Following is an extract of testimonials from athletes whom I have coached.
Triathlon Coaching
You honestly do typify what triathlon sportsmanship is all about, and I for one hugely appreciated everything you did for us all throughout the week in terms of riding, advice, guidance, support and belief – it really means a lot – CC 2010
I’d like to thank my coach who made it all possible … thanks for your help to coach me for my first ironman and achieving my goals – RT 2009
Training under Tongy’s guidance was a brilliant experience. Having always designed my own training and being wary of coaches having seen many of my friends be given generic weekly plans, coaching with Tongy was amazing. The custom built training was specifically focused on my main race goals for the season and my available training time with work. Having a hard year at work meant my training time was reduced so my plans were adjusted accordingly and regular testing helped keep a track on my progress and allowed my training to be adjusted as required. Despite my heavy work schedule the training worked and I placed 60th in the UK 70.3. I was very pleased to get myself a new 10mile TT cycling PB (by 30seconds) in the summer despite no specific training for this distance/event! SW – 2008
Tongy agreed to coach me in December of 2007 and help me prepare for the world champs in Vancouver in June 2008. I had only been involved in tri for about 8 months and raced 4 times so I was almost a complete beginner. To make matters worse I picked up an ankle injury in December which stopped me running for almost 6 months. It was a very frustrating time for me, but Tongy was amazingly patient and calm which kept me positive throughout.
I used the time to work on my swim which is my weakest discipline. Tongy did some video analysis for me, which I think is the most effective way to correct technical faults as you have visual feedback. I also enjoyed comprehensive swim sets with drills and intervals, which really helped motivate me to get in the pool.
I also did a lot more work on the bike, with some absolute killer turbo sets (take it from me, don’t let him give you an anaerobic threshold set!). I think this had the biggest impact on my times, as the bike is the longest part of the race, so allows the biggest time improvements.
Finally I was able to run with 6 weeks left to the race and I made the most of it with some great track sessions and tempo runs.
Vancouver was a tough race in terrible conditions, but I was thrilled to finish 9th in my Age group (I never expected a top 10 place) with a PB of 2:09:17. Once back from the champs I set my sights on some of the London league races, and continued to be amazed with the improvement in my times. Little things like working on a speedier transition and having race tactics was a great help. I won the London Duathlon (which was my first ever duathlon) and also managed to win the Jekyll and Hyde Park Duathlon despite adding 4 mins to my time by completing an extra lap on the bike course (my coach is not responsible for my lack of counting skills).
All in all it was a truly brilliant season and I can honestly say I would never have achieved those results without some great coaching behind me. This is why I’m staying with Trifocus to see what the next season brings as I set my sights on a few more duathlons (European champs in may 2009) and hopefully triathlon World and European champs in 2010. – PE 2008
Swim Video Analysis
I attended an hour swim clinic with Tongy. He filmed each of us in turn and provided an assessment of techniques. With a group it was more cost effective than a one-on-one session but he gave us each plenty of detailed, personal feedback and has been super helpful in clarifying the flaws I have in my stroke, helping with suggested training/drills even in the weeks following the clinic. – JT 2009
Tongy has been immensely helpful to me, as I have trained for my first sprint triathlon. He has given me some expert guidance and advice – allaying my initial fears that I might not do well, advising me on buying the right equipment, guiding me on training methods and just generally being a great sounding board. I attended a videoed swim session with him which gave me some excellent hints and tips as to how to improve my stroke and swim both faster and more efficiently. It was fascinating to see how I swam and invaluable hearing Tongy’s assessment of what I was doing right – and wrong. I highly recommend him to anyone who wants a knowledgeable, friendly expert to help them improve their performance. – EM 2009
I recently attended the Trifocus swim video analysis and found it to be a very worthwhile session. Even though I am a confident swimmer I have never been very fast! The video revealed several areas which can be worked on to improve my performance. I don’t think I could have got this insight into my problem areas without the video analysis. In addition, the written analysis that Tongy provided was very thorough and I have found it really helpful to have this document to refer back to ahead of each training session to remind myself of the areas to work on and the relevant drills. Overall I’d say this session offers great value for money for anyone looking to improve their swimming. – AS 2009
Andrew Tong | Triathlon coaching 