can compete at the National Level.  Looking to the future, this is a big off-season.  We have our eye set on targeting wins at the national level next year. When we started, I told Inno it would take 3-5 years to fully develop.  That means he still has another couple years before he can compare with the best in the world, but so far he's on track. Who knows what next year will bring, but in the meantime, we'll keep grinding forward.  Semper Porro.