A Message From Coach Andy

A BIG “Thank You”
From Coach Andy

“I don’t sugar coat shit.”

For those of you who have worked with me for more than probably a single day, you know that to be painfully true. I’m straight to the point, unapologetically direct and concise in my approach. I will push you to be the best you can be and as soon as we achieve that, I’ll ask you for 1% more. Constantly forward, onward and upward. But right now I have to take a moment to stop and very sincerely thank each and every one of you from the bottom of my heart for believing in me, BPC and most importantly yourselves.

I know it’s no easy path that we take here at BPC. Our approach and our style crack the mold to say the least. Everything from crazily designed workouts to looking you dead on and saying things like “nationals doesn’t matter”. We don’t write training like “normal” coaches would and we prioritize one goal above all the others. We are critiqued and judged at every juncture by the “peanut gallery” and continually stick to our path despite this. But when we have that one single week where EVERY single one of our athletes set at least 1 ALL TIME personal best in their TT event(s), I find the peanut gallery is suddenly silent.

I consider the 8 days of Master’s Worlds to be the BPC equivalent of British Cycling at the 2012 Olympic Games. That was our version of 4 years of dedicated preparation for most of you, coming together on the one week it TRULY matters. Our motto is “training for what REALLY matters” and last week we proved that to be undeniably true. I also took tremendous pride in how all of our athletes entered the velodrome ready for battle. You can read the defeat on some athlete’s faces before the racing has even begun. But not with BPC. We were not only the best physically prepared we could be, but also the best mentally prepared of any athletes at worlds.

No we did not “win” every single event we entered. But every single person executed to their full potential and for me that is the victory. I do love winning. But I find it is the people who challenge us, and sometimes even beat us, that bring out the best in all of us. Wether we are heading in to 2018 as defending champion, or working to claw our way up the result sheet, we all have reasons to continue striving for greatness. And that is what gets me out of bed in the morning. Helping each and everyone one of you to achieve your individual goals and to be better than we were the day before. I know it is no small ask to just put your head down and trust in us and in the process. Just as I take the responsibility of having your trust as my greatest charge. So thank you beyond words for having the faith in us to be a part of this journey.

And last but certainly not least, I must offer tremendous thanks to all of the BPC coaches and our supporters without whom none of this would be possible. Thank you to coach Giddeon for continuing our LA legacy with the breakfast club crew week after week. Thank you to coach Missy for always pushing our east coast athletes for more and for being the scheduling and communication ROCK for all of us during the week of worlds. Thank you to coach Ben for his help with our training camps and remote athletes around the country and at a moments notice. I take such outstanding pride in what all the coaches and I have built together and I find amazing confidence in where we can go from here together.

I have believed since day one that putting the athlete’s safety and performance first, over financial gain would ultimately serve our mission the best and yield the most success. And when I see every BPC athlete and staff member viewing and treating each other as family, I know we got it right. Thank you for being a part of BPC. Thank you for trusting us with your dreams. Thank you for believing in us and in yourselves. And thank you for giving me your best.

-Coach Andy