Let’s face it: The sport of track and field is, well, a joke. I’ve never had a conversation with a single soul, living or dead, who has said, with a straight face, “Wow. Track and field. There’s a sport that’s really got its act together. ” I love track and field. Obviously. But you’re about 50…
Archives for Latif Thomas
Decide the fate of Complete Track and Field
We want to make Complete Track and Field the first place you go when you want to work on becoming a better coach. The more you tell us about yourself, what you like about the site and don’t like about the site, as well as what you want to see, hear and learn when you…
This will make your life easier
My first job out of college was not coaching track, it was teaching a classroom full of kids with behavioral, social and emotional disorders. Spend a few full work days restraining a kid screaming racial slurs and trying to spit at and bite you for six hours and you quickly learn the art of patience….
200 Meter Training
200 Meter Training By Latif Thomas The 200 meter sprint is the Rodney Dangerfield of the sprint events. It gets no respect. When we commonly think of the sprint events, the 100 meter dash gets all the glory and the 400 meter dash gets all the respect. That leaves the middle child, the 200, left…
Sprinting Techniques
Sprinting Techniques By Latif Thomas Sprinting technique is all about power and efficiency. In a sport where ‘elite’ and ‘run of the mill’ athletes are separated by fractions of a second, getting the most out of an athlete’s ability is essential to success, from the youth through professional levels. How efficient an athlete’s running style…
Starting Blocks
Starting Blocks By Latif Thomas The purpose of this article, ultimately, is to explain proper acceleration mechanics. Proper acceleration is crucial to the success of track and field sprinters, but can not be achieved without ideal positioning within the starting blocks. Therefore, we will cover the process from the time the official calls the athletes…
High School Sports are Dying?
An interesting point was brought up in the discussion section of my last article on 400m training. A suggestion was made that if you (as a parent) don’t have faith in your high school’s coaches, pull the athlete from the high school team and have them compete for better coaches in a more appropriate environment….
400m Training vs McDonald’s
Last week I posted some information (here and here) about training 400m runners. And I endorsed the speed based ‘short to long’ approach. Invariably, every time this topic comes up, people immediately say, ‘But so and so says train slow to get fast’. Well, here’s the thing about that… If you perennially get a…
Speed vs ‘Strength’ For 400 Runners
Speed vs ‘Strength’ For 400 Runners Some people argue that the best way to develop your 400m runners is with a ‘strength’ (aka long to short) approach. This says that in order to get fast, we should run at sub-maximal paces at higher volumes and for longer distances. To me, this is a ‘run slow…
Sprinters vs Cross Country
Each summer I like to write an article about whether or not sprinters should run cross country and, if they do, what should happen. To progressive programs and coaches, running a ‘modified’ cross country program for sprint types who want to be successful is, at the very least, an interesting option. On the other side…
Review: Event Specialist Certification Course (USTFCCCA)
A couple of weeks ago I attended the first ever Event Specialist Certification Course run by the US Track & Field & Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). In essence, it is the evolution of the old USATF Level II School that has fallen off over the past couple of years.** I can’t really say I…
Success is a Choice?
Today is the one day of the year I like to take some time to reflect on where I’ve been, where I’m at and where I’m going. Because I believe, fundamentally, that our external reality is the mirror image of our internal reality. The physical manifestation of our thoughts, beliefs and expectations. (I know, I…