Transcript USA Triathlon High Performance Programs
USA Triathlon High Performance Programs
2014 Best Practices Symposium
Steve Kelley
USAT Junior/U23 Program Manager
High Performance Objectives
● ● ● ● ● Create a progressive developmental infrastructure Identify, Recruit, Confirm & Develop athletes at varied entry points into the pipeline Develop World Class coaches committed to draft legal competition Incentivize World Class performance -
always
Arrive at Major Games with true medal-winning ability and the means to support it
Overview
• • • This presentation will address only three key areas of our High Performance Program: – – Juniors Collegiate Recruits – Elites/U23s For each, I’ll discuss our immediate focus areas, opportunities and challenges Many areas of High Performance program management are left for later discussion, including: – – – – – National Team management (athlete data, equipment, logistics, staffing) Sports Medicine/Injury Prevention and Recovery/Sport Psychology Budgeting Event Recruitment and Production (creating a spectrum of draft-legal opportunities) International Relations/Collaboration
Juniors (13-15, 16-19)
• • • • • • Internationally-relevant competition formats Decentralized team-based development model Specialized youth/junior coaching education Experiential learning for draft-legal coaches Camps designed to deliver a consistent curriculum Integrated web-based talent management portal – Race Results – – Swim/Run Performance Markers Goal setting
Emphasize the process of development and the results will follow
Collegiate Recruitment
• • •
Collegiate Recruitment Program (CRP)
– – Attract post-NCAA athletes to elite triathlon Resident CRP “Scottsdale Project” – Re-engage Juniors who choose NCAA path
NCAA Women’s Triathlon
– – – Will create exciting new opportunities Anticipate an international make-up of teams Working to align the competition experience with draft-legal precedents
Robust collegiate club system
There is life after college swimming [running]
Elites/U23s
● ● ● ● ● ● Support for
Daily Training Environments
Coherent strategies for securing “points” Performance Teams/Support Services Base Camps (Europe, Oceania, Asia) Domestic competition opportunities and formats ○ Non-drafting (striking the right balance) ○ Super Sprint Series (e.g. French GP) ○ ITU CC/WC/WTS Incentives, financial stability, media attention
The world is getting faster...
•
Summary Observations
Emphasis on growing a high performance “club” system (and culture) for U19s has positively impacted the quality and sustainability of our Junior Elite race series and yielded better and more consistent international results.
• As our programs have identified and recruited more elite athletes, demand for highly-qualified draft-legal coaches and Daily Training Environments has increased.
• A predictable, long-range international race calendar is critical to building viable domestic races and training environments (both camps and DTEs) that support U23 and developing elites.