Corporate Fitness Promotions: Creating a Triathlon TEAM

I have been coaching athletes for 10 years now and I love the fact that--just like racing--I get better at it each year. Last year I set a goal for myself, that I wanted something more than just a training group. I wanted to create a TEAM. Coaching age-group athletes is challenging enough, because everyone has different goals, ability levels, and schedules. I knew what would be the tipping point....so I set the goal to acquire for my athletes the most awesome uniforms in the city of Nashville, maybe anywhere.

Photo: Team Gibbs Construction New Orleans-Tennessee Orthopaedic Alliance Coached by STtrainer

As you can see in the picture above, the goal has been achieved. In this post I want to elaborate a little on the process and thank those who facilitated that goal. First I knew that in order to have a well-outfitted team, it would be necessary to have sponsors.

I knew this would be possible because this group consists of wonderful people and great ambassadors of the sport. It was just a matter of finding the right fit with sponsors. What I didn't count on is the economy taking the worst hit since the great depression. It took every bit of six months to get the necessary sponsorship to create these uniforms.

Photo: The main advertisement for my business, which is conveniently covered by the jersey top most of the time. Ha!

I'm not going to lie here...there were some tough times. I thought I was going to fail at this goal. The turning point was when I was ready to give up, and I told the athletes that I coach that the team kits were going to be much smaller than expected. The response was overwhelming. Everyone started hustling to contribute to the project and within weeks we had confirmed 3 times as much sponsorship as I originally sought! It was awesome.

Photo: The night that everyone got their Team Kits....trying them on for the first time.

Photo: They turned out amazingly well. For the most part everything fit great and functioned perfectly.

I won't go into the gory details of what it takes to get team kits designed and ordered. Rest assured I have spent more hours tweaking the jersey design, getting logos, trying on fit kits, and generally just keeping the whole project moving along. I will say that two key factors got it done. The first is my friend Mike Denehey who conceived the design, and Champion Systems who polished the design and produced the kits.

Photo: Stylin!

What I am very interested to see now is the effects of the new uniforms on the team. I have already seen the first clues. This past weekend a group of 8 athletes and myself went out for a long ride and open water swim. Everyone was sporting the team kits. I can tell you it felt great to be part of a big group that looks consistent and distinctive. Now we are not a group of individuals, but a team that trains together and races together.

Photo: Marlena in her first triathlon.

Due to the sponsorship support we received, we were able to get "full" team kits. Cycling jerseys and shorts; tri tops, shorts, and 1-piece suits; jackets, arm warmers, and gloves. Now I know what it feels like to be part of a team just like the pros, and I hope the athletes I coach feel the same way.