XTERRA Certified Coaches—From Brainstorm to Reality

The idea was born in the early months of 2018 when the XTERRA technical team was planning the inaugural XTERRA Taiwan. The team, led by XTERRA stalwart Nico ‘The Professor’ Lebrun, was brainstorming how to grow the sport in the underdeveloped Asia-Pacific region…and training camps seemed the obvious answer.

There was one big hurdle...how can successful camps be setup without qualified XTERRA Coaches? Who has the ability to transfer both the technical skills required to participate in an XTERRA, as well as XTERRA’s core principles & culture?

Through the guidance and support of Nico and the team, the first XTERRA Certified Coach Camp was scheduled for late 2018, with six potential XTERRA Coaches from the Asia-Pacific Region in attendance.

After the success of the first ‘test’ camp, Nico proposed that XTERRA collectively work on a worldwide project aimed at certifying coaches in all XTERRA World Tour regions. In 2019, XTERRA legend Renata ‘Swiss Miss’ Bucher entered the project during the second certification camp in Kenting and is now managing the project with the support of Nico.

The certification program aims to facilitate & enhance the quality of service delivered by coaches who intend on offering XTERRA specific coaching, as well as help them grow their programs around XTERRA events in their regions. We hope to not only grow the global XTERRA community, but also bring the community closer together. The initiative will provide opportunities for athletes interested in giving XTERRA a try and for those looking to improve on their XTERRA skills, as well as understand the XTERRA Culture and “Live More” spirit. 

Where are we now? More than 30 certified coaches...with many more to come.

Since March 2019 Nico & Renata certified more than 30 coaches in regions spanning The Americas, Europe & Asia-Pacific. The 2019 certified coaches have been meticulously trained & existing coaches carefully handpicked in order to ambassador XTERRA coaching in their regions.

What’s next? How do we find these coaches? I’m a coach, how do I get involved?

XTERRA’s Vice President of Digital & eCommerce Brian Hoven has been hard at work with his team developing the soon-to-be-released coaching section of the XTERRAPlanet.com website. Within this section of the website, individual coach profiles will be showcased, interested parties will easily find a certified coach in their region, and coaches interested in joining the certification program will find all related information on who, what, when, where, why, & how.

*The release of the XTERRAPlanet.com coach section is tentatively slated for the end of November, 2019.