The Secret To Being Fast

The sports world is abuzz about speed, speed, speed.  In almost no major sport is a prospect looked at without the factor of speed for consideration.  40 yard dash times are the standard in football.  The 100 meter dash is the premier event in track and field.  Soccer is defined by speed as well.  It is an inevitability that as a sports prowess grows, the demands of training and potential grow as well.

As coaches, talent identification and training modalities are the crux of athletic improvement.  We have to maximize the potential of an athlete while minimizing injuries and working on the strengths and weaknesses of the individual.  Speed is going to be a big cross section of many sports and properly training it will pay larger dividends than almost anything else worth training.

So what is the secret to training speed?  Well, obviously if you came here to find a quick solution or a special product I have news for you.  It doesn't work that way.  The good news is that there are some training protocols that, if followed properly, will yield results quicker than in many "old school" coaching methods.  Here is a quick guide to obtaining speed in less time.

Tenths of second make the difference in millions of dollars

1) Without recovery, training is pointless.  If you are doing 40 yard dashes, or any speed work designed to target adaptations for short bursts of speed and you are giving your body full recovery you will not improve your speed.  The body takes up to 4 minutes to recover from a true sprint depending on the distance.  You will never see Usain Bolt doing suicides if he is training his speed work.  You also won't see him doing tons of strides and calling it a "workout."

2) Form is crucial.  I've heard coaches say not to try and change a kids form if he is fast because it may slow him down.  That is insane.  Form is about power production.  Without proper form your power production will be limited.  Your body takes advantage of stretch reflexes during running which can only be achieved with proper foot falls and proper leg cycling.

3) If you can't properly execute a drive phase, your 100 dash will suffer and you might as well not even show up to do a 40.  Top end speed is not really calculated in an effort as short as a 40 so if you aren't pushing out properly, you are limiting your time.

4) Being over or under flexible is going to limit you as well.  While not usually as big of an issue, athletes that are overly flexible will lose some ability to use the stretch reflex during sprinting.  Usually the issue is an athlete not being flexible enough to move through the full range of motion needed to get the most power out of a stride.  Not being flexible enough to get height in knee lift will hamper a sprinter.

There are other factors as well, but the majority come down to these points.  If an athlete wants to improve, start here first.

Putting On A Meet

I've worked with several major local and national meets throughout the past few years and I can tell you that it is amazing how much organization and time is required to put together a quality competition.  Especially in a sport like track where there are over a dozen and a half different events that require different equipment, plus the necessary area to actually compete in those events.  Even in cross country you find that several hundred kids may be running and you have to make sure the meet runs well. It certainly isn't for the faint of heart, but putting together a good crew of coaches and volunteers will do a great service to you and your event and will help you put on quality events that people will return to in the future.

Here is a short list of ideas/considerations for when you are putting a meet together:

1) Have each team volunteer a coach or athlete to help you work an event.  This speeds up the meet and allows for athletes to more easily move from event to event if necessary.

2) Enlist help from the parents of your athletes.  It may be simple work like handing out medals but it will really help you to focus on the other scores of tasks on your plate.

3) Don't do more than you need to.  Rarely will a cross country meet need FAT (Fully Automatic Timing), and you don't need to announce the names of every individual that competes in each heat during track.  Sure all of that adds to the depth of your event, but if you don't have the money and manpower, focus rather on doing everything else well.  If the meet is successful, more people will come, and that will allow you to add more amenities down the road.

4) Look for sponsors!  Many stores may give you t-shirts or other items as awards, or businesses that your athletes parents work at may donate food, drinks, or money.  Since most cross country meets don't make much money, that is a wonderful blessing.

5) Finally, don't forget to budget in medical or police staff if you need it.  Many states require one or the other or both, or at least for liability reasons you may want to have them.  See if you can get discount rates through your school or local

Some Thoughts On Online Coaching

I originally thought the idea wouldn't work.  When I first read that there were coaches out there that coached distance runners through the internet it seemed counter intuitive.  How can an athlete train and compete without seeing his coach everyday?  Well, after a couple years of working with runners online I can tell you that it not only can work, but you can actually train these athletes very effectively.

To be fair, there is a major prerequisite to training on your own.  You have to be highly motivated.  That is the crucial element.  A non-motivated athlete will rarely get out to do a run if there is any excuse to stay in.  A runner looking to be his best will make the online coaching routine work mainly because they have eliminated all their other options.  Remember, mediocrity is a choice, and unless you have chosen to a special athlete, training on your own will be a chore you won't do well.  Almost everybody needs a coach so working with an online coach is better than nothing.  

The best part of training the highly motivated runner online is you can change around a schedule much more easily.  What I mean is that most teams are constrained by school schedules and large teams to organize.  A runner who only has to focus on himself or a small group can much readily change a workout when weather is an issue, or if something important comes up that requires a run to be delayed to a late evening run.  There is also more flexibility on which days to run which workouts.

Alberto Salazar is one of the nations top professional coaches.

I'm not going to sugarcoat the situation, though.  Running with a coach in person will usually yield the best results since the coach can interact with you face to face, see your body language, and know when you need to work harder or back off.  Usually what I find is that the athletes who need the online coaching are ones that come from areas where finding a knowledgeable running coach is difficult.  Perhaps their school doesn't have a dedicated cross country or track coach, or perhaps even their region is an area where the sport is not emphasized.  In these situations working with an online coach is light years better than "going it your own." 

Most recently I coached an athlete on my club team, Southern Athletics, solely via the web.  I have coached adults in the past who were training for half marathons and 10ks simply through correspondence as well.  The fact of the matter is that everyone needs to pursue being coached if their goals are competitive in nature.  Don't settle; find someone who is going to get you to the next level.  For those looking for that help, stay tuned.  The website will be getting a webstore a few other features soon to aid those who are in need of coaching direction.

Planning Out A Cross Country Season

Coaches commonly approach their cross country seasons in various ways.  Usually they look at their most important meet of the season which could be anywhere from a district championship meet to the national championship meet.  From that point, most coaches tend to work backwards a predetermined amount of weeks in order to develop a strategy to peak for the important races.

This is certainly a well tested strategy and many coaches have success with it.  I have a few issues it, though.  Living in an area where weather often dictates what we can and can't do, especially when a hurricane comes through and wreaks havoc on our training schedules, making a three or four month plan when I don't know how a single week will shape up seems somewhat of a waste of time.  Instead I feel like there are "guidelines" that a coach should follow when putting together his training rather a strict plan.

Allowing flexibility in training will keep a coaches sanity.  Trust me, I've learned the hard way.  If you want to be miserable as a coach, convince yourself ahead of time that training will go exactly as you have planned.  So here is a few ideas that may help you:

1) Plan what a goal of the weeks training should be rather than the workouts themselves.  If the plan is to work on Vo2 max, state that, or if it is training volume, state that as well.  When the week approaches you will have a better idea of if there are any limitations to your training.

2) Appropriate rest weeks, but don't worry if they don't fall exactly when you planned them.  Instead of fighting through a week where it is going to rain every day, move that rest week up or back and work around it.

3) Understand that for 99% of high school teams, it isn't how much you do as much as it is how consistent you are.  If you are trying to win a state title in one of the toughest states or team national title, you probably have a higher need to train voluminously, but if not, just focus on not missing too much time and getting quality work in when you need it.

Alan Webb was one of the greatest runners that ever ran Footlocker South.

Interview with Alison Ringle of Parkway

I recently interviewed Alison Ringle of Parkway High School in Shreveport, Louisiana for the Louisiana Milesplit affiliate, Louisiana Running.  Alison is one of the top runners in the gulf south and is looking to put together a fantastic senior season.  

LR: As one of the top runners in the state, will you travel to any major regional or national meets this year to represent your school and the state?

AR: I do plan to travel to major meets this year.  I am headed to to USATF National championships in Greensboro, NC next week where I will race the 1500 and 3000m.  I also plan on racing at the Mobile championships for cross country and track, Nike Cross Regionals in the Woodlands, TX, Sugarbowl, Texas relays, and more.

LR: You recently ran some great times at the USATF regional meet in Baton Rouge. Can you describe that experience a bit?

AR: It was definitely a great experience!  I've achieved some of my goals that I set for these summer meets already, and it's exciting to know that I have one more chance to exceed those goals even further.

LR: Were you expecting to run that fast in the heat of the summer?

AR: I definitely knew that running in the summer heat would be a challenge, but part of running is learning to overcome those challenges.  With hard training and dedication, I did expect a pretty good summer season.

LR: Have you started considering any schools for college and are you currently planning on competing at the next level?

AR: I do plan on competing in college, and I am considering multiple options.

LR: What are some of the aspects of a school that you would look for in helping determine a college?

AR: I would like to attend a school that has a very good running program/team and will better myself as a distance runner, as well as somewhere that provides a quality education. 

LR: What are you favorite meets to race, and what meet are you looking forward to the most this year (outside of the state meet)?

AR: Other than state, I am really looking forward to racing the Chili Pepper in Fayettville, AR and returning to the Texas relays in the spring.

LR: What about working with Coach Falting do you believe makes you and your teammates successful runners?

AR: Coach Falting is truly the best coach that anyone could ask for.  He invests so much of his time in every single one of us and understands what each of us needs to do to better ourselves indivually and as a team. 

LR: Do you have a pre-meet ritual to get mentally prepared, and if so, do you mind sharing?

AR: Before a race, I like to listen to music and say a prayer before the race starts.

LR: Do you look up to any other runner, either in college or on the professional level?

AR: Since I was a freshman running the same race with her, I have always looked up to Kaitlin Flattman.  She is an amazing athlete, and it's inspiring to see the amount of success that she has had.

LR: What is the best pre-race pump up song?

AR: I've had a few favorites since I started running.  Right now my two favorites are "Hall of Fame" and "Radioactive".

LR: Thanks for your time.

AR: Thank you for your interest!

Fundraising For Your Team

No doubt if you have ever had to coach a team, at some point money would become an issue, especially with a sport like cross country and track that seems to soak up a lot of money with little chance to generate revenue.  Travel, equipment, and uniforms seem to leave a team in need of extra cash to pay for the other costs like meet entries, team awards, or anything else.  If you get frustrated, trust me, you are not alone!

There are a lot of different ways to make some more money for your team, but there are a few things to consider.  One is that ALL athletes need to contribute.  It is not fair to let some members of the team raise all the money while others sit back and do nothing.  Another is, shoot for large fundraisers rather than a bunch of smaller ones.  Why?  For the most part fundraising is tedious and time consuming regardless of how much you are raising, so shoot for raising higher amounts of money and be productive with your time.  Lastly, get the parents involved!  It will make them appreciate what you do with their kids, and it will also allow them to be a part of the teams success.

So here is a list of some ideas that you can do for fundraising that can help your team this coming year:

1) Work concessions at sporting events.  Some high schools, colleges, and pro teams are looking for people to staff their concessions stands and will allow them to keep a percentage of sales.  While one or two games may not yield more than a few hundred dollars, a whole season of concessions may help raise over a thousand dollars which can make or break a team on a small budget.

2) Host a dinner night.  Cook up some plate dinners for your teams friends and family, teachers at the school, and local community members.  Charge 10-15 dollars per plate (which will probably yield about 5-10 dollars worth of profit).  Sell some brownies or other desserts on the side as well.  A properly planned out dinner can yield up to 500 dollars of profit.

3) Host a team lap-a-thon.  Have your athletes find sponsors who will donate a specified amount of money per lap he or she can run for a specified amount of time (usually 30-60 minutes).  Or in other words, if an athlete runs 30 laps in an hour and has a sponsor donating a dollar per lap, the athlete just earned the team 30 bucks!

If you have had any other successful fundraising ideas, feel free to share!

Tyson Gay, Doping, And State of the Sport

As I'm sure everyone knows by now, Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell have both tested positive for banned substances.  This comes just several weeks after Veronica Campbell Brown tested positive as well.  With the track world ablaze with the news of some of the top stars using performance enhancing drugs, what does this mean for the sport?  Where do we go from here?

The two men in question, Gay and Powell

First and foremost, I want to point out that it is my belief that all professional sports are currently overwhelmed with substance abuse.  It seems like track and field and cycling are the ones who are constantly at the forefront of athletes getting caught, but that is mainly because the testing protocols are so stringent.  I think, unlike what the misguided Mr. Doug Logan thinks, is that track and field needs tougher bans than simply two years.  Lifetime bans from competing should be enforced (if the testing can truly show substance abuse without a shadow of a doubt) which should help deter athletes.  Coaches who have been known to support PEDs should be barred from the sport.

Letsrun did a good job a couple years back when they asked some tough questions as to why a coach who was connected to doped athletes was allowed to be in the VIP area at USATFs.  Letsrun rubbed many the wrong way, though, because they lacked tact in their "journalism" which has basically been no more than these blog entries.  The sport does need people to ask hard questions, hold the standard and spirit of the sport high, and help get the druggies out the sport.  I know many coaches who have the same beliefs as I do.  We coach kids because we want to teach them the right way to do things. We can't have our top athletes earning success the wrong way.  They are as much of role models as we are.

I was reading a thread earlier on if track and field was dead.  Of course not.  It is the oldest sport in the world and it is still the highlight of the Olympics.  Track and field is not dead, although the current model may be aging.  It might be time for a facelift.

AAU Club Nationals and Moving Forward

I just got back from a great week at the AAU Club National Championships in Orlando, Florida.  It was an awesome time and the kids really enjoyed it.  Despite the heat, despite the weather delay on Saturday, the amount of work the kids have done this past year paid off.  I've said before that I love for my athletes to compete over the summer because for young runners, gaining valuable experience in racing and pushing yourself in a hard effort more important than jogging around all summer, waiting four months to run the next race.

Two of my girls have taken off over a minute and a half in their two mile times since the school season ended two months ago!  That could not have happened if we were doing long, slow distance each day.  People have asked me if I was worried about over racing my athletes.  Not really, mainly because I'm smart enough to train my runners with built in recovery after hard efforts and arrange races as part of the training program.  Kids who get injured racing in the summer are the ones who try to run hard efforts off of only jogging.  The summer racing circuit is a tool that every runner should take advantage of.  And it's also nice to earn some hardware along the way.

Most of my runners wrapped up their summer season either this week or will next week.  Only one or two will make the trek to Ypsilanti, Michigan to compete in the Junior Olympics.  Many of my athletes will take their vacations over the next few weeks, then we will hit the ground running in preparation for cross country.  This season I hope to reach out and help more athletes who struggle to find direction with their training as well as offer advice to those looking to compete in college.  I expect to update the College Scholarships section as I have recently talked to a few college coaches who will send me their scholarship standards.  Don't forget, even if you can't earn a scholarship, it is worth walking on to try and continue to train and race at your best!

As I said, we had a great week at Disney.  Thirteen athletes I work with went to the meet and we had twelve top 10 performances!


3000 Meters: (Name, Team, Age Group, Place, Mark)
Justin Unger, Southern Athletics, 11B, 9th Place, 12;28
Breeann Martin, Southern Athletics, 13G, 6th Place, 12:24
Zachary Barthel, Southern Athletics, 13B, 5th Place, 10:31
Denton Young, Southern Athletics, 14B, 8th Place, 11:01
Brady Mitchell, Southern Athletics, 14B, 10th Place, 11:58
Dionysia Love, Southern Athletics, 17-18G, 2nd Place, 12:17

1500 Meters
Zachary Barthel, Southern Athletics, 13B, 9th Place, 4:47
Jeanee Romero, Southern Athletics, 17-18G, 6th Place, 5:17
Dionysia Love, Southern Athletics, 17-18G, 10th Place, 5:29

800 Meters
Tyrone Hayes, 747 TC, 9B, 8th Place, 2:45

4x800 Meters
Southern Athletics, 13B, 7th Place, 10:19

Shotput
Rick McClendon, Southern Athletics, 15-16B, 8th Place, 39-10

Starting and Coaching Middle School Teams

I've met several middle school coaches, or people who are interested in becoming middle school coaches for cross country and track.  Most have little experience with the sport and they are either teachers looking to give their kids an extra curricular opportunity or a parent with a child who is interested in the sport.  Having to start basically from scratch can be a daunting task, especially if you don't even know where to begin.  Here will be a short guide for middle school coaches to build a successful and lasting program.

First, you need to talk to the administration and find out what you can and can't do.  Each school has different rules and working with those rules will help establish a routine that your team can get use to.  Also find out what type of budget your team will be allowed to work with.  Regardless of what your budget is, I would recommend you planning on some sort of fundraiser.  I don't think I've ever heard a coach say "my team just has too much money!"

Figure out who will be your support staff.  Will you be able to have assistant coaches?  Will there be any parents who can offer their time to help you?  Having people help you organize practices and gather the team on meet days can help save a substantial amount of time.  This allows you to get so much more accomplished during a regular practice.

Next you need to figure out what your training philosophy will be?  Keep in mind that many of your athletes at this age will be first entering the sport, and potentially sports in general.  You will definitely need to consider the developmental aspect of training younger athletes.  One mistake I believe coaches make is thinking that youth athletes shouldn't be exposed to all types of training, and it should be overly simplistic.  You should teach fundamentals such as form; introduce speedwork and allow the kids to work on their efficiency; and also allow the kids to get stronger just doing some basic strength training exercises.

Lastly you need to figure out what will be the unique aspect of your team that will keep the kids interested and will retain them in the sport for years to come, possibly even for years to come.  What can you offer the athletes that will leave a lasting memory of the sport and perk their interest?  Consider this as well when you are building your team!

I will leave you with a short little sample training week for middle school runners.  This is just a guide.  You need to figure out what is best for your teams!

Monday- 3-4x 800 at moderate intensity with 3-4 minutes recovery between repetitions based on ability.
Tuesday- 30x 100m strides
Wednesday- Off or 2-3 miles easy
Thursday- 6-8x 400 @ goal race pace for weekend meet.  1-2 minute recovery depending on ability.
Friday- Easy jogging, stretching, and strides
Saturday- Meet

Also, add in some pushups, crunches, lunges, etc. a few times for a few minutes a week.  Remember, these kids are in the developmental stage.  Just running mileage might make some great joggers, but not racers in middle school.

Preseason Rankings

As the season approaches, we've put together some pre-season rankings over at Milesplit. Listed here is the rankings, and bolded are the teams/athletes I work with. Can't wait for the fall season. Next stop, though, is AAU Club Championships. See you guys in Orlando!

Boys Small School (C-3A)

1) EHS
2) Ascension Catholic
3) St. Thomas Aquinas
4) John Curtis
5) ED White
6) West Feliciana
7) University Lab
8) Patrick Taylor
9) Anacoco
10) Choudrant

Girls Small School (C-3A)

1) Sacred Heart
2) EHS
3) Menard
4) St. Thomas Aquinas
5) ED White
6) Catholic, PC
7) Ascension Catholic
8) McGehee
9) Newman
10) John Curtis

Girls Top 25 Seniors:

12) Jeanee Romero, Karr 4A

Boys Top 25 Seniors:

25) Christian Paz, John Curtis 3A