The biggest mistake high school ‘long sprints’ coaches make is wasting time and energy searching for solutions to problems that don’t exist. You can write the most beautiful annual plan or the most individualized and specific workouts the universe has ever known. But, if your sprinters secretly hate the 400, fear the 400 and/or don’t…
Archives for Latif Thomas
(Video) Answers to Popular 400m Training Questions
When I set out to create a program built around training high school 400m runners, I sent out a survey to ask coaches specifically what you want to know. Below is a video of me answering the first 10 of those questions. Below that is the question I posed. And below that are the specific…
3 Major Changes to My Program for 2013
Each August, before I write my annual plan for the upcoming season, I go back through my workouts, notes and results to determine which elements of my program went well last year, which areas didn’t and why. Then, I adhere to the wisdom of Bruce Lee: Based on my large numbers and lack…
Block Start analysis
Here is a block start analysis I did recently. In it, I break down the start of a female high school 100m hurdler all the way over the first hurdle. Early in the video, I compare this athlete to a beautifully violent 3 point block start from one of the world’s fastest 100m sprinters. …
Coaches & Parents: Go to this clinic
Generally, when you imagine a summer track & field clinic, you assume it is for athletes. And the primary focus of the 2012 Complete Track & Field Summer Clinic is helping the athletes. However, we’ve designed the event for coaches (and parent coaches) as well. Here is how our clinic is different than all the…
You’re Fired Friday (Volume 1)
If you’ve been following me over the years, you’ve no doubt noticed my slow evolution into the kinder and gentler Coach Thomas of today. But that doesn’t mean I’m afraid to call some people out from time to time. Oh no. Not at all. Over the course of this year I’ve noticed some things. Some…
Why I won’t be coaching at the 2012 CTF Summer Clinic
By now, you’re well aware of how much people enjoyed last year’s clinic. And if you haven’t signed up yet, you only have two weeks to register before we have to jack up the price and/or shut down certain event groups. (Session I: Sprints for example) But, the more I work on setting up the…
Summer Speaking Engagements
Can’t get enough Coach Thomas comedy? Want to see which fancy pants coaches I’ve been stealing from lately and how I’ve adapted it to my HS athletes? Well why wait another 45 minutes before receiving yet another email from me when you can come see me live and in person! On June 22, I’ll be…
The Key to Success in the Long Sprints: Speed Reserve
Developing a ‘speed reserve’ through a well designed speed development program is essential to success in the track & field sprint events, especially the ‘lactic acid’ events like 300m (especially for girls), 400m and 400h. Speed reserve is, essentially, the difference between an athlete’s maximum speed and their maximum aerobic speed. In many coaching situations,…
What is The Best Way to train 400m runners?
Within the world of 400m coaching, there lies a spectrum of viable approaches we can take to elicit respectable performances out of our sprinters, regardless of age, gender or innate talent level, especially when you want to train 400m runners. Combine my lack of belief in concepts like ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ with being hypercompetitive well…
Program Review: Planning Training for the Jumping Events with Boo Schexnayder
As you (hopefully) know, acclaimed jumps coach Boo Schexnayder has just released his newest coaching education Master Class, ‘Planning Training for the Jumping Events‘. For the serious jumps coach, in my opinion, it’s a ‘no brainer’. And, as orders have come in, I’m not surprised to see the same names I always see when a…
Two New Programs I Highly Recommend
Over the next week, we’ll be promoting two new programs, both of which I highly recommend. I’m letting you know in advance, to be honest, in order to avoid returns from those of you who get the one coming out tomorrow and then realize, next week, that you’d rather have that one. The first new…