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Best entry level Coaching

posted almost 2 years ago | Report

Hi Daily Mile,
I'm starting to help the distance running "program" (track & XC) at my very small, rural community college. We are in http://www.nwaacc.org/index.php group and these 18 - 22 year olds have little training and discipline and won't compete at anywhere near state or national elite levels. So, my assignment (I'm a faculty member at this school) is to get them to love running as much as I do, support each other, and follow a training program to perform at their peak. We have coaching pros here: biomechanics, trainers, even 2 former Olympians. My question for you Daily Mile comp people is what are the habits of your favorite coaches?

What was fun from school days, college or prep?

Who built a "team" most effectively?

Course any other suggestions would be great too. Thanks

Running Happy - Anthony

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8 posts

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  • David N.
    David N. Sendmail

    http://www.hulu.com/watch/125305/the-long-green-line

    posted almost 2 years ago

  • Mike D.
    Mike D. Sendmail

    Good idea to use the hard/easy method on alternate days. That way they will stay fresh. I always enjoyed scenic courses like when our coach would drive us to the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge and picks us up in Golden Gate Park 11 miles later. Also if you could run with the team on some of the easy runs that would help, I was impressed when my coah did that.

    posted almost 2 years ago

  • D Anthony C.
    D Anthony C. Sendmail

    I've set that up and been taken aback by my head coach's plans of 4-5 days hard - seems against basic rules for long term development. I've been running with them; thanks for the suggestion.

    posted almost 2 years ago | edited almost 2 years ago

  • Kristen L.
    Kristen L. Sendmail

    I am the assistant track coach at the high school i went to and mostly work with the distance girls. The head distance coach is coaching basketball right now and is about to get involved with a new business that is starting up. I feel like I have been put in a position where i should know more and be able to help the runners more but since this is my first yr doing this I dont know much and I am looking for some advice. I want to be the best coach I can be and show the girls how much fun track is while working hard. What helped you getting started?

    posted about 1 year ago

  • Jim H.
    Jim H. Sendmail

    First off you want to build your workout schedule around your meets. Schedule easy day before race day and the day after and a moderate day the day before that. However you want to keep an open mind to change if your runners are dragging.

    Change up things.to keep it interesting. Change courses and the type of workout. Intervals, hills, LSD, track work, fartlek.

    One "workout" my coach did as a change of pace was we got into an open field (football field) and played tag with the rule being you had to always be jogging.

    On fartlek runs we took turns picking the "landmark" to run too.
    We also did "indian runs" We got into a straight line and went for an easy to middle paced run. Whoever was in back would then run to the front of the line and we would keep rotating back to front. Works a little better to have your better runner in one group and your slower ones in another.

    posted about 1 year ago

  • D Anthony C.
    D Anthony C. Sendmail

    Thanks for your response Kristen. I've been assisting a bit more than a year now, first with just the head coach, now with a distance coach. My main suggestion to you is that you will give them the best if you learn with them, listen to them, cheer for them. I never competed or anything like that and have set myself to learning the terms an sport. Like every good teacher knows though, what we know doesn't automatically translate to them. Typically, for me at least, the students don't want to know. Now sure, get some basics and build a hard day/easy day schedule around your planned meets typically training through duals during the week and saving it for Saturday. Don't let them sprint or jump too much even for fun instead letting them "compete" with the spinners by doing slower, longer, shorter rest intervals. Having been injured myself, I'm a nut on running form and work that angle a bit. Mostly though, I concentrate on getting them to run faster on fast days, and SLOWER all the other times. They just go out and hammer every day then get hurt typically. What's helped me most is being an ear for them, doing the workouts with them, and doing my homework I guess. Nice basics here http://www.nyrr.org/ycr/ars/index.asp and please let me know how yo're doing.

    posted about 1 year ago

  • D Anthony C.
    D Anthony C. Sendmail

    Tag and Ultimate Frisbee are good. I've moved away from setting the schedule this year, and with my teaching load, that's a good thing. I'll suggest the Indian, might keep us together for long days, thanks.

    posted about 1 year ago

  • Kristen L.
    Kristen L. Sendmail

    Thanks for the responses, they were very helpful. I think the running start website will come in handy.

    posted about 1 year ago

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