Our Team
Who We Are and What We Believe
Triangle Tenacity strives to develop kids and teens into tomorrow's tenacious leaders through teamwork and thoughtful training in a fun, supportive, and safe environment.
Our Vision and Goals
Kids can do hard things
Triathlon is one of the best sports to build the mental strength, grit, and perseverance that kids need to succeed in life. Overcoming challenges and pushing through discomfort are things that triathletes face in every race. True to our name, we want to build the tenacity in our athletes to push through the tough challenges of life and come out successful on the other side.
Teach the fundamentals
Many of our athletes come to us with a background in one of the 3 sports of triathlon (although that is certainly not required!). Our goal is not just to build fitness in these sports, but also teach the techniques and race strategy to combine these sports into a strong triathlon performance.
A ‘home’ within the sport
We want to build a community of youth triathletes in the Triangle and give them a space where they can enjoy the sport with other kids who share similar interests. Many youth triathletes try out a race one time, and would like to continue, but may not have the support structure to figure out how to improve. Because triathlon is an individual sport, it’s that much more important for kids to have a team and friends to share the experience.
MEET OUR COACHES
Coach Eric
Head Coach
Coach Eric is a USA Triathlon Level 1 Certified Coach with a specialization in Youth & Junior athletes. A lifelong endurance athlete, Eric has been competing in triathlon and multisport events for over 20 years. He has experience training and racing in all types of triathlons, from sprints through Ironman distance. He represented Team USA in the 2017 ITU Duathlon World Championships in Switzerland. Eric also has deep experience in the single-sport events of triathlon – his competitive background includes high school and age group swimming, marathons, trail running races, cyclocross, bike road races and crits, and lately even some Masters swim meets. Eric’s coaching philosophy is that every athlete can achieve great things if they focus on the fundamentals and commit to overcoming challenges. He believes that the process of relentless self-improvement in training is every bit as important as the outcome of a competition.
Coach Desiree
Team Manager and Assistant Coach
Coach Desiree has decades of experience working with children, teens and young adults. She has held positions as a preschool teacher, tutor, camp counselor, pediatric healthcare provider and college professor. Desiree earned her BS in Bioengineering with a focus in biomechanics from the University of Pittsburgh prior to specialized medical training and earning her Masters in Cardiovascular Perfusion. Desiree's day job involves running a department within a large academic healthcare system and caring for the most critically ill children in the country. But outside the hospital, she most enjoys applying her expertise in anatomy and physiology to promote safe, healthy participation in triathlon. Desiree's intimate knowledge of the musculoskeletal and cardiovascular systems, as well as a deep understanding of child physical and mental development allow her to apply a unique perspective to endurance sports coaching for children and young adults.
