Hey guys, So I'm the new track and field coach at my school, and I have no experience with track and field whatsoever. Does anyone have any pointers/tips? I'll take anything I can get.

 

If you want to give me a break down of how my practices should be run, well, I wouldn't be mad at you:thumb:

 

Really, anything is much appreciated!

Hey guys, So I'm the new track and field coach at my school, and I have no experience with track and field whatsoever. Does anyone have any pointers/tips? I'll take anything I can get.

 

If you want to give me a break down of how my practices should be run, well, I wouldn't be mad at you:thumb:

 

Really, anything is much appreciated!

 

Some quick thoughts ...

*Get yourself on the Kentucky Track ListServe (you can find setup instructions at KTCCCA Home Page).

*Start using http://www.kytrackxc.com--this site has basically taken the place of http://www.ktccca.org--you can find meets, results, team information and a ton of additional information.

*I assume that you are going to coach middle school ... if so ... keep in mind .. you have to make it fun and interesting for the younger group. For us ... a ton of middle school kids always come out .. but we usually lose a bunch because they can't equate hard work/winning/having fun. Be creative.

 

For us ... we have approximately 100 kids (high school middle school combined).

*We breakdown into Sprinters/Distance/Throwers ... if you have an assistant to handle each group .. that would be ideal. You can also do boys/girls separate--but it is much harder to manage things that way. For instance--with our distance team ... it is combined boys and girls--then we break things down based on their level of fitness and talent.

*If possible--try to work on specialties towards the end of practice (hurdles/block work/relays/etc)--too many coaches spend time on these things when they should always make sure that their team is getting their daily workout in. Get the workout in for the sprinters/distance runners ... then move to specialties.

*Over communicate to middle school parents at all times ... publish your schedules, team information, meet information on a team website (ours is http://www.beechwoodtrackandfield.com).

*Understand your facilities

*Always have an adult with your groups (supervision is very important to parents and school administrators.

*As a coach always tuck your shirt in ... (track coaches think it is okay to show up wearing whatever). Carry your self as a coach (our coaches are also required to dress appropriately to meets-meaning long pants, team shirt--tucked in). Some people will say that none of that is important ... I beg to differ. Especially since you are working with middle school kids -- you buy yourself a little respect upfront if you carry yourself in a manner that speaks to leadership.

*Look around on the internet ... there is a ton of good training ideas on the web--most importantly ... always err on the side of caution (they are physically young as well ... so don't crush them with hard days).

 

Here is a look at our practice shell on a daily basis:

3:20 pm: Team Warm Up (3 to 6 laps on the track)

3:30 pm: Team Dynamic Stretch/March/Stride work

3:40 pm: Team Workout (Sprinters/Distances break off and do their daily workout)

4:20 pm: End of Workout/Team Static Stretch

4:30 pm: Specialty Work (Relays/Hurdles/Starts/Etc)

4:40 pm (Our official practice end time)

5:00 pm All Specialties complete

5:02 pm High School Weights/Younger Group body weight resistance (We lift 3 days a week--you probably won't need to do that yet)

5:30 pm All activities complete.

 

We rarely run that late ... and when we don't lift .. we are always out by 4:40 pm (unless it is a specialty day).

 

Hopefully some of this will help .... if you have any more specific questions .. message me.