Track training tips

Next May I'm going to Toronto for a few days with my track team for the High School Grand Prix. To promote the event they asked all the coaches to write 5 little training tips. Here what we have at Jean de la Mennais

1.       Posture is one of the most important aspects of running. It ensures that muscles work efficiently in their optimal position, that the forces are distributed on the right structures to absorb and redirect them. It also provides enough space for your ribs to expand and allows an optimal breathing pattern. To work on posture try skipping rope in your warm-up or drills like A skips with arms above your head. You can also ask your athletes to stand against a wall, keeping contact with heels, sacrum, and mid-back and back of the head. Once they are in the correct position, focus on breathing.

2.       Off-season is a good time to work on less specific aspect of your event (e.g.  more aerobic trainings for sprinters). It’s also the perfect time to do injury prevention exercises and routines. Work on mobility of the ankle, hip and thoracic spine while stabilizing the knee, core and shoulder blades. Prepare a little routine they can do at home every day so during the season you can focus on the important things like speed, power and technique.

3.       Neuromuscular skills (agility, balance, coordination, speed) are the most important and basic skills for all your athletes. Working them at a young age will be a good investment in your future athletes. They are also important during adolescence while the athletes height, weight and arms/legs length change a lot and quickly. Also don’t forget that speed is a maximal effort of less than 8 seconds, no matter if you’re a sprinter or a long distance runner.

4.       To have successful athletes you need motivated and focused athletes. Using time of your training for “mental work” will pay off. For motivation create a good team spirit, adequate training volume/intensity and set goals at the beginning of the season. For focus use mental imagery, relaxation technique and drills like the clock or the raisin. The clock drill consists of looking at a clock and to snap your fingers every given time (e.g. 5 seconds). The raisin drill consists of looking, feeling and touching all the details of a raison for 1 minute. After put the raisin in your mouth and taste it, chew it, feel it for another minute before swallowing it.

5.       Sleep and nutrition are the most important aspect of recovery. Ask a nutrionnist to prepare meal advices for before, during and after trainings and meetings. Nutrition is a lot more than calories and proteins shakes! Educate your athletes on the benefits of healthy food choices. Sleeping is another big part where athletes need to be educated. Young athletes tend to have improper sleep time and quality. Explain them why they shouldn’t play with a screen before going to bed and how many hours of sleep they need to optimize their training efforts. Don’t forget, we get better between trainings, not during.