Adam Duvendeck’s routine today looks a lot different than the one that took him to the Olympics twice, but the same principles drive his success.
The former U.S. track cyclist, now General Manager of Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, says his approach to leadership isn’t far from his approach to training: stay goal-oriented, stay consistent and always do the little things right.
“Olympians always say the Olympics aren’t every four years, they’re every day,” Duvendeck said. “If you do all the little things right, generally, the big thing will happen.”
Duvendeck represented the United States at the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games before pivoting into sports management. In September, he was named General Manager of Dignity Health Sports Park, a multi-use sports complex located in Carson. The sprawling 125-acre campus is home to the LA Galaxy and a long list of other sports facilities including the VELO Sports Center — the nation’s largest indoor velodrome — which will host Olympic and Paralympic cycling events in 2028.
“My goal is to have this place buzzing all the time,” he said. “That already happens on game days, but how can we make sure the campus is completely activated? We also want to bring varied and interesting events to the facility as well, not just soccer.”
That sense of forward motion — of keeping things active and evolving — has defined Duvendeck’s life for decades.
He’s lived in Long Beach since 2006, moving south from his hometown of Santa Barbara to train for the Olympics.
“I needed to move to L.A. to be close to the velodrome,” he said. “When I landed in Long Beach, that sense of community I had growing up in Santa Barbara was revived. I felt that immediately — and I still feel it every day.”
During his Olympic training years, Long Beach served as both a home base and a playground for endurance.
“While I was training for Beijing, we trained in Carson at the velodrome every day,” he said. “We would do our road rides throughout Long Beach and down the coast, down to Huntington or further and back. We also developed a relationship with the strength coach at Cal State Long Beach, that’s where we did all of our strength training. They found a lot of benefit in having these Olympians training side by side with collegiate athletes. It was just a great experience overall.”
Those years shaped how Duvendeck thinks about discipline and wellness today.
“It’s not that you’re training like an Olympian, it’s that you’re showing up for yourself every day,” he said. “Even if you just get up and do a walk around the block or a quick yoga session… it’s that habitual frequency that really makes the difference.”
His definition of health now includes rest as much as exertion.
“Sleep,” he said simply. “I can’t emphasize enough how important recovery is to being sharp and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. What people don’t understand is that the training for those sprint events is all about the quality of the effort. And you can only replicate that intensity again and again if you’ve recovered properly.”
Now, as a father of two young children, Duvendeck finds new meaning in movement.
“My older son just turned four, and as a three-year-old he could ride a two-wheel bike,” he said. “We’ll ride over to Marina Stadium, it’s not a workout for me, but it’s super fun to see him out there, away from the TV. It’s finding ways to integrate your family into being active and modeling that behavior so they hopefully have a healthy relationship with fitness.”
That philosophy extends beyond his home life. As General Manager, Duvendeck is already thinking about how Dignity Health Sports Park can strengthen its connections to the surrounding communities — including Long Beach.
“While we are in Carson, we’re very close,” he said. “Especially to North Long Beach and downtown — you’re 15 minutes away once you hop on the 710 and the 405. I’ve been talking with the city and with local businesses about how the LA Galaxy and the facility can be more intertwined with Long Beach.”
He sees the city’s active culture as the perfect complement to his mission of promoting community wellness.
“Long Beach offers so many opportunities to be out and active,” he said.
“You see people doing yoga at Bluff Park, biking along the beach paths, or hiking at El Dorado Nature Center. There are limitless possibilities here to find that thing that calls to you — whether it’s walking or playing sports. This community really embraces what it means to live an active, beach lifestyle.”
After nearly two decades in Long Beach, Duvendeck said the city still inspires him.
“We’ve really found our community here,” he said. “It’s an amazing city for an active life — and we have the best airport in the area.”