Introducing PCG
After launching several companies and products, I am aware of the benefits of serendipity. The idea of PCG and this launch is no different; a mash-up of decades of experience, wanting to solve a problem in a different way and the lucky collision of a number of events.
Parker Spencer and I sat outside of a hotel in Milwaukee during the USAT Triathlon Nationals and brainstormed a new approach to coaching. Parker had already been brewing some ideas on different coaching models while I was thinking about how to drive better health and performance outcomes using wearable tech. The basis for this idea was formed on a common belief - we did not want to build just another coaching business.
From those conversations we established three core principles that will be used to guide our decisions and overall approach at PCG. These include:
Be Athlete-Centered: The Podium Coaching Group recognizes sport science and sport-specific training (endurance, strength, function, skills, etc) are becoming increasingly more complex and therefore deep expertise in each domain is required to unlock an athlete’s potential. To address this, PCG has created an athlete-centered model where each athlete is supported by a team (pod) of coaches. This model allows for coaches with unique skills and deep expertise across six predefined domains to work collaboratively to drive athlete outcomes.
Embrace Technology: We are seeing increasingly sophisticated and more precise wearable technology and AI-based platforms emerge. We view these innovations as enabling us to unlock the full potential of our athletes and coaches. Our coaches are constantly integrating new technology into their processes. Some of these include the use of heart rate variability (HRV) to help monitor training loads and recovery, the use of Human Powered Health (HPH) and INSCYD for the metabolic profile assessment.
Adapt and Evolve: While there are training and development theories (such as periodization and functional overloading) that are foundational to any athlete development approach, we are not going to admire the successes of the past at the expense of new opportunities in the future. We work with coaches that have a growth mindset and are hungry to learn and improve. We can guarantee that how things look today, at the launch of PCG, will look different as we evolve and grow.
We’re just getting started - give us a follow on the below platforms and come back to this site often to learn about what we’re up to and how we are helping athletes unlock their full potential.
