Tracey Drews

“The joy of coaching was instilled in me early in life by participating in team sports.  I came to appreciate each team coach looking at the individual player’s strengths and weaknesses and creating a common sense of purpose and commitment to create a winning combination.  Today, I look to do the same with each of my athletes. I consider us a team in developing a training plan that has them ride/race ready. I enjoy working with all ages of athletes, however I revere the “mature athlete” because I don’t want us to “grow old simply because we stopped playing”.

What I love about coaching is . . . .

-the athlete text on the weekend saying they got on the podium or that they didn’t

-learning about a new event and organizing the athlete’s training plan specifically for it

-sharing joy with the athlete in completing a challenging training block or “nailing” one tough interval series

-tracking athletes’ progress/lack of progress with all the evaluative tools available

-acknowledging the “agony” of defeat, analyzing what went wrong and adjusting the plan to correct it

-getting creative with the training plan for each individual’s specific goals

-sharing in concern and disappointment when athlete is injured or receives bad news about health

-organizing a recovery or rehabilitation training plan for an injured athlete

-introducing and connecting CTS athletes with one another for race/ride events

-guiding athletes in equipment choices, healthier nutrition and recovery practices

-getting to know each athlete as an individual and what motivates and drives them to compete

-developing a training plan that inspires and empowers the athlete in EVERY body

. . . and that’s what I LOVE about coaching.”

I was active in team/individual sports throughout high school and college and ultimately shed over 50 pounds after undergraduate school from Va Tech. This led me to obtain a graduate degree in exercise science from Old Dominion University to better understand human performance, physiology and nutrition as it relates to quality of life.  Through coaching, I find I can share my passion for maintaining a high standard of healthy living with others. So many of the endurance sports are lifetime activities that reduce the risk of illness and facilitate grace in aging.  I want to help others discover and experience these opportunities.