Coaching for Youth 4.
the youth division is the fastest-growing segment of USA Triathlon, but the majority of our towns and cities do not have teams or programs that introduce triathlon to children. Four years ago, I made the foray into coaching beginner triathletes, ages 6-15, which has proven to be one of the most rewarding aspects of my life in sport. As a youth coach, a mom of three competitive young triathletes and a member of the IronKids staff, I am committed to the development of sport for all ages.
When I started my team, there was very little information or support for training the young athletes in the sport, but my experience has provided a wealth of knowledge for me to share with other coaches and parents. My role as the IronKids Teams Division Coordinator allows me to interact with local coaches across the county, sharing ideas and working together to further the youth triathlon community.
Before you get started Before getting started, a coach needs to determine their program goals and create a mission statement for their team. Is the team going to be an elite team or a short- term program targeted at beginners? Will
the coach find a way to include both in their long-term goals? Many coaches find that they begin their programs working with beginners and as these children grow in skills and speed, they need to expand the training program for the more competitive young athletes. Other coaches remain focused on beginner triathletes and will run training programs preparing youth for specific races each year.
My experience As an example, I began my coaching career when my young children (ages 8, 5 and 4 at the time) decided to take triathlon to the next level. They had grown up watching both myself and my husband train and compete in triathlon and had experienced some success in their first years in the sport. Unable to find a team or coach, I decided to work with another “tri mom” to start a team with our own six children and several other neighborhood friends. Our initial team goals were to: 1) help athletes have fun, make friends and get fit! 2) introduce young athletes and their families to the sport of triathlon, 3) help more experienced youth to improve their skills.
We focused on beginner triathletes from ages 7–13 and my team grew to more than
By Karen Quilty USAT Level I, USA Cycling Level III
25 members. This season our combined team became much more competitive in all age groups. Not surprisingly, our team goals have changed to reflect this. We still have maintained our goal of fun, family- focused training, good sportsmanship and team building. While we developed an elite program for our experienced athletes who want to pursue triathlon as their primary sport, we also maintained a program that focuses on the beginner “recreational athlete” to grow the sport of triathlon and build the pipeline for our team.
What makes a team successful? Upon deciding to coach youth, a coach must determine how to handle administrative details such as team name, logos, recruiting, fee structure, insurance, communication, uniforms, etc. All these are important and could be covered in a completely separate article, but to make a team successful, a coach must find the right balance of sport education, sport-specific training and fun. The kids continue to come to practice because they enjoy it, and parents continue to support your program when they see their kids succeed. Every child is motivated by different things. one 10-year-old athlete on
(continued on next page)
page 7 | PERFORMANCECOACHING
Photo by Eric Bakke
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16