Host Dirk Friel sits down with Jim Miller, Chief of Sports Performance at USA Cycling and the most decorated cycling coach in U.S. history. They dive deep into Jim’s unparalleled coaching journey—from collegiate racing days in Colorado to guiding athletes like Keegan Swenson and Kristin Armstrong to Olympic and World Championship podiums.
Jim shares insights on the delicate balance of science and art in coaching, the critical importance of an authentic athlete-coach connection, and how personal drive and learning from failure have fueled both his career and the athletes he coaches.
Whether you’re an aspiring athlete, a coach searching for inspiration, or someone fascinated by the human side of high performance, this episode delivers candid stories, practical takeaways, and the kind of wisdom that only comes from decades at the top of the sport.
Standout Quotes
The Importance of Communication in Coaching: “If their name pops up on your iPhone and you dread that, that’s the wrong coach, even if they’re an awesome coach. If their name pops up and you answer in one ring, that’s the coach you want.”
“You can’t ignore the science because it’s fact. You can’t ignore the art because that’s emotion, that’s personality, that’s people. And then you have to have both.”
THE ART AND SCIENCE OF COACHING
Optimizing Race Week Performance: “I think I think that’s one of the first things I’d start doing with riders is getting the entire week protocol together. So what what what do we do this week for race days? What does it look like? And it goes back to even the weekend before Monday. So you know on Monday what rested should feel like. You know on Tuesday what opening up should feel like. You know, on Wednesday, what more work feels like or less work feels like. So you can literally tell me, like, I feel like tomorrow, I need less work. Or I feel like tomorrow I need to do more work because I didn’t feel opened up today.
So I’m all about the protocols. As many t’s you can cross and i’s you can dot with that, I do. I don’t wanna guess about anything. Just, like we know exactly what we’re doing.”
“There’s no point in testing if you’re not gonna create an action out of it.”
The Power of Testing in Athlete Development
