USA Cycling Hires New BMX Coach
USA Cycling announced late yesterday, that they have retained the services of James Herrera to head up the Elite and U23 BMX Training Camp operations at the Chula Vista Olympic Training Center, under the guidance of BMX Program Director, Mike King. Herrera will also be the Team USA man in the pits at international events the team attends, the first of which, we presume, will be in South Africa next week (though maybe not).
So, who is this James Herrera cat? Well, he has been around the USAC BMX scene since 2006, when the Beijing games were just a spec on the horizon. He worked with then-Olympic hopefuls, Jill Kintner, Mike Day and Donny Robinson in the period before the games (though Greg Romero served as personal coach to Jill and Mike, and German Medina to dR). Since then, through his company, Performance Driven, James has been training cyclists of all stripes (including Tara Llanes, Mike Creed and Tracy Moseley), and tearin up the trails himself, mountain-bike-wise (even has his own profile page on the PowerBar website).
The release (below) said James would be “in charge of the Elite and U23 BMX training camps as well as international team events,” but did not address the status of Sean Dwight, who has been the coach of the Women’s program since last year, and has achieved impressive results with the American girls.
We are anxious to hear more from James and Mike about their plans for world domination in 2012, and hope to bring you an interview with both of them in the future. Welcome back to the fold, James!
The full USAC release follows:
Colorado Springs, Colo. (March 30, 2011) — USA Cycling is pleased to announce the hiring of Performance Driven, led by James Herrera, to lead all elite and U23 BMX training camps as well as international team events under BMX Program Director Mike King.
Herrera, who embarks on his second stint with USA Cycling’s BMX program, will utilize the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif., making use of the campus Supercross BMX track. In 2006, he joined USA Cycling’s BMX program as a coaching consultant to help prepare cyclists for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, when the team earned a silver and two bronze medals.
“I am absolutely thrilled to take on this role for our national team,” Herrera said. “I’ve been involved with the program since 2006, but am looking forward to taking things to the next level, and building upon the strong foundation and success the team displayed at the Beijing games. I strongly believe my education, experience, and existing connection with our athletes will greatly add to our goal of maintaining US dominance in the sport of BMX.”
Herrera is the owner of Performance Driven, which offers coaching to professional and amateur athletes, specifically cyclists of all levels. He also offers fitness advice, team building and leadership training as a consultant, lead trainer and adjunct faculty member at the Center for Creative Leadership.
“Performance Driven and James will be a strong addition to our BMX program. James’ impressive background in exercise physiology and psychology was a key factor as well as his numerous certifications in sports nutrition and strength conditioning,” King said. “James will play a key role in helping develop our soon to be launched BMX coaching program and he will also oversee our private coaches during training camps held at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista.”
Herrera received a Bachelor’s degree in psychology and Master’s degrees in exercise physiology and psychology from the University of Texas-El Paso.
