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.
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