For high school coaches, managing multiple event groups at the same time (as well as managing training for athletes who compete in multiple event groups) is a significant issue that can drastically impact the individual and group success of your team and program. It’s one of the most consistent and popular questions I get. And it’s one of the primary topics I’m going to cover, in depth, during my brand new Zoom webinar class next week. ➡️Click here if you haven’t registered for it yet. To help you get prepared for next week, I’m sharing a video from a panel discussion on this very topic that took place a few years ago at the summer Complete Track and Field Clinic. There are several takeaways from…
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The most effective way to improve your coaching during the pandemic?
Organized coaches are successful coaches. All coaches could be more organized. And the foundation of every successful coaching system, from sprints to distance, is the specificity and compatibility of their Training Menu / Inventory. With the spring season being cancelled, the #1 thing you can do to guarantee you come out of the pandemic a better coach would be spending time creating, updating or upgrading your training menu. So where do you begin? Well, earlier this month I hosted a webinar taught by Colby College Head T&F Coach Dave Cusano titled ‘Advanced Coaching Systems’. Considerable time was spent on this topic because we knew it would be popular when we started breaking it down. Here are a few examples of what coaches had to say…
Advanced Coaching Systems: What Really Drives Successful Programs [Zoom Seminar]
On Thursday (4/23) and Friday (4/24) we’re running the 2nd (and final) round of our CTF live Zoom webinar. The first time we ran it, we opened it to the first 100 coaches who signed up and it sold out in less than 21 hours. This time, we’re once again making it available to the first 100 coaches who sign up. As of this writing (1pm on 4/21) we’re almost half way to capacity. Here’s the original promotion. I highly recommend you attend: ==-=-==–=-= I’m really excited about the topic for several reasons, not the least of which being that I haven’t seen anyone else teach these topics, and I think it’s something you’ll want to be a part of. Here’s the rundown: At some point…
Isolated Acceleration Workout Ideas
These are acceleration workout options that I will send to my student-athletes that are at home during this tough time. I thought these ideas may be helpful share. Sometimes athletes can’t always do a true acceleration workout because of space and access to equipment. However, there is always a way to check the box. These are acceleration workout considerations for athletes with limited space and equipment. Acceleration ideas that can be done in the backyard or any other space that may be available. Drill Options: Wall Drill x 10 Skate Start x 2 pushes Hop-Hop-Splits-Skate Start x 3 pushes Crouch Start x 4 pushes Bow-Touch-Go x 5 pushes Donkey Kick Start x 6 pushes Push Up Start x 7 pushes Rollover Push Up Start x…
How to Modify Sprints Workouts When School is Cancelled
For this type of thing my philosophy is to keep it simple. I’ve come to that over years of trying to be too cute with my offseason and summer training programs. But, it’s impossible to know what equipment and spacing options every kid has so trying to design training for every scenario is impossible and a waste of time in my opinion. I would keep writing the workouts, from a training theme and/or energy system perspective, in the same order you would under normal circumstances. That will help you define your choices. But there are two concessions you have to make when you modify them: 1. They can’t accurately measure a 200 or a 60 so you can give them those distances in workouts so…
Those drills don’t actually teach speed
I remember it like it was yesterday. It was 2011 and I was attending the first USTFCCCA Event Specialist Certification school (sprints, hurdles, and relays). We were getting deep into the max velocity / top end speed curriculum when it happened. You have to understand… …this topic impacts me greatly because my high school and collegiate careers were greatly limited by chronic injuries I experienced due, in scientific terms, crap sprinting technique… Torn L hamstring? ✅ Chronic L/R hamstring pulls? ✅ Chronic L/R soleus strains? ✅ Plantaar fasciitis? ✅ Popliteal tendonitis? ✅ So when Vince Anderson started talking about and showing video of athletes sprinting over an extended layout of 6” banana hurdles, I was fascinated on multiple levels, not the least of…
How to Set Up the Wicket Drill
The “wicket drill” is the best drill on the planet for developing maximum velocity mechanics and technique. The problem is that most coaches don’t know how to set them up properly, let alone instruct them in a way that maximizes the effectiveness of the activity. If they’re set up wrong, especially the run in, the drill isn’t going to be done correctly. In this video, Vince Anderson, the creator of the wicket drill, demonstrates exactly how to set up the drill on the track. Pay particular attention to the set up of the run in which is almost always the place where coaches make errors. NEW RELEASE The Maximum Velocity Wicket Drill: Variations, Programming, and Progressions by Ron Grigg
What We Learned Shadowing Boo Schexnayder and the LSU Track & Field Program
In October (2019), I went down to Baton Rouge with my good friend David Cusano (Head T&F Coach – Colby College) to shadow Boo Schexnayder and the LSU track and field program. During the time we were there, the team was starting their second cycle of GPP. They were coming off a recovery week and starting the first microcycle (5th overall) of mesocycle 2. We had no idea what to expect, but the trip far exceeded our epectations. Once we got back, we collected our notes and got on the phone to discuss and review our trip. This recording is 2 hours and 45 minutes long and covers sprints, hurdles, jumps, strength and power training, coaching administration, program mastery, rehabilitation, periodization, and more… Originally, I…
Get Free CTF Programs When You Purchase Freelap
A couple of years ago I invested in a Freelap timing system and man oh man. What a game changer. That thing is a perfect example of ‘once you have it you don’t know how you lived without it’. If you’ve been kicking the tires, but don’t have a system yet OR you have a system and are thinking about adding more transmitters (the yellow cones we call ‘towers’), regular chips, or upgrading to the new Bluetooth chips so you don’t need the ‘Relay Coach’ (aka the thing that goes on the tripod) this email IS for you. Here’s my incentive/offer: If you order a Freelap system, add to/upgrade your Freelap accessories, and/or buy anything from the Simplifaster store through a link I’ve provided, I’ll give you 10% of your total purchase price in CTF Store credit, which…
How To Improve Your 4×100 Meter Relay “Differential”
Want to improve your 4×100 meter relay times, consistency, and/or team culture? Shoot… what sprints coach doesn’t? No other event in track and field has the power to elicit the extremes of highs and lows… season to season… meet to meet… exchange to exchange… practice to practice… like the 4×100 meter relay. Anyone who isn’t a highly competitive sprints coach cannot possibly understand how seriously (and personally) we all take that event. Maybe I’m leaning in too hard here, but when my 4×100 meter relay sucks at a meet or multiple meets, I take it as a personal failure – and I’ve experienced no shortage of personal failures. A couple years ago my girl’s 4×100 meter relay was undefeated and she was a heavy favorite…
5 Ways to Approach Summer Training for Sprinters
What to do when the summer months are upon us? You’ve got a number of options, so here’s my take on getting the most out of summer training for sprinters (or any athlete in any sport, for that matter): 1. Consider Not Training At All. Summer competitions are more popular in some places than in others. Where I live, it’s not incredibly popular. And quite frankly, I’m cool with that. I generally don’t steer kids toward summer training and/or competitions unless the kid is hardcore and keeps asking about it or they’re a scholarship caliber athlete who needs the work in a low pressure environment. The type of athlete who is going to be interested in summer track is the kind of athlete who’s…
Long Sprints Training with NCAA D1 Northeast Region Coach of the Year Marc Mangiacotti
The United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) just announced their regional awards for the 2019 Indoor Season. Three Harvard University coaches affiliated with Complete Track and Field won Northeast Regional Coach of the Year Honors: 🔥Marc Mangiacotti (Men’s Assistant) – CTF Clinic CoDirector, Hurdles Group Lead Instructor & author of Advanced Concepts in 400m Training. 🔥Kebba Tolbert (Women’s Assistant) – CTF Clinic Sprints Group Featured Instructor and author of Specific Endurance for Sprints & Hurdles: An Advanced Approach 🔥Jason Saretsky (Women’s Head Coach) – CTF Clinic Distance Group Lead Instructor Today I want to talk about my guy Marc Mangiacotti. At Harvard’s Conference Championship, Marc’s crew won the 400, 500, 800 …and 4×400. In fact his group of sprinters,…