Hector Torres – Head Coach

Hector L Torres holds two Masters degree in Sport & Fitness with a concentration in Sport Leadership and Coaching from the University of Central Florida and a Masters in Health Science in a concentration in Sport Performance from the Rocky Mountain University of Health Professionals.. He volunteered for 10 years as Chair  and Paratriathlon Coordinator for the USA Triathlon Florida/Southeast Region. In Central Florida, he has operated a multi-sport coach business, Tri Peak Athlete, LLC since 2007, and founded the Central Florida Tri Club (Cfl Tri Club) since 2005.

The CFL Tri Club is the largest triathlon club in Central Florida and the most structure club in the nation.  As a triathlon coach, he has guided athletes to completing many of the Ironman events, qualifying athletes for the Age Group Wold Championship  and Paratriathlon World Championships.  He also served as Head Coach for the Paratriathlon Team USA 2012 and High Performance Paratriathlon Coach. Hector understands the commitment and hard work that falls into play to be a strong athlete. He has completed a total of 28 Ironman including the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii.

Hector is also the Head Coach for Special Olympics Team Florida.

Beginning of Triathlon in Special Olympics

In mid-2018, Hector L Torres was approached by Wynne McFarlin, a member of the Central Florida Tri Club, and mentioned that Special Olympics is interested in starting a Pilot Triathlon Program in Florida.

After meeting with Special Olympics, Hector and Wynne began to work on establishing the program and recruiting athletes. Special Olympics reached out to all of their sports and spread the New Triathlon Training Program’s word.

They started with six athletes. Coach Torres assessed all athletes and started training them. It was a vast undertaking, as many of these athletes have different disabilities. Regardless of the task, the job of a coach is to adapt and modify. With four races scheduled for the first season, the program was a success. Every single year the program continues to grow.

Chris Nikic was one of the first athletes in the program. It wasn’t till the end of 2019 and the beginning of March that Chris took his training seriously.

With one step at a time and a team of individuals, Chris completed a non-official 70.3 distance course and complete Ironman Florida.

Hector Torres is very dedicated in his line of work and without hesitation, he is always willing to take on another task. He is the Head Coach of Team Florida and is helping other states implement their program as well.

Credentials

• USA Triathlon Coach Level 3
• USA Cycling Coach Level 2
• USA Swimming Coach
• USA Track and Field Level 1
• USA Weightlifting Level 1
• NEST Advanced Personal Trainer

Some of the achievements of athletes under Hector’s guidance:

Elite & Junior World Championship
• ITU Under 23 World Championships Top 10 finishes

National Championships
• USA Junior Elite Cup Winner – Male

Ironman
• Numerous Age Group winners
• More than 10 Kona qualifiers in the past 5 years

Coaching plans and fees for Hector are outlined after the consultation. You can contact Hector directly with questions or to discuss pricing and plan options.

** Please note that there is a 3 month minimum with all programs. This ensures that there is time to effect change in your training and racing performance. ****

Coaching Philosophy

My Coaching philosophy is based upon the belief and understanding of whom the athlete is as person and the athlete they want to be. The athlete will need to be physically and mentally ready to change their life and begin this journey. Many athletes, when they come to the triathlon sport have to make decisions in changing their lifestyle. The lifestyle of a Triathlete is dedicated, determined, receptive and humble as being a one-man sport.  As a coach, I will set goals with each athlete and a plan to achieve them.

With the latest technology and science, I, the coach will take the athlete to it highest physical level. Although coaching an athlete cannot only be with ‘techno-science’, getting to know the athlete from within is imperative.

Building a relationship of trust with the athlete is fundamental to that athlete’s success. As a coach, I have three golden rules:

1.    Who you are as an athlete and competitor?

2.    Whatever you bring to practice, you will bring on race day?

a.    By achieving peak performance through hard training, I want to develop an athlete with a strong work ethic, and one that enjoys bringing a high level of intensity out to practice every day.  Whatever you bring to practice, it will show on race day.

3.    Do you respect and listen to your body?

a.    Do you know when you need to take a day off?

Using these rules, during training and everyday, the coach can see the athlete’s performance and see who they really are.  My goal as a coach is to emphasize the process of improvement. Teaching the athlete the ‘drive’ they partake in any sport can be exemplified in their daily life.  I believe that taking care of the little things will ultimately take care of the results.

Part of my role as a mentor is to teach each athlete that in helping others, they help themselves.  As a coach my duty is to rebuild a foundation for success, making the athlete aware of whom they are and seeking their potential from within. When the athlete describes winning, it all comes down to race day: At the end of the race, if you have learned something NEW, then you have WON the race!