Whole Athlete Coach: Matt McCourtney

Since youth sports, Matt competed at a high level and ending up being ranked top-10 in the state for Junior tennis. Bouncing from sport to sport, he had yet to find his passion, and in turn, gave up sports all together during college to pursue a degree in chemical engineering and fine art.  As college came to an end, Matt choose to become a professional Commercial Photographer as he found his passion mixing the balance of Art and Science and learning how to apply both to life.  He soon found his real competitive self again, when he started motorcycle road racing.  Racing first locally, and then turning national semipro on an air cooled, hand build, Ducati 900, a labor of love and engineering.   After a successful final year in motorcycle racing, Matt turned to the bicycle for cross training and never went back to motorbike racing.  He found that cycling was indeed his true passion - that he had been looking for all these years.

Coming from motorcycle racing, Matt was comfortable handling the bike, charging with a group in close quarters, using these skills to place well in local races.  He quickly moved up through the categories, specializing in Crits, TTs, Road Races and overall Stage Races, recently taking silver in the 2010 Florida State Cross Championship. Seeing the positive benefits of formal training in himself, Matt became a USA Cycling certified coach early on.  A year later he continued his coaching by becoming a level II coach and started working with other athletes.  In 2010, Matt created, managed, and coached a Florida Based cycling team, Alfa 8, which produced 10 wins, 53 podiums and over 100 top tens in Florida. From here Matt is keeping his focus on road racing but will be venturing further into cyclocross and endurance mountain bike racing, looking to qualify for the Leadville 100 in 2011.

Matt's approach philosophy has always been about finding the balance between Art and Science and using both to help produce the best possible results. The science is apparent to the trained professional via power meters, software, HR meters, regulated intervals, nutrition, etc. The art of coaching is the application of that science to the individual athlete and helping him or her grow. Fundamental to to this approach, Matt emphasizes the integration of balanced nutrition and athletic performance, an area in which he has personally seen valuable gains, not only in athletic performance but life-long heath and happiness.

Contact Matt: mattmccourtney@mac.com

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