First Two Weeks

For everyone involved in high school track & field in the state of Oregon my hat goes off to you. We have had a miserable two weeks of weather out at Sandy. For the most part we are use to rain, and we deal with it, but the near freezing weather and occasional snow fluries have had quite the chilling affect on our first two weeks of practice. Still though the resilience of the student-athletes has been amazing. Some of the newly initiated members of the team still occasionally forget their warm-ups, but the weather quickly reminds them of the importance of those articles of clothing. So maybe in someway the weather has been a blessing in disguise.

We also have a lot of anticipation for this season. Coming off of a state championship in 2006 there is both excitment and the awful "P" word that we try not to acknowledge even though it continually stares us down like a heavy weight boxer. The word is pressure. I definitely felt it in the 2004 season right after the boys had won in 2003. I think I was young and niave enough to think that winning again would be easy. But this season does feel different from 2004. I am a little older, hopefully a little wiser, and the pressure just doesn't feel as great. I also know that if I show the signs of pressure that will just put more pressure on the athletes. Maybe the biggest thing keeping me from the pressures of "repeating" is the long list of things to do in order for the season to go at all. I won't waste anyone's time by typing my list, but just know that there is more that is added on daily to the list than scratched off.

Some of the trials and tribulations that I think all high school programs go through is trying to assess the strengths and weaknesses of your new athletes. "What events should I do?" is a common question that I receive through out the first part of the season. I just encourage the athletes to try new events and eventually something will manifest itself. Well, at least that is the hope. With right around 100 members the Sandy program is probably pretty average in terms of numbers, but that still represents a large number of athletes to guide. The most important thing that we try to do as a coaching staff is just to get to know the new athletes that are apart of our program for the first time. Their first name is a great place to start. From that point we move on to introducing each other to the smaller training groups that we break up into after warm-ups. It is my belief that we will foster the growth of our program by keeping the newer athletes excited, and interested in the sport, but before that happens they have to feel like they are apart of the program instead of just another face in the crowd.

Another aspect of identifying the faces in the crowd is making sure our elite athletes are getting the attention that they need to continue to compete at a very high level. I've been blessed with just some wonderful student athletes in the past four seasons and this season is no different. I rely a lot on our upper classman to lead drills and demonstrate proper mechanics.

For our sprinters the first two weeks are loaded with learning proper sprint mechanics (which continues through out the entire season) and just getting back into sprinting shape. For the sprinters we avoid long runs (save those for your distance runners) and instead focus on shorter sprints with less recover time.

First week of practice schedule:

Day 1 -
Extensive warm-ups with sprint mechanics (Stretching isn't vital for sprinters, but proper warm-ups is absolutely vital for injury prevention prior to beginning work outs).
Beginners (8x100m with 100m walk recover) Boys run 16-18 seconds, girls run 18-20 seconds.
Advanced (two sets of 5x100m with jog back recovery) Boys run (15-16 seconds), girls run (17-18) -Stretch & Core (Needs to be done at the end of every practice. Stretching before workouts isn't as vital to sprinters as Distance folks, but stretching afterwards is absolutely vital for recovery and injury prevention. Core (abdominal and lower back exercises) needs to be done everyday to help with running poster.

Day 2 -
Warm-ups and sprint mechanics
Alternative (reaction) starts. We put the athletes in various positions and they are reacting to a clap. After the clap the athletes sprint the 10 meters working on acceration mechanics. This sets up reaction to the starting pistol and is fun drill. We use a total of 10 different starting positions which can vary.
Beginners and Advanced run 4-8 x 150m. We call these sprint, float, sprints. I learned this from John Gillespie at the University of Oregon. The athletes sprint the first 50 meters hard, back off and float (similar to the backstretch of the 400m) this can be a difficult concept for the athletes to understand at first. Describe the float as a "relaxed sprint" trying to maintain the speed that they've developed in the first 50 meters. The last 50 meters the athletes need to try to accelerate through to the finish line. The number of intervals is determined by level of fitness. Beginners should do a minimum of 4 a maximum of 6. Your advanced runners should try to get all 8 in.

Cool down and Core


Day 3 -
Warm-ups and sprint mechanics
Hurdle Drills. We have all of our sprinters/jumpers/hurdlers/distance runners/throwers do hurdle drills. They are a great hip flexor exercise and is benefical for all track athletes.

4 - 8 x 200m. (Give 3 minutes recovery. Keep a stop watch on it.) Advanced boys (28-30), Beginners (32-36), Advanced girls (32-36), Beginners 36-40 seconds.
Cool down and core

Day 4 -
Warm-ups and sprint mechanics
Continuous relays (teams of 5) use a baton. Each runner runs 100m at a time. The advanced teams should run 16x100m each. The boys should run 15-16 seconds per 100m which gives them approximately 1 minute recovery. It's also a great drill to work on long relay exchanges. The girls should run (17-18 seconds). Beginning teams should run 10-12 x 100m.

Cool down and Core

We use a similar cycle through out the first 2-3 weeks. Longer intervals Mon, Wed, Fri. And shorter quicker sprints Tuesday & Thursday. We usually try to do a time trial during the 3rd week of practice. That usually helps to determine our relay teams.

Despite the weather we are making progress. Things usually settle down after the first 3 weeks of practice when the athletes begin to uderstand the routine. We learn a lot more about our athletes after the first meet. Another season, another great group of athletes, another set of totally different challenges. Bring on the "P" word!