Here at The TEAM CORE we abide by 3 very basic principles which our athletes use as a key to their success on a daily basis: Commitment, Consistency and Camaraderie. Our name encapsulates exactly what we are about:
T = Triathlon
E = Endurance
A = And
M = Multisport
CORE = Our unique team-like approach to coaching and athlete support, ensuring the longevity of triathlon enjoyment for all! Read more about our keys to success here.
Many coaches and athletes would have you believe that to be really successful at this sport and to truly tap into your own potential, you need to train alone...all the time; after all, this is how you race isn't it? Solo? Our approach is very different. The environment and spirit that we nurture within our Team is a true reflection of how successful you can be with the right support from your coaches and just as importantly, your fellow team-mates.
Our vision is simple: provide those with a true passion for triathlon and multisport with an environment in which to train where both individual attention and group motivation is not just possible, but essential. We prove that it is possible to cater effectively for a wide-range of abilities from those new to the sport, all the way up to those at the top of their 'game'. How do we do this? By recognising that the shared bond of a common goal can be an exciting and empowering element to your preparation. We all have something to learn, and oftentimes we may learn something we never felt possible, from those we least expected to learn it from:
"The day you stop learning, is the day you die!"
Until now, many adult age-group athletes have historically chosen to train solo, more often than not due to necessity with time commitments and the misunderstood belief that to train smarter, you must train alone. It is becoming increasingly apparent however that despite triathlon being one of the major "boom-sports" of our era, it is also a sport which sees a massive drop-out rate, typcially after just two seasons. This phenomenon can be easily explained:
YEAR 1 = the "honeymoon year" - you're new to the sport, everything is exciting, you are ALWAYS fired-up to train, eveything is wonderful;
YEAR 2 = you've had a good first season, you now want to get more serious and aim to build-up for your first long-distance event. You read like crazy, maybe download a few training programs, set-off like a bull in a china-shop, but rapidly realise that training 15 to 20hrs a week in the dead of winter by yourself is not all that its cracked up to be! Sure, you get to your event and even post a good time in the process, but will you honestly be able to keep this up year-in, year-out? You wouldn't be the first, nor will you be the last, to say "no".
How do we know all this? We see it time and time again, sadly. When you come to realize and appreciate that the key driving-force in competing in this sport, no matter what your ability level, should be motivated through enjoyment, you understand that a different approach entirely is required. Again, how do we know this? Our coaches have all been 'there' and so too have the majority of our TEAM CORE athletes - thats why they choose our approach over others.
So how does this approach work and how can it work for you? Essentially we are a triathlon training squad based in Perth, Western Australia, but with athletes forming part of our unique training community from all over the world.
Back in 2005 we devised a new training program in Western Australia, one which had never been attempted before, but has been copied many times since. This program saw 52 athletes with a huge variety of abilities, all train together with the common goal of the Busselton Half Ironman event. A skeleton program was put in place and all athletes had access to this template. We provided up to 12 coaching sessions per week which offered the athletes within the program a unique opportunity to receive regular feedback on their progression and have their efforts managed according to their individual rate of improvement. With a primitive form of the Athlete's Toolkit we ensured that each athlete was working at their correct training intensity, whilst having the motivational benefit of training within a 'squad'. All athlete's were encouraged equally, and NO-ONE was (or now is) ever left to feel like they are "holding the group up" or any such other nonsense. After 16 weeks and one team-bonding Boot Camp on Rottnest Island everyone was ready to race. Every single athlete finished that race with over 90% of those achieving new Personal Best times. From within that group we had Top-20 finishers in their late-20s, along to those simply completing their first Half Ironman in their 50s and 60s. It all worked seamlessly.
Whilst further developing our TEAM CORE here in Perth, we are now taking that same ethos and approach and are inviting others from further-afield to join the 'party'! How is this possible? Through our unique online coaching service provided by the industry-leading Peaks Software Company and through our superb new online training forum which both enhance the communication between coach and athlete, and also between the shared experience of team-mate to team-mate, wherever you may be in the world. Our network of international coaches ensures that we have reach and poignant connections with our TEAM CORE members at all times.
Put simply, The TEAM CORE will become the world's greatest connection of triathletes with a shared passion for this sport.
Each year our coaches meet to discuss common objectives and goals. We decide upon the best series of races which our athletes will most likely enjoy. We develop the time-frame and build the program around these certain key events, or "A-races". Specific program duration is typically between 8 and 24 weeks for a given event (any longer often leads to burn-out in our experience). Athletes look to build in other "B" and "C" races under the advice of their coach and relevant to their particular location, ability and needs. Once this is all in place, the athlete will commence the program in the structured squad environment with indiviudal attention being paid at every single session to the rate of adaptation and progress with adjustments being made as and when necessary.
This same process occurs with our online athletes who for pratical and geographic reasons may not be able to join The TEAM CORE at these sessions, or even compete at the same events. Our online athletes receive regular feedback and instruction from their coaches utilising the excellent Training Peaks platform which facilitates seamless interaction of training and racing data files from new technology. Our online athletes also receive the benefit of training under The TEAM CORE 'banner' and as such can communicate directly online with our team of coaches and our athletes. In doing so, whilst you may be training 'alone', in actual fact, you are anything but!
