The start of a cross country (or track and field) season brings plenty of excitement for both athletes and coaches. The anticipation of all of the adventures that are about to occur is what makes activities such as this so much fun. Even teams that practice all summer seem to shift their level of anticipation…
Archives for track and field
How to Create an Annual Plan for High School Sprinters
Where I live, the indoor track season starts the Monday after Thanksgiving. And if I expect to have a good season, I better have already spent some serious time planning and creating the annual plan for my short and long sprinters. (As well as my ‘super long sprinters’ who run the ridiculous 600m race here in…
Know Your ABCs
Early morning commutes to Harvard are pleasant. No matter the season, the drive past Fenway Park is warming — easily reviving images of a boisterous crowd of Red Sox fans dressed in red, white and blue. In a city filled with some of the nation’s oldest historical sites, the 26-story Berkeley Building is one of…
Why Do Kids Point Fingers?
I have always told my athletes that if they do EVERYTHING I tell them to do and they don’t succeed it is completely my fault. I also tell them that if they skip ANYTHING I prescribe, I am not responsible for their lack of success. For some reason, I usually have a student-athlete who cuts…
Indoor Track Season: Week 1 of 13
Ah, yes! Track season! Simultaneously the source of great fun and great overwhelm. I’ve already posted my annual plan for the track season. But I thought I’d share my Week 1 microcycle. This is my plan for the first week of practice. Will it go this way? Not likely. But since I know the physiological effect…
Want more hurdle drills? (Watch)
When I was a young(er) coach, I thought the key to developing good hurdlers was to teach a lot of hurdle drills. Trail leg slide this. Walk overs that. Five step trail leg half hurdle this. One step lead leg half hurdle that. Then I started talking to Tony Veney. He said to focus on…
13 Questions (and Answers) with Boo Schexnayder
Jumps Expert Boo Schexnayder answers 13 popular questions from Complete Track and Field readers. Question #1: How do you increase the distance of the second phase of the triple jump? Coach Schexnayder: The second phase of the triple jump seems difficult to fix because it is a collection point for all triple jump errors. Any…
Boo Schexnayder’s Complete Training Inventory
Training Components and Exercise Circuits By Boo Schexnayder RELATED: Get Coach Schexnayder’s Complete Training Inventory on DVD. Warmup Preparatory Routines Mobility Jog Circuit Weave Backwards Run Side Shuffle Right Side Shuffle Left Arm Circles Arms Across Crossover Run Static Flexibility Routines Capella Hansen’s Back Series (L-R) Spinal Roll Hands Behind Back Elbow/Obliques (L-R) Calf Stretch…
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…
Learning from the Legends (Over 50% off!)
Dan Pfaff and Tom Tellez are, without question, two of the greatest track and field coaches in the history of the sport. A couple of years ago they recorded a seminar together covering a whole range of topics in the sprints, hurdles, jumps *and* throws. Now you can get immediate access to that seminar for…
How to join my coaching staff (I’m hiring assistant coaches)
I need to hire some assistant coaches. Last season I had my ‘Michael Jordan’ moment. Despite the success of my sprints/hurdles/jumps group, I realized that I can’t get the results I’m after if I’m doing it all myself. As a student of the patterns of the universe, I simply looked at the best team in…