Queens University Triathlon: Six Insights from the Best Collegiate Tri Team in America

The Queens University Royals are the reigning USAT Collegiate Club National Champions, five years undefeated in the mixed team relay, hold six NCAA division championship titles, and have produced 13 professional triathletes and four Olympians. With a double program of an NCAA women’s team and a collegiate men’s team, the team’s success and opportunity has attracted triathlon talent from across the planet with 17 nationalities represented on this year’s squad of 40 athletes. Here are six triathlon training insights from head coach Sonni Dyer on why his team is so successful. 

Dyer says they live one training philosophy: “more is not better; better is better.” Especially when it comes to swim training, Dyer says he doesn’t believe in “super high volume”. The team averages 4-4.5km per swim, six days a week, consisting of three hard swims, a recovery swim, and aerobic technique focused swims. They also share a pool with the Queens University championship-winning swim team, so they have access to swim experts for additional stroke correction, video analysis, and on-deck coaching. The same mentality applies to cycling and running.

Dyer says recovery is fundamental, especially since his athletes are full-time students and not teenagers anymore. “There are no more 20% jumps, it’s 2% jumps,” Dyer says, listing recovery strategies that include sleep, nutrition, and using compression technology. With training, school, and other big changes such as eating in the cafeteria and living on their own for the first time, Dyer emphasizes that recovery needs to be at the top of the list. 

Freshman in Dyer’s program are often “surprised by how constant the grind is”. The constant training throughout the entire year means learning how to process good days and bad days, and, as Dyer says, “That’s part of the process.” With training, racing, classes, and exams, Dyer says his role as a coach is to help an athlete figure out the best way to respond to those realities. He also points out that they sprinkled the year with breaks instead of taking one longer break at the end of the season. Not only does that account for the necessities of classes and exams, but it helps maintain the health and progression of an athlete throughout the structure of the collegiate race calendar. 

Coaches are often expected to motivate their athletes, but Dyer denies that role. Instead, Dyer structures his program to empower athletes, exposing athletes to new ways of thinking, new skills, for training and even outside of sport. “It’s really about seeing the moment where they take ownership of their own training. As a coach, I should not have to push or motivate anyone. What I should have to do is hold them back. I’ve seen in the past, if I have to push or motivate anyone to do the training, this isn’t the place for them.” 

Having a big picture view is a mentality that Dyer instills in his athletes. Athletes coming into Dyer’s program are often “hyper-focused” on results but Dyer stresses that all athletes need to have a wider perspective on their athletic career development. He notes the success of many athletes who turned professional or competed at the Olympics only after leaving Queens. “It’s not happening tomorrow, period. Get over the fact that when you’re 18 years old you think at age 20 you’re going to be a professional triathlete. It’s not going to happen that way. You’re going to be 25-26 and hopefully as you become a professional triathlete later you have national championship rings on your hand, and you have a degree. We really show them the 10,000-foot view.”

Dyer’s program at Queens University is known throughout the world as a triathlon hotspot for U23 development. He stresses that the success of the program hinges on a having a "team-first mentality”. While it’s an adjustment for most freshman who are used to functioning as an individual athlete, the team mentality underpins the entire structure of Dyer’s program from daily training to race strategy. “We really succeed because of togetherness and getting everybody on the same page and pushing together. It’s not about me; it’s about what they do to be better together. Talent wins races, teams win titles.”