Learning to run Fast

Loren Seagrave added me as a friend on facebook today which prompted me to seek him out on google. I found this read on speed development. I the following quote interesting and partially true.

The point? It does not matter how strong one is, no strength would help to do that skill faster or better. So strength is not the key. Speed is a skill: just like any other skill, it can be improved. Any coach can make you tired - but that is not the purpose of training for speed; the purpose is to become faster! A coach must apply a systematic approach to improvement. There is also a profound difference between coaching and training.

I love this one

Stride Length

Take a young Costa Rican sprinter and say, "Run with long strides for coaches." She would probably exaggerate her strides to please the command of the coach. She would increase her actual SL from the toe of the right foot at takeoff(t.o.) to the toe of the left foot at touchdown(t.d.). This is the simplistic concept many athletes have of stride length. But SL is better understood in relation to the athlete's Center of Gravity (COG), and the distance the COG travels from t.o. to t.d. is used to figure the actual SL.

Breaux Greer has found something else he's good at.....

Mr. Greer has not only established himself as the greatest Javelin thrower in  American history, he has quit possibly begun to dominate another arena.....

How to Throw Shot Put

This is something that my athletes and I put together last year. I'll have to work with my athletes this year to create something similar that looks much better.

How to Throw Discus

I haven't seen this video for a few years to be honest. I wonder just how much my thoughts on Disc have changed. 

Directional Blogging and Foundations of Sport and Exercise Psychology

Last night as I was reading up on PST (Psychological skills training) it struck me the drastic turn that my blog has taken. As a result I am considering creating another blog where I will be able to post video's for my athletes to view. This should allow me to continue to focus of this blog which is to foster a discussion about track and field and the theory and science involved. That being said, on to today's topic.

The Psychology of Sport

During my undergrad and collegiate career I can distinctly recall two times where my arousal level exceeded the point where it could effectively assist me in competing. Once was my freshman year at BHSU in the conference pent. The other time was my sophomore year in the pent at conference. Coincidentally each time occurred in a high pressure situation. In one situation the pressure to preform was applied by an external source and in the other the pressure to preform came from within. Each time the over-arousal inhibited performance.

We can all agree that there needs to be a rise in arousal level when competing. It seems almost natural to "get up for the game" or to "get pumped up." Yet, as coaches, we fail to offer to our athletes the information or techniques to properly moderate themselves.

Psychological factors account primarily for day-to-day performance fluctuations.

I love this statement. There have been a number of times that I have had athletes finish a practice and known this fact. I have, until now however, been unable to put it into words. The chapter I read through lists a number of letdowns or mistakes.

• You walked off a playing field in disgust after losing a game you felt you should have won.
• You choked at a critical point in a competition.
• You felt depressed because you weren't recovering quickly enough from an injury.
• You lacked the desire or motivation to exercise.
• Your mind wandered during a competition.
• You became angry and frustrated with your performance and put yourself down.

Thinking About Track

I have encouraged my athletes over and over again to "think about track." What I have failed to do is explain what I mean and what exactly I am asking. Mental rehearsal is nearly as important as the act of practicing the movement itself. Mental rehearsal can be beneficial in the following ways.

• It allows innumerable repetitions.
• Requires no special setting
• Allows the athlete to isolate and focus on important factors (knee drive, relaxation, perfect posture)
• Allows the athlete to experience heightened arousal levels and allows them to be more aware of the physical changes to the body (faster heart beat, increased adrenaline.)

As a result I would like my athletes to simulate the major points of emphasis from practice. They can visualize perfect form without experiencing the negative externalities experienced during practice such as cold, loss of balance, etc. The five areas that I find potentially useful for athletes are the following.

• Arousal regulation
• Imagery (mental preparation)
• Confidence building
• Increasing motivation and commitment (goal setting)
• Attention or concentration skills (self-talk, mental plans)

Three Phases of PST Programs

As a result there are three phases of PST programs. The education phase, the acquisition phase and the practice phase. Each phase is different and necessary. As of today I will be introducing the education phase. As a result I am hoping that my athletes will become self-aware. As humans we tend not to realize that we are missing something until some one points it out.

The Education Phase

Because many sport participants are unfamiliar with how mental skills can enhance performance, the first phase of many PST program is educational. In the education p hase participants quickly recognize how important it is to acquire PST and how the skills affect performance.

The Acquisition Phase

The acquisition phase focuses on strategies and techiniques for learning the different psychological skills. Both formal and informal meetings are devoted to the learning of these skills.

The Practice Phase

The practice phase has three primary objectives: (a) to automate skills through overlearning; (b) to teach people to sytematically integrate psychological skills into their performance situations; abnd (c) to simulate skills you will want to apply in actual competion.

This completes my thoughts for the day as I need to go and deal with a long jump approach right now. Have a great day and post any thoughts you might have pertaining to the subject or not.

Multi Eventers trying to vault

This is for the multi kids that I'm trying to teach to vault. Just look at the videos below, over and over and over. These three are all I have at the moment. I'll have more when I get back from coaching shot put.

Pole Vaulting 12.1.08

Yesterday we again vaulted from six steps. This time, however, we attempted to begin bending the pole. I think that we got a few things figured out and I'm including video from the vaulting yesterday so that Roy and Dave can take a look at some of the things that we discussed during practice. I've choosen to slow down the video because I know how difficult it can be to catch things with google video as it goes by quickly. Let me know if slowing the videos down helps catching the quicker movements.

Roy Mossy

Roy, please take a look at the position of your hands just before you reach your last step. They are completely extended even before you can get your last step down. Instead I'd rather that you step and punch into the pole at the same time. It's very difficult to load the pole correctly if you run into it with your arms already extended. When going through some of your video I thought that it might have been a problem that occured later in practice when we moved up poles however if you look at the above video you are on the rocket which indicates that the size of the pole that you are on is allowing you to still bend the pole. I'm including another video below on a larger pole and you can see the adverse effect of your arm position. Had we stepped into the pole you would have been able to bend it and get around it.

David Lane

Dave, a few things. Body position at plant should be taller. Furthermore I see the same problem that Roy is having in the timing of your actual plant. It should occur roughly in concert with the planting of the last step. Otherwise not too much. Just take a look at this jump over and over a few times and think about the things that you're seeing and what we are trying to do in practice. This is a small pole and you should be penetrating deep into the pit. If you stop the pole from rolling by either pushing away from it or stopping it with your left arm you won't get where you want to.

Moving the High Point

This past Monday Don Wang and I attempted to move his low point off of his right hip around to the back more. The following are videos that show what we attempted to do.

1 Turn 10-2-08

This is a video that we shot on the 2nd of October earlier this year. This is about 3 weeks after we began working on weight.

1 Turn 11-24-08

This video shows how Don is winding low and back on his right side. Because of that his high point isn't in the front of the ring at all more so at about 30-40 degrees. This explains the lack of balance and the inability to accelerate the ball. Once we focused on getting the low point back to 345-350 Don was able to move the ball around rather than attempting to maintain his balance.

3 Turn with Weight

This is a 3 turn with the weight again focusing on balance.  We need to spend some more time just working to smooth out the turns so Don can get into position to properly accelerate the ball.

3 Turn with Short Hammer

This is three turns where Don focuses on staying balanced. He's also working on keeping his low point in the back of the ring some where around 345 degrees if 0 is the direct back of the ring and the front is 180 degrees.

Throwing Hammer

I'm including this footage so that my athletes can take a look at themselves and so I can share it with other coaches who I am discussing technique with. Again comments are welcome and I'll post more thoughts as I process what I'm seeing in practice further.

Me - this is my first attempt at throwing the hammer

Ed Robson

It's a Straight Pole Party!

Some of my vaulters requested that I post some video of their vaulting in practice. Rather than just upload it to google I've also decided to post it here on one page so that the video's will be easier to access.  Feel free to comment! I'll be posting more video in the future.

Paulina Belsky

Roy Mossy

Ashley Flint


James Dean




Dave Lane

High Jumping with Katie

This morning I had a high jump workout with one of my multi eventers Katie. We took a few jumps from six steps and then we did some full approach work over cones. Our emphasis was on maintaining lean and developing rotation around the bar. We struggled with that all morning long. After taking a good look at the footage that we shot I think that I've come up with a simple solution or answer to our question. If you will consider the two videos below you should see two very different things.

1. Consider the knee of each jumper. You will see that the male jumpers knee lifts to the 90 degree position and stays there allowing the hips to rotate above the head causing the center of gravity to pass below the actual height of the bar.
2. The female jumper continually drops the knee which allows her to jump on the height that she can lift her hips to.

Katie Sheehan

Brad Pruente

In this video you can see that similar to Katie, Brad drops his knee as the rest of this body rotates flat over the bar. Had me maintained his knee positioning even slightly more so he would have continued his bodies rotation around the bar allowing him to pass over this height. This is something that I see over and over again at High School meets.

OR

The 5's Revisited

I realize that I had an earlier post on this but I was reading through a book today and I thought that it would be appropriate to revisit them.

Suppleness - or flexibility; is the range of moement at a joint

Strength: is the ability of a muscle to exert force against a resistance

1. Isometric contractions: occur when isufficient tension is produced to move a resistance. No joint movement occurs.
2. Isotonic contraction: occur when sufficient tension is produced within a muscle group to overcome a resistance. Joint movemtn occurs.
3. Strength Endurance: the ability of a muscle to maintain its contractile force over a period of time. Load 50-75% of macimum for 10-15 or more repititions.
   
4. Power speed:  is the masimum force a muscle can exert over a short period of time. Load 75-90% for 6-10 repetitions.
   
5. Special Strength: involves a comp9onent of power using jumpin exercises such as depth jumping, boxes hurdles, combined jumps. Special STrength is gained through "plyometrics" with the emphasis on the muscles' eccentric contraction.
   
6. Maximum Strength: involves optimal muscle strength at a low velocity. Load 90-100% of maximum for 1-4 repitions.
   

Speed: is running at 95-100% maximum up to 60m or 6 sec (anerobic alactic).

Stamina or Endurance: is divided into anaerobic and aerobic components.

The Conjugate Sequence System of Periodization

This is a great read on the typical western thought on periodization vs the eastern bloc-soviet model.

Most periodized training programs for athletes follow a Western or linear model. The Western model manipulates intensity and volume through different mesocycles during the training year (i.e. endurance, hypertrophy, power, strength, and maintenance) (6). However, there is more production when one skillfully combines various training methods, rather than exclusively training one of them separately in a yearly plan (15). One such method we use for our throwers at Louisiana Tech University is the Conjugate Sequence System (CSS).

The CSS follows what Bompa details in his book very closely. I think I've done my fair share of preaching along these lines but one line in this article caught my eye.

The system simultaneously trains all necessary motor abilities with a constant renewal and re-establishing process, that promotes a steady and permanent adaptation while securing the desired training-effect, hence elevating an athletes functional potential (12).

I couldn't have said it better myself...

http://www.elitefts.com/documents/strength_considerations_for_throwers.htm

Throwers Summit

Well it seems that the effect of the Reno Pole Vault Summit has finally had its trickle down effect on the throwing community. There will be a throwing summit in California on the 3-4 of January. http://www.nationalthrowssummit.com/ The speakers featured at this summit look great and it will be a great chance for the US to advance in the throws.

Bruce Lee - An Excellent Argument for Speed Development

It didn't strike me until moments ago while I was reading an article on Bruce Lee just how much the essence of speed can be trained. During my undergrad years Lucky Huber would constantly say, "To be fast we have to train fast! If we want to run fast we have to run fast!" I always just shook my head and did as he said. Internally I questioned his method for speed development.

This evening, however, a light came on. If Bruce Lee could train his body to do some of the things I've listed below, why can't we train our athletes to move their legs more quickly? It seems obvious to me that the CNS has to be trained to fire the muscles quickly. Steve our strength coach was telling me the other day about how the Snatch is a lift that is focused not on the ammount of weight that is moved but rather the speed at which the weight can be moved. This in turn led me to search the internet questioning what I know about the purpose of  the snatch and the role it must play in developing increadibly explosive athletes.

If He Could Why Can't We?

God didn't create Bruce Lee as the fastest person ever. He was endowed with certain gifts. Lee put in the work to do the amazing things that he did. I guess we do have to run fast to run fast....

• Lee's striking speed from three feet with his hands down by his side reached five hundredths of a second.^[50]
• Lee's combat movements were at times too fast to be captured on film at 24 frames per second, so many scenes were shot in 32fps to put Lee in slow motion. Normally martial arts films are sped up.^[51][52][53]
• In a speed demonstration, Lee could snatch a dime off a person's open palm before they could close it, and leave a penny behind.^[54]
• Lee could perform push ups using only his thumbs^[42][49]
• Lee would hold an elevated v-sit position for 30 minutes or longer.^[48]
• Lee could throw grains of rice up into the air and then catch them in mid-flight using chopsticks.^[42]
• Lee performed one-hand push-ups using only the thumb and index finger^{[49][55][42][49]}
• Lee performed 50 reps of one-arm chin-ups.^[56]
• Lee could break wooden boards 6 inches (15 cm) thick.^[57]
• Lee could cause a 300-lb (136 kg) bag to fly towards and thump the ceiling with a side kick.^[49]
• Lee performed a side kick while training with James Coburn and broke a 150-lb (68 kg) punching bag^[48][58]
• In a move that has been dubbed "Dragon Flag", Lee could perform leg lifts with only his shoulder blades resting on the edge of a bench and suspend his legs and torso perfectly horizontal midair.^[59]

Knowing it All

For the past few days, almost a full week now, I've been slogging through Running with the Buffaloes. Originally I had choosen the title of the book as the title for this blog but as I began to write it became apparent to me that I was addressing some thing much more important than just this book.

Every year I meet more and more track coaches and as I do I become accutely aware of our differences. There are distance coaches, throw coaches, high jump coaches, hurdle coaches, vault coaches, assistant coaches and head coaches. Each coach seems to want to know or understand "their" event. It seems to me that to be good coaches we must understand our sport in its entireity. In my mind that may be as simple as knowing competitive times in each event. It would be even better to have a strong understanding of the technical aspects of each event. I'm including distance running in this thought process today because I consider that to be my weak point. 

I understand the concepts (you have to run a lot to be good at running a long ways) but I am struggling with what I believe about training distance runners. There is of course the thoughts and techniques that Arthur Lydiard meted out during the 1950's. Since that time Jack Daniels has published this thoughts on the matter. The LetsRun.com crowd has continually called for a return to Lydiard principles which involve higher milage and lower intensity over long periods of time. Tudor Bompa comments in his book that distance runners develop their capacity for work over years rather than months and weeks. This goes along with what Lydiard preached. In contrast to all of this american coaches have become, according to lets run and Running with the Buffaloes, interval junkies.

In closing I believe it's important to know the sport as a whole, which means coming to grips with and forming my own beliefs about training distance runners.

Power Lifting vs Olympic Lifting and Track and Field

Last night it occurred to me that I've been struggling this whole year with a way to reconcile my thoughts or maybe more specifically my needs as a coach for kids with strength. Currently my throwers lift very aggressively in the Olympic fashion. Before I get to far into this thought I'm going to make some definitions.

1.  Olympic lifting is defined or limited to: Clean, Jerk and Snatch
2. Olympic lifting is about moving weight quickly and efficiently.
3. The math suggests the Olympic lifters are able to do more "work" than power lifters.

1. Power lifting emphasizes lifting immense ammounts of weight but not moving the weight quickly.
2. Unlike the Olympic lifts, bench press and arms are all parts of being a good power lifter.

What I need from my lifters is:

1. an increase in explosiveness (Olympic Lifting serves me well here)
2. an increase in muscle mass and general strength.

I am left to the only possible conclusion possible. My lifters must focus more on gaining mass and strength, thus creating increased stability as their core muscles grow in strength. One of the things that is continually pointed out to me by our strength coach is that small Olympic lifters are able to move immense ammounts of weight very quickly. I have, however, yet to have seen a successful thrower who is physically small but still explosive. If this were the case I would seek out our successful sprinters and recruit them to throw for me.

Explosive or Strong?

I need to explain something quickly. I am currently working with  athletes that are roughly 200 lbs and aout 6' tall. Most great throwers are 6'3" or taller and weigh 255 or more. These athletes are still quick and explosive but they are also increadibly strong. I wouldn't be surprised to have an athlete bench over 300 lbs. I need that general strength  and weight to counter act the 35 lb weight and to control the 16 lb shot put.

My Reccommendations

The Olympic lifts are a great tool. I love them, early in the season however I'm going to have my athletes focus on gaining strength and mass. As we progress through the cycles I am going to emphasize Olympic lifts more and more. To be concise, throwers, unless already increadibly strong, need to develop the necessary strength and mass through power lifting and then fine tune their bodies with explosive Olympic lifting late in the season.

UAA's

UAA Conference at Emory University. This was a well run meet and great video put together by one of my athletes, Stephan Beehler.

Emory Cross Country-2008 UAA Championship from Stephen Beehler on Vimeo

1978 European Championships Hammer Throw Analysis

Great Analysis of the 1978 European Championships.

The Fives

Speed, Strength, Skill, Stamina and Suppleness. Each of these categories need to be addressed when considering the training and periodization for athletes. In my most recent discussion with fellow coach, Mary Stoll, we discussed these five aspects. As I was reading through what Dan Pfaff had to say today I realized that I share his philosophy about coaching.

A Point of Emphasis

The point that Mary and I struck on during our conversation was how do you decide what out of the five categories gets the most attention? Obviously skill acquisition is a big one but more importantly you have to examine your athletes to determine where they are weakest. This is the easiest way to determine what your focus for each training cycle should be. Early in the year my focus will be on skill acquisition and strength/power. I then might move toward the acquisition of Stamina. Later in the year the focus of my cycle will move to Speed and Suppleness. The important thing to understand is that at no time during the year am I disregarding any one of the five different categories. I am merely changing my emphasis.

Paul Brozik - A Case Study

Earlier I blogged about learning to sprint. If we apply the principles of training each of the five categories we realize that sprint technique falls under the Skill category. I have been guilty of over looking and disregarding these different aspects as a coach and looking back I realize how important it is to include all five. For example, when discussing the explanation for Paul Broziks apparent improvement in long jump from 24' to a State and School record 25'2", Colte Haines made the comment that Paul credited his diverse training as a decathlete to his success. In the years prior Paul trained as a jumper. The difference in the volume and intensity of the workouts in previous years was substantial. Stair runs were replaced with intense interval training sessions supplimented with heavier lifts. In years prior Paul would have never run more than 150m in a workout, in the year where he experienced the dramatic increase in his long jump his workouts were often comprised of a mix of distances from 600m on down.

I can only surmise from this that Paul derived an overall increase in ability because of the increased attention to other aspects required to be a successful decathlete. It is likely that the increased attention to Strength and Stamina enabled him to jump farther. I will try to get the video of his 25'2" jump at Kansas up.

The Canadian Athletics Coaching Centre

This is a good resource for coaches of any level. Many different articles are included on the various events in track. As I read through them I'll add commentary on those that I find most helpful.

The Canadian Athletics Coaching Center

Dan Pfaff on Carl Lewis

It wasn't until last year that I was introduced to Dan Pfaff. I have undoubtedly been intrigued by this man and have become quite interested in what he has had to say about the sport of Track and Field. I was lucky enough to hear him speak in Ames Iowa last year at a track clinic. I wasn't blown away by everything that he had to say but I was struck by the way that he said things. I've added a clip on Dan below and included an article on his analysis of Carl Lewis.

Visit Flotrack For More Videos

Dan on Carl

High Jump Rotation

I'm tired of hearing high school coaches, and coaches in general telling their athletes to pull their chin back to their chest to get their legs over the high jump bar. Consult the picture below. Please tell them to keep their head back and to shorten their lower body by drawing their heels together and pushing their knees out.

Runway Mechanics....

These two videos involve two different jumpers of differing abilities. The top video is Colte Haines. In this video he jumps over 23'. In the other video you see John Shubeck jump just over 19'. There are differences in the dynamics of their approaches. Notice the difference in position at the board of each jumper. These are the questions that these video's prompt in myself.

1. How do we break up the long jump runway into differing phases and how then do we teach each phase?

2. Obviously natural ability is a determining factor but how do we maximize speed at the board and how do we train athletes to harness this thus developing bigger jumps?

3. What coaching marks or checks should we use to develop and track changes in runway approach and what things should we see based on these checks or marks? Below these videos I discuss some of these issues.



Developing speed

Each athlete is blessed with a certain ability to apply force to the track and a certain ability to move their limbs at a certain speed. How then do we make athletes faster? First of all this is something that I think all coaches struggle with. In my opinion the easiest thing that we can do is to make them better runners. This is done through teaching with mach drills (see post below). Beyond this we need to develop power through lifting and beyond that explosiveness, through lifting again and plyometrics.

Learning the Runway

The approach in long jump is slightly more than beginning from a standing start and running to the board and jumping. There is a push phase where the athlete stays in a drive position developing speed, then a transition phase where the athlete moves into a body position to jump and a prepatory phase where the athlete maintains this speed but prepares their body to leave the board. This involves the penultimate step and then the transfer into the drive phase off the board and into the air.

We must determine a method or progression to teach the body awareness to progress through each phase properly while developing and harnessing maximal velocity through the take off board.

A Season of Progression

In order to teach and emphasize the differing aspects of the approach and the jump it is prudent to teach through a progression and steady lengthening of the approach. Athletes will be concerned because they will not be able to jump as far from a short approach, because of this it is important as a coach to make it clear to the athlete the purpose of jumping from a much shorter distance. The reduction in distance traveled on the runway reduces potential variables in the approach allowing the athlete to jump under better control developing vital body awareness which once coupled with a long approach will allow the athlete to inevitably jump farther in a more consistent and controlled manner.

Coaches should spend time in practice focusing on the varying aspects of the jump, developing skills that will allow the jumper to apply them to the runway during a meet. For example a coach may break the last 4 steps of the jump down enough that athletes may come from a very short six step approach while focusing on learning the specific body posture during the last four steps. By eliminating other variables the coach allows the athlete to focus on the skill that is being acquired. Similarly the coach may spend a specific practice developing the drive phase of the jump where the athlete attempts to hit tape marks on the runway while maintaining correct body posture. Is important to identify where athletes need improvement while not ignoring the fact that the athlete can and should progress and focus on all areas of the jump rather than becoming fixated on the areas where they may struggle.

A good coach will apply the idea of a progression to all of their jumps, including Triple Jump and High Jump.

Winning Conference Championships

How do different teams go about winning conference championships? When I first began running track competitively way back in 7th grade I understood that the last track meet of the year was the most important one. The conference meet was the only meet that was scored. We won our conference meets both in 7th and in 8th grade. Of course in high  school I was welcomed onto a team with only two other members. There would be no region championships. However, after endless conversations and persistant pleading I left my high school with a track team that boasted nearly 35 members.

My first year in college I was lucky enough to be able to compete for Jerry Schafer at SDSM&T in Rapid City, SD. We never really competed for a conference championship. We didn't have the numbers, we had the quality but no numbers. When I transfered to USD I did so because I wanted to compete for a conference championship. I made the assumption that was exactly what we would be doing. I was wrong. In our first conference meet we dealt with a very formidable NDSU team that defeated us at our place. This was to be the tune that I would dance to while NDSU remained in our conference. This was the first time when I began to question what it took to win a conference championship.

I first looked at the record books and found some solace in the fact that while NDSU typically gave us a good lashing at our conference meet, we (USD) managed to finish higher than them at the national meet. This again peaked my interest, what were they doing differently than us at the conference level? I'm going to attempt to take a stab at this here.

1. Numbers - you can't compete at a conference meet unless you have numbers. You still need high level athletes that can win their event and multiple events (I believe this explains the paradox of losing conference and finishing higher at nationals.) but you also need mid-level athletes to take those places 3-7. A great example of this can be seen on the womens side at USD where there is depth in a lot of the events but maybe only one girl going to nationals. On the mens side at the same time you would have seen the one person in the event place at nationals but remain the only person in the event at conference.

2. Mid-Level Athletes - I'm making this a sub point because it's a requirement. You have to score up and down the charts, not just 1 and 2.

3. Strength Across the Board - You can't be a one dimmensional team. Right away there exeptions this rule; Colorado for example this past year, I would, however, argue that it was the athletest outside of their distance program who put them over the top. If they had only their distance team they still would have come up short in their pursuit of a conference championship.

4. Strategy - Unless you are loaded the conference meet is one where strategy is very important. Maybe you conference allows unlimited entry's or only scores through six (some one please explain the logic behind this last one). Either way you have to decide where your athletes can effectively score the most points. I'm going to tie this one into recruiting as well - see below.

5. Recruiting to Win - I think I've seen this enough times to not have to mention it but here it is. Recruit where your conference is weak. I don't care if you hate coaching the vault or aren't fond of the throws. These two spots are typically places where decent athletes can make the difference. A distance heavy program sprinkled with a few field events could be very hard on the rest of your conference in terms of taking points away.

What it all comes down to, I think, is recruiting. Winning is typically an easy sell and convincing kids that they are a necessary component is an even easier sell. Title IX can get in the way on the mens side but in another post I'll discuss different ways that various programs get around this. Some day, Some where some one will figure out that there is no comparable sport on the female side to football and stop counting it against men's athletics. My next post will deal with runway and takeoff mechanics for long and triple jump. I'm still hashing out my thoughts about that.

Sprinting and Stage Training

I've been struggling with this one for a long time. As an athlete in college I was more than perplexed by the different movements that we did each day during fall track. Why were we wasting our time learning these stupid A and B skips? What was the purpose of learning Anklings? What struck me the most was that we weren't getting into shape. Practices were low in intensity and high in volume (as far as pillar, sprint drills stretching and abs were concerned). It wasn't 'till this past year as I was reading through Tudor Bompa's book that I realized that we were engaging in what was called stage training. Bompa writesin chapter three of his book that "the longer the duration of the first phase the better the performance is in the next one. IN the first phase a high volume of training with moderate intensity should prevail...the broader and stronger the G.P.P. (General Physical Preparation) the  higher the level of biomotor abilites that may be reaced."

We were taking our precious time learning how to run. The component approach to running falls into the Principle of Multilateral Development which Bompa covers in the 2nd chapter of his book. He writes, "Specialization is not a unilateral process but rather a complex one which is based on a solid groundwork of multilateral development." There are two principles involved in the development of sprinters here:

1.exercises from the specialized sport (sprinting) that  parallel or mimic the movement requirements of sprinting.

2. exercises utilized to develop biomotor abilities, i.e. med ball throws, plyometrics, warm up drills, etc.

Mach drills, as sprinting drills are called began in the late 70s with the Russian and Eastern Bloc countries. Of course the idea is to mimic the movements that occur during proper running in a very controlled and focused manner. This allows that athlete to recruit and develop the CNS to develop the neural pathways in such a manner so that the motion becomes the primary message sent to the muscles when running.

We focused on things like negative foot speed which means that at some point during the sprint cycle the heel and the foot move rapidly backwards in relation to the track.  I think the most important thing that I was able to derive from this stage training was the ability to efficiently push my hips down the track. This has served me and many of my athletes in every event. You can of course now understand the benefits of developing the skills necessary to sprint. Before running your kids into the ground with difficult interval workouts do them a service and teach them to sprint....

Becoming an Athlete

It is my full intention to chronicle my thoughts here as I develop as a track coach. There will be very little personal revelation only my thoughts on developing young men and women into athletes.

Sprinting

I was recently home in Vermillion, SD from Dakota Days which is our home coming. I attended our home cross country meet and was even able to again drive the gator as the chase

 vehicle during the 3k alumni race. Towards the end of my visit I had a chance to again  talk with my friends and fellow coaches, Sam Pribyl (Pole Vault - 17'9" pr) and Mary Stoll (Mid-Distance, 800 - 2:10 pr). 

We were all in Mary's trailer and we were discussing my plans for training my pole vaulters. I was discussing the fact that I was hoping in this next phase to introduce resistance and overspeed to my athletes when Mary made the comment that it was a little early in the season to be introducing overspeed. Initially I was sort of shocked but then she made this comment. "Do they even know how to run correctly? How can they benefit from overspeed if their mechanics aren't even solid?" 

That was a slap in my face. I hadn't even considered how important introducing proper running mechanics could be. Had I really been guiding my kids in the wrong direction? More than likely not but I had missed a key concept that had been pounded into my head for the past seven years. Running Mechanics.

In essence I believe that every runner can improve their mechanics. In this case it is likely that any overspeed training would exaggerate any mechanical problems my athletes have rather than stimulate the CNS (central nervous system) and recruiting neural pathways to teach the correct firing of recruited muscles during full speed sprinting. More plainly, I would be doing more harm than good.

As a result I have gone back to the drawing board and I plan to introduce drills such as Tennesse Tape (adapted from sprint drills by Gary Winkler) and Stick and Shift Drills to teach the proper stride cadence and pattern for acceleration. It is important to establish this stride pattern so that athletes generate optimal power and avoid over striding.

Becoming an Athlete

The other thing that has dominated my thoughts of late has been the concept of creating athletes.

  Many coaches believe that they have to teach their kids to be technically sound while ignoring the fundamental ability to move their bodies correctly. It is no wonder that so many coaches have such a hard time getting their athletes to perform the complex movements in their events. These athletes do not have the proper skills to perform even the most simple of movements!

 I have found with both my throwers and my vaulters that many of these kids are not athletic. When I say that I mean to say that they are not able to recruit their limbs and their body as a whole to perform the actions required of their event. I have a thrower who is unable to skip for example. While at first this might seem simply humorous it is in fact deeply troubling. The movements required to accelerate the shot put and weight are infinately more complex than skipping. From the beginning of the year I have been struggling with what I should be doing with my warm up for my throwers and I have come to the conclusion that their warm must serve a dual  purpose.

1. It is an excellent time to introduce progessively difficult physical movements that teach body awareness (kinesthetic knowledge - the ability to cause muscles to direct limbs to move in a certain pattern resulting in a desired motion) and coordination.

2. It serves to increase the core temperature of muscles resulting in a decreased risk for injury.

Many coaches miss the boat when it comes to creating athletes. I phrased my philosophy of coaching to Sam this way. No matter how good of a technical coach you are athletes will surprise you. They will likely learn more than you and become a master of the event if you keep them healthy and make them into better athletes.

Of course my pole vaulters and throwers fail to understand why they must do hurdle drills and different skips and lunges and sprint drills. None of these movements are event specific however they are developing athleticism in each athlete. This is precisely the reason that Multi-event athletes are so versitile. They are masters of no single event, however, they are usually the most kinesthetically aware because of the requirements of so many different movements of so many different events.