Mike Ricci

My coaching style is ‘process focused’ vs. ‘results focused.’ When working with an athlete, their understanding of how and why they are improving is always going to take precedence over any race result. Yes there is an end goal, but in over 2 decades of coaching, experience has shown me that if you do the right work, and for the right reasons, the results will follow. And if you understand and enjoy the process, the likelihood of achieving your goals will increase ten fold! I always say, “If you aren’t having fun, why are you doing it?”

I have a long history of helping athletes, starting from my early days coaching high school swimming, up through writing the training plans for Team USA for the past several years. I’ve helped many an athlete qualify for Ironman World Championships in Kona, helped ITU draft legal racers crack the top ten at the US Pro Championships. From 2009-2013, I coached the University of Colorado Triathlon team to four consecutive Collegiate National Championships. In short, as a Level III Elite USAT Coach, I’ve worked with and enjoy all levels of athletes, from beginners.

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affiliations & certificates

  • USA Triathlon Elite Level 3 Coach (Level 3 coach certification is the highest triathlon coaching certification in the US. Mike is one of only 22 coaches certified at this level)
  • Training Peaks Level 2 Coach
  • Ironman University Certified Coach
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training specialties

  • Athletes who never give up
  • Athletes with big goals no matter how fast they are
  • Athletes who are moving from short course to long course
  • Athletes who have time constraints and who have to balance family – career and triathlon goals
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career highlights

  • USA Triathlon Coach of the Year
  • Coached University of CO to 4 straight Collegiate National Championships
  • University of CO Club Coach of the Year
  • Proud to guide D3 Multisport to 3rd place WTC Global ranking 2014
  • Coach to Lake Tahoe Ironman Winner (Greg Lindquist)
  • Coach to ITU Sprint World Champion 25-29AG (Tommy Barton)
  • Coach to multiple Individual Collegiate National Champions
  • Coach to multiple Ironman Kona qualifiers
  • Coach to USAT AG National Champions (Tommy Barton and Rudy Khasar)
  • Presenter for USA Triathlon Certification Courses / Elite Mentorship / Business Retreat
  • Presenter for Training Peaks Endurance Coaching Summit
  • Co-Author – ‘Complete Triathlon Guide’ – Human Kinetics 2012
  • Contributor to industry publications including Triathlete – Lava – Polar – Beginner Triathlete – Active.com – Training Peaks – 303 Triathlon