Why and when did you start cycling?
I started cycling after I finished university, my dad had purchased a new bike on the cycle 2 work scheme which looked kinda cool. I also needed to lose weight from time spent partying at university so I took to the bike. Cycling has been in our family for years, I just never took to it and played a load of other sports. My dad was Northern Ireland Road Race Champion so when I started I had all the support you could wish for.
Why did you become a cycling coach?
I had aspirations to become a full-time professional cyclist once I got myself a coach and progressed to Cat 1 in a few years. Unfortunately, I had a few issues with my lower back and a numb leg. This I couldn’t shake and it put me off the bike. I said to my coach at the time that when I finished the bike I wanted to coach, I had a science background and loved to learn about all the metrics and get into the detail of all things training, nutrition and tactics.
I had learned a lot from my coach and when off the bike I really went into everything I could find regarding sports performance and the methodology of training principles. I love working with people and enjoy helping them on their journey to reach their goals, I get a lot out of that.
What is your coaching focus?
My focus is on the individual, I want to learn as much about their life as possible and test their metrics before embarking on a plan. It’s important to know as much as possible when starting with a new athlete so that you can gauge where to start their plan. We always want to have progressive overload with any plan and starting too hard or with too much volume will be counterproductive in the long term.
I have a focus on the Long Term Athlete Development of the individual, these things take time and need to be carried out in a particular way to get the best results from each unique person.
I work with all the metrics and charts known to man, however, I put a great amount of emphasis on the input from the athlete. We can train the machine but we also need to work with the person driving the machine so I like to get as much information from them as I can. The coach-athlete relationship is super important to me.
What is your favorite food?
This is an ever-evolving answer, it really does change quite a bit. I wouldn’t have a favorite food per se, as it depends on how I feel or the time of year.
If I had to say one thing…I love Burritos.
Aside from cycling, What do you do in your spare time?
I’ve recently had a son that is keeping me busy and has given me a new perspective on life as well as on training with a family. I am starting to learn how to swim better with the goal of completing an Ironman. I coach triathletes and have never completed one so I feel like I should give that a go.
My partner Jen and I love to go on walks with our Dog Eva. We travel about in our camper van and go sailing with some friends when we have the time. We spend a lot of time at the beach or in the forest and up mountains. I also love to do DIY, anything wood or metal I like working with and currently I’m building a new metal frame master bed. I’ve also gotten into sewing which is a bit random but it’s good fun to make some new clothes out of old ones