Coaching Masters Athletes

This course helps coaches understand the physiology, motivation, and mindset of masters athletes to help them stay competitive at any age.

USA Cycling Course: Coaching Junior Athletes, a new cycling CEU course from Fast Talk Labs
Dede Griesbauer photo used from The Craft of Coaching with Joe Friel

Helping athletes stay competitive and fulfilled as they age requires more than adapting workouts—it demands a deeper understanding of physiology, motivation, and mindset.

This course, “Coaching Masters Athletes,” shows even veteran coaches the best ways to adjust training for masters athletes. This course details how to adjust training plans, workout intensity and recovery timing, how to help aging athletes stay healthy, and other considerations of their athletic journey.

Featuring science-backed insights and real-world stories from legends like Joe Friel and Cathy Utzschneider, this course will show how to coach masters athletes with clarity and confidence. You’ll master how to:

  • Adapt training to age-related changes in VO2max, muscle mass, and recovery needs while maintaining high performance.
  • Implement smart, sustainable strategies—including strength training, intensity, and recovery blocks—that prevent decline and support long-term athletic goals.
  • Recognize and respond to shifts in motivation, helping athletes redefine performance, stay consistent, and find personal meaning in their goals.
  • Use practical coaching tactics—from setting meaningful, value-based goals to navigating setbacks and reinvention—to keep masters athletes engaged and progressing.

This course teaches you the tools and strategies to help athletes in their 40s, 50s, 60s, and beyond stay competitive, healthy, and inspired. Coach for longevity. Support reinvention. Help athletes love the ride—at every age.

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How to Enroll

All USA Cycling courses are offered exclusively through USA Cycling’s online learning management system at learn.usacycling.org.

Questions? Contact Suzy Sanchez, Director of DEI and Membership Programs, at ssanchez@usacycling.org.