Speed has many different components. While they are all related in some way, they also have their unique properties. Perhaps one of the most unique is acceleration. You can’t even think about top speed unless you can get there in the first place. How athletes overcome inertia and perform over those first few steps is critical in nearly every sport.
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Creating your own program takes a lot of leg work. It isn’t just about adapting a template to your situation; it is about seeking out influences and inspiration from numerous sources and making them your own. On this week’s episode we dive into the program at Notre Dame High School by analyzing some of the foundational influences and how they have been adapted, as well as important elements done on the periphery.
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There is probably no one who has had a bigger impact on me as a coach than Vern Gambetta. In 1999 North Shore Country Day had a Master in Residence Program and then Head of School Julie Hall said I could pick the Master in Residence for PE and Athletics. On a recommendation from another coaching friend, I picked Vern Gambetta. Read more
HMMR Media was officially founded in 2013, but its roots trace back to the personal blog I started in 2007. During the past decade we’ve grown from one contributor (me) to 27 authors. We’ve posted thousands of articles, podcasts, and videos. And we’ve learned a lot about training throughout the whole process. Below are some highlights from the past decade on HMMR Media. Read more
Coaches need a lot of tools in their toolbox. If all the strength coach knows is the barbell, then they are limiting their ability to solve more complex problems. Therefore for the site theme in April we chose going beyond the barbell, bringing together 3 new videos, 2 podcasts, and 5 articles to look at different ways coaches can solve problems with other training methods. All the links are below, but first I wanted to share a few ideas that crystallized in my mind this month. Read more
Coaching mentor Vern Gambetta joins us again to discuss the best ways to become a better coach. With the proliferation of coaching courses, websites, and other options to improve your know how, we discuss some tips that have helped all of us improve our coaching abilities. Read more
At the start of my training talk with strength coach John Pryor from the Japan Rugby squad, I mentioned his approach blew my mind. I’ve gotten to know a lot of strength coaches from a wide range of sports, but never before heard a field sport team use such a methodical approach to transfer of training, specific strength, and complex periodization as when he described the Japan squad’s buildup to this year’s World Cup. Read more
There has been lots of good material online over the last month about training. Below are some excepts from my notebook with some of the quotes and articles I found most insightful.
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In Riga last week one of the Swiss sprinters asked me when I would run out of things to write about. That will happen as soon as I stop learning. When will that be? When I keel over.
As I’ve talked about before, continuous learning is something I picked up from my two biggest mentors, Harold Connolly and Anatoliy Bondarchuk. I am reading and talking about training with others daily. And I keep a daily journal with notes on what I learned, what I’ve observed in my own training and coaching, and other commentary on life in general. Just a portion of what I note makes it online or inspires me to write a post.
As the internet track and field community has grown over the past few years, so has the amount of great training content available online. I tend to post links to the best articles I find on Twitter when I run across them, but I thought it would be good to regularly share some of the nuggets of wisdom here too. Below are some highlights from my June journal that I’ve grouped into some loose categories.
