tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6820838355920800082024-02-02T15:03:01.745-07:00The Triathlon BookPaulo Sousahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01661280271310309495noreply@blogger.comBlogger132125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-682083835592080008.post-56525112966061691962014-05-26T18:33:00.000-06:002014-05-27T08:24:08.910-06:00We Can Do It!When I look back at the last almost 4 years, I feel extremely proud of what we have been building here at The Triathlon Squad. At the beginning, there was only a strong desire to achieve, from me but mainly from the athletes. After a lot of passion, work, commitment, The Triathlon Squad has established itself as the premier high performance training environment in North America.
We’ve been veryPaulo Sousahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01661280271310309495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-682083835592080008.post-24797461488754531082013-04-01T18:56:00.003-06:002013-04-01T19:11:26.621-06:00An open letter to the young triathlon coach...
Like the rest of the world, the coaching profession (and in particular, triathlon coaching) has been going through a rapid period of dilution. I will write more on this subject at a later date, but for now, I just wanted to offer a couple of thoughts.
Chances are you have never heard of Malcolm Brown. Or Ben Bright. Or Jamie Turner. Not because they’re not good; in fact, they’re three of Paulo Sousahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01661280271310309495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-682083835592080008.post-46062767253043945942012-12-21T12:49:00.004-07:002012-12-21T12:49:45.856-07:00The REAL Top-10 Most Influential People in TriathlonWhen I saw Inside Triathlon's list of the top-10 most influential people in triathlon I was first amused, then surprised, then shocked and finally angered. Even if I am aware of how these "pay-for-play" outlets operate, it was disturbing to see an image of the sport that absolutely does not correspond to reality.
Reflecting some comments I saw on twitter from others, I got together with Joel Paulo Sousahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01661280271310309495noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-682083835592080008.post-42052454761050256702012-10-15T11:08:00.002-06:002012-10-15T11:08:41.038-06:00Call to Action 2013If you’re reading this, you’ve probably heard of The Triathlon Squad before. That’s because in the past two years, The Triathlon Squad has established itself as the premier high performance training environment in North America.
We’ve been very successful these past couple of years. We, the athletes and I, were able to create a fantastic training environment, which was the basis for the good Paulo Sousahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01661280271310309495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-682083835592080008.post-31301629721660512312012-01-09T12:57:00.001-07:002012-01-09T12:57:56.771-07:00Practice makes perfectWe've heard it before: Practice doesn't make perfect, practice makes permanent. And for most people, this evokes images of a person doing something wrong over and over again to the point that the wrong skill is ingrained and it can't be changed. With this model for learning, unless you have perfected the movement beforehand, you cannot go on to repeat it. This means that event-specific endurance Paulo Sousahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01661280271310309495noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-682083835592080008.post-19142744565188538082011-12-30T17:43:00.001-07:002011-12-30T17:45:55.021-07:00My top-10 triathletes of 2011These lists are always fun to make, so instead of complaining about other people's lists, I decided to write my own.
Top-10 Women
1 - Helen Jenkins
2 - Andrea Hewitt
3 - Chrissie Wellington
4 - Leanda Cave
5 - Mirinda Carfrae
6 - Sarah Groff
7 - Melissa Rollinson
8 - Sarah Haskins
9 - Paula Findlay
10 - Rachel Joyce
Top-10 Men
1 - Alistair Brownlee
2 - Craig Alexander
3 - Jonathan Brownlee
Paulo Sousahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01661280271310309495noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-682083835592080008.post-87388905156244884592011-12-19T16:55:00.001-07:002011-12-19T16:58:25.317-07:00High Performance Coaches Manual"I respect coaches who have the passion to pursue high performance and find a way to make it happen with or without any external support. The best find a way to do it, and do it for the right reasons. They don’t wait around for a job to be offered to them, but are out creating these environments and doing it their way, and show their work through the consistent performance of their athletes over Paulo Sousahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01661280271310309495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-682083835592080008.post-17611651623710294882011-12-07T10:54:00.001-07:002011-12-07T10:56:59.893-07:00Quotes"There's not too many Americans out there running 2:08 so I'll take it." -- Ryan Hall."To be honest it's pretty sad that this kind of time was good enough to be the top Japanese man." -- Yuki KawauchiPaulo Sousahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01661280271310309495noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-682083835592080008.post-2886871984631541942011-10-31T08:57:00.004-06:002011-10-31T09:02:25.214-06:00Excerpt"One of the principles is trust. I trust that the athletes are fully committed to their goals and the work we do together. The athletes trust me to provide them with guidance to achieve their goals. The other core principle is belief. I believe in the work I am doing and in the ability of my athletes. The athletes believe that under my guidance they will be successful.All athletes in the Squad, Paulo Sousahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01661280271310309495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-682083835592080008.post-18947849373036426332011-10-19T17:19:00.005-06:002011-10-19T17:26:00.229-06:00Squad FAQ - 2012I have been receiving enquires about the Squad and thought it would be a good idea to answer publicly a few of the frequently asked questions. We're still more than 1 week from the deadline to turn in applications, so get to work! If you have any more questions, please don't hesitate to contact me at pstriathlon@gmail.comWhat is The Triathlon Squad?A new-concept professional triathlon squad. Paulo Sousahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01661280271310309495noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-682083835592080008.post-27550213735128514392011-10-14T16:07:00.003-06:002011-10-14T16:22:49.414-06:00A football storyI know a lot of you reading this have disdain for a professional sport like (american) football. But like with any sport, there are things to learn from football. I heard this story about Tony Dungy from Warren Sapp in some radio show. When Tony Dungy was coaching the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they went to play an away game and they lost... by a lot. On the plane trip back, the players were rowdy, Paulo Sousahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01661280271310309495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-682083835592080008.post-9430894574339495382011-10-10T10:02:00.002-06:002011-10-10T10:06:08.854-06:00A call to action - 2012Exactly one year ago, I launched a very ambitious project: an elite training squad operating in North America. The goal was to fill an important gap that existed in the US, the lack of a professional training squad that provided an environment for athletes to gradually, yet progressively, develop the skills required for world-class performances in triathlon. The Triathlon Squad has had a Paulo Sousahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01661280271310309495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-682083835592080008.post-10837430796736455252011-08-15T21:54:00.008-06:002011-08-16T06:57:48.077-06:00The song of the sirens*In Greek mythology, sirens were bird-women, portrayed as seductresses, who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music and voices to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island.
In endurance circles, we have our version of the sirens. Their song tells us there is an easier, faster way to be successful. You can train less, recover more and be more successful than your peers. You can have Paulo Sousahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01661280271310309495noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-682083835592080008.post-4878307161666281192011-08-07T17:53:00.009-06:002011-08-08T10:34:59.356-06:00A reminder to all coachesThis is a simple concept in coaching, but I see it being forgotten too often. Here it goes:
As a coach, part of your job is to be ON THE ATHLETE'S SIDE!
Many coaches are great at accepting accolades when things go well, but quickly try to shed their responsibility when things go wrong. They blame the athlete for the options they make. Guess what Mr, when an athlete decides something, it's your Paulo Sousahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01661280271310309495noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-682083835592080008.post-74763498738320537992011-08-06T03:52:00.001-06:002011-08-06T03:53:59.397-06:00One more thing about good decisionsI wrote the blog below in December 2009. Big congrats to Sarah Groff and her coach, Darren Smith. Well done, guys!"Doing the right thingBeing an observer of the sport, I follow what is going on with some/most of the top performers. I read their blogs, follow them on Twitter, it's part of the job. One of such athletes is Sarah Groff. I never met Ms. Groff or even talked to her on email, but I've Paulo Sousahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01661280271310309495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-682083835592080008.post-2488473445701455652011-08-05T13:20:00.000-06:002011-08-05T13:21:03.880-06:00Quote Of The Day"I just want to be the best I can be. And I'll do whatever it takes to be that. I could have been really comfortable where I was in Teddington, nice house, family, friends, watching the Arsenal. But if you want to win medals, then you have to do whatever is necessary. Every second counts. One, two per cent could make a difference. I went to the US to find those percentages. People say don't Paulo Sousahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01661280271310309495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-682083835592080008.post-79456019901951941262011-07-18T09:16:00.002-06:002011-07-18T10:31:32.864-06:00The sound of settling*A lot of times in my work as a coach, I see athletes, both those that I coach and others that I observe, just settling. Just going with the safe, comfortable option. This translates into the decisions they make. It might be in the big decisions, like what races to race, where to live or who to pick as a coach. But also in the small decisions, like cramming workouts to free up an afternoon, Paulo Sousahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01661280271310309495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-682083835592080008.post-4943554445966913512011-07-11T16:47:00.003-06:002011-07-11T17:04:15.793-06:00A recent trend in professional Ironman racingUnderneath the amazing results in Ironman racing in the last few weeks, a trend is more and more noticeable: top athletes have "their" races and no other top athlete shows up to contest them. So you have races like the men's races at Roth, Austria or Switzerland, where besides the designated winner, there really wasn't any competition. On the women's side, it's been the case that top athletes Paulo Sousahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01661280271310309495noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-682083835592080008.post-29687582794156366212011-05-10T14:54:00.002-06:002011-05-10T14:54:53.309-06:00WinningYou need to WANT it!Paulo Sousahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01661280271310309495noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-682083835592080008.post-32757367587275946982011-03-28T22:27:00.000-06:002011-03-28T22:28:21.529-06:00Winning training plan"On Monday, I do a 90-minute run, an hour swim, an hour in the gym and two hours on the bike. On Tuesday I swim quite hard in the morning, do an easy run and an easy bike ride and finish with a track session in the evening. Wednesday starts with a long easy session in the pool, a 90-minute run and then three hours on my bike. On Thursday, I’ll swim in the morning and do one or two runs and then aPaulo Sousahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01661280271310309495noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-682083835592080008.post-3067161592650848172011-03-21T16:21:00.004-06:002011-03-21T16:26:33.803-06:00You're not so special"Mr. STEWART: I had the dream that I would not have Bud Harrelson's body. I thought I would have, perhaps, I would grow into something. So I wanted to be an athlete. I didn't want to be in show business.It was a very different world, and I know a lot of people here are of that era. It was not - we were not in the world where everybody was special yet.(Soundbite of laughter)Mr. STEWART: We had notPaulo Sousahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01661280271310309495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-682083835592080008.post-69518911715001799232011-03-04T19:51:00.001-07:002011-03-04T19:52:51.155-07:00Selective reading"I think more and more in modern sport that athletes are a pawn in what is a modern corporate sports game. It is what it is. Athletes are both expected or hoped that we will simply be OK with a pat on the head and shut up and run. It is like a disease that almost all Olympic sports bureaucrats fall into this classic position: It does not matter how my guys do, so long as it appears that I did allPaulo Sousahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01661280271310309495noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-682083835592080008.post-45067692185605718872010-10-31T00:59:00.000-06:002010-10-31T01:00:32.778-06:00Last dayOpportunities multiply as they are seized. Sun TzuPaulo Sousahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01661280271310309495noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-682083835592080008.post-84404405154876909172010-10-25T09:00:00.001-06:002010-10-25T09:00:00.289-06:00Very interesting and accurate quoteSaw this quote on the Team TBB website, the text is not signed, I wonder who wrote it..."Great efforts are needed to match great dreams. The girls have worked that out. The guys on the other hand, well they always seem to take a little longer to figure it out. The ‘don't train hard but smart’ brigade of conmen seem to resonate more on the boys. Women on the other hand tend to be able to see Paulo Sousahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01661280271310309495noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-682083835592080008.post-91995604497587018722010-10-18T07:17:00.001-06:002011-03-04T12:56:08.376-07:00Squad FAQIt's been one week now that I publicly announced the squad formation and reception has been great. I've received inquires about the squad from more than 30 athletes, and around 10 have sent in complete applications. We're still 2 weeks from the deadline to turn in applications, so keep them coming!Since I've gotten many questions regarding the squad, I thought I would publish a FAQ. If you have Paulo Sousahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01661280271310309495noreply@blogger.com0