I have spent a large amount of time contacting teams; making phone calls, sending emails, and everything in between to try and secure a spot on a squad for the 2010 season. I will have to say this it has been a very involved, cumbersome and time consuming process. I have had several promising leads, but most fell through due to different reasons. Since I had already set up my training schedule in October, my preparations did not change during the process, but it was hard to stay motivated to train hard when I was getting rejection after rejection from teams that I thought would have been a very good fit.
But...
I have finally found a team and will be competing with the ReCycling Pro Development Team based out of Chicago, Illinois. I am extremely excited about this opportunity as it came at a time when motivation and general optimism about where my cycling was going was at a low. It was the motivation that I needed, and I think the team is not only tremendously talented, but very deep. We will be a force to reckon with come early spring. Being on a team is something that I enjoy greatly. The one thing that I loved about my days of competing in cross country and track was how awesome it was to be a part of a team. To compete side by side with people that have the same goals as you, and who will dig that much deeper for the guy next to him and the team's ultimate goals. There are a lot of organizational details that will be worked out over the coming months before the season starts, especially since this is mainly a rider-run team, but our support will be tremendous including a team director, physiologist and mechanic. We already have some great sponsors and plan to have more before the first race gets underway.
But...
I have finally found a team and will be competing with the ReCycling Pro Development Team based out of Chicago, Illinois. I am extremely excited about this opportunity as it came at a time when motivation and general optimism about where my cycling was going was at a low. It was the motivation that I needed, and I think the team is not only tremendously talented, but very deep. We will be a force to reckon with come early spring. Being on a team is something that I enjoy greatly. The one thing that I loved about my days of competing in cross country and track was how awesome it was to be a part of a team. To compete side by side with people that have the same goals as you, and who will dig that much deeper for the guy next to him and the team's ultimate goals. There are a lot of organizational details that will be worked out over the coming months before the season starts, especially since this is mainly a rider-run team, but our support will be tremendous including a team director, physiologist and mechanic. We already have some great sponsors and plan to have more before the first race gets underway.
Through this process, it got my brain spinning about what actually goes into searching for a team, which is a lot like searching for a job. Here are some things to think about during your next team search. Hopefully you don't have to go through this process that often, but the more information you have about it, hopefully the easier it will be.
Finding a Team
There are 4 things that go into getting on that team you want: your resume, connections, timing and sacrifice. For me, my resume was mediocre (will one's resume ever be as good as you want?), my connections were decent and every improving, my timing was a little off and I had to do some soul searching about the sacrifices I was willing to make.
Resume: The results will get better with improved training and racing. I am training smarter all the time and with that increased fitness and ever growing racing knowledge, I know the results I'm looking for will come. Once your results are on paper there is nothing more you can do with them. So don't focus on the past results, learn from them and look to improve them.
Connections: Since I started racing bikes a little over 3 years ago I have met and befriended many amazing people in this sport, all who have had one thing in common, they love bike racing. Whether they were racers, coaches, directors, host families, whomever, they all are passionate about the sport. Make friends with as many people as possible and don't ever burn your bridges. You will quickly find out who is good and who is bad to have by your side, so be attentive. The cycling community is really like a family and the more people you know the more fun it becomes!
Timing: The younger you start in this sport the better. That's obvious for not only cycling but any sport you do. I in no way regret any of the time I spent running cross country and track, because without the years pounding the pavement I would not have the aerobic base that I do now. You can control the time in which you make contact with teams, so start near the end of the season and follow up constantly. Timing of outside events though is something you can't control, so you need to be nimble and be able to adapt to the current times. With the economic downturn of 2009 came reduced or cut budgets from the pro-tour level down to the amateur teams, which made it easy on no one.
Sacrifice: When is the sacrifice worth the outcome? How much do you love what you do? In the favorite words the VQ community, "Is the Juice worth the Squeeze"? Above all, you need to be happy, and be very aware of how your actions are affecting others around you. Cycling, and really any sport at the top level, requires the individual to be selfish. Are you being too selfish? Do the ones that love you support you in your passion for training and competing? You will most likely fail if you don't surround yourself with people who understand and support you with your goals.
There are 4 things that go into getting on that team you want: your resume, connections, timing and sacrifice. For me, my resume was mediocre (will one's resume ever be as good as you want?), my connections were decent and every improving, my timing was a little off and I had to do some soul searching about the sacrifices I was willing to make.
Resume: The results will get better with improved training and racing. I am training smarter all the time and with that increased fitness and ever growing racing knowledge, I know the results I'm looking for will come. Once your results are on paper there is nothing more you can do with them. So don't focus on the past results, learn from them and look to improve them.
Connections: Since I started racing bikes a little over 3 years ago I have met and befriended many amazing people in this sport, all who have had one thing in common, they love bike racing. Whether they were racers, coaches, directors, host families, whomever, they all are passionate about the sport. Make friends with as many people as possible and don't ever burn your bridges. You will quickly find out who is good and who is bad to have by your side, so be attentive. The cycling community is really like a family and the more people you know the more fun it becomes!
Timing: The younger you start in this sport the better. That's obvious for not only cycling but any sport you do. I in no way regret any of the time I spent running cross country and track, because without the years pounding the pavement I would not have the aerobic base that I do now. You can control the time in which you make contact with teams, so start near the end of the season and follow up constantly. Timing of outside events though is something you can't control, so you need to be nimble and be able to adapt to the current times. With the economic downturn of 2009 came reduced or cut budgets from the pro-tour level down to the amateur teams, which made it easy on no one.
Sacrifice: When is the sacrifice worth the outcome? How much do you love what you do? In the favorite words the VQ community, "Is the Juice worth the Squeeze"? Above all, you need to be happy, and be very aware of how your actions are affecting others around you. Cycling, and really any sport at the top level, requires the individual to be selfish. Are you being too selfish? Do the ones that love you support you in your passion for training and competing? You will most likely fail if you don't surround yourself with people who understand and support you with your goals.
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1 comments:
Congrats on finding a team Bryan. I know its been a long, hard search - I hope that it pays off and you see your best results yet this year.
PS - I'm in Harrisonburg and heading up Reddish Knob today...first time up ever so it should be interesting. Take care.
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