(Story & photos by Ralph Epifanio)
On-Site Coverage
With 30 clinics, 7 presentations, 2 days of track demonstrations (at Embry Riddle), 1 panel discussion and a test--there's always a test--this year's four day conference never stalled. 2016 marked a transfer of leadership from FPC's David Halliday to Bolles' Dan Dearing (current FACA State Track Chairman), the latter facilitating the four day conference par excellence. Daytona Beach Hilton Oceanwalk Resort provided a luxurious backdrop to the assembled (coaches, officials, media, and track followers). The only disappointment might have been the weather, if not for the panoramic view of Daytona Beach from the Hilton's full-length, second floor window.
Featured as guest speakers were two Olympians, both products of the University of Florida. (Sorry FSU; maybe next year?)
Christian Taylor is the reigning Olympic Triple Jump gold medalist (17.21 at London in 2012) and current world triple jump champion (18.21 at Bejing in 2015). See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zffgI9tbVPI
Taylor's 59' 9" is second to none but England's Jon Edwards' 18.29, the only certified 60' jump in modern track. (See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAC1qLiJSA8) In 1995, Edwards jumped 18.43 meters--60' 5 1/2"--in the European Cup, but it was considered to have been wind-aided. Edwards has retired from competition, and is now a sports commentator.
Sharing the spotlight with Taylor was Steve Mesler, a former UF decathlete turned bobsledder. As a member of the U.S. four man team, he made the finals in three Winter Olympics: 2002 (Salt Lake City), 2006 (Turin), and 2010 (Vancouver, Canada). That 2010 American team of Steve Holcomb (driver), Curtis Tomasevicz, Justin Olsen, and Mesler won this country's first bobsled gold medal in 62 years.
Together, they proved to be the highlight of the weekend, and served as featured speakers (moderated by Dearing), clinic speakers, and track coaches (along with Latif Thomas) during the weekend clinic at nearby Embry Riddle Aeronautical University's track.
Of course, most of the attention of the coaches was centered around their specialties, be those sprints, distance, or field and/or jumping events, and for each of these there was a clinic(s) to satisfy that interest.
Due to time constraints, I was able to visit one each of the aforementioned, and what follows is a Ralphary (Ralph + Summary). To get a more in depth analysis, log on to the FACA website (http://www.facatrackclinic.com/home.html) and choose Schedule. Better still, sign up in 2017.
Scott Christensen, Distance
Head Boys cross country and track coach at Stillwater, Minnesota High School, Christensen has won 11 state and one national team championships. Of his 25 individual state champions, seven were in the 1600, and four have gone on to run sub four minute miles. He is also a 13 year veteran of the USATF Coaching Education Program.
Christensen's seven workshops were entitled: Track 101 - "Distance Team Culture," " High Performance Psychological Inventories and Interventions," " Making Middle Distance Superstars, Parts 1 and 2," " What about the 3200?" " Can We Peak Distance Runners?" and "The Mile--Graduate School Level."
His diverse, in depth study of distance running, from team dynamics to VO2 Max, can be summarized as thorough, and would best be heard directly from the master. Visit the FACA website for that information, and Scott's other Power Point presentations. (http://www.facatrackclinic.com/schedule.html)
Roy Benson, Distance
Roy is a former cross country and track coach at UF, where he was instrumental in the founding of the Florida Track Club. His "Green Mountain Running Camp," held at the Kimball Union Academy in Meriden, New Hampshire is beyond popular. 2016 will mark its 42nd year.
His clinics included "Distance Running - Peaking; Sharpening vs. Freshening," "The Science of Interval Training," and Track 101 - "Basic running and Sprint Form."
Stated simply, Roy described distance training as an "experimental" plan, where the athlete and coach work together to find just the right balance to get the maximum improvement in athletic performance. Benson did this by creating a time line of improvements in distance running, beginning with the first records, from the early 1800s, of a 4:12 mile. He described "under training" (less than race pace), fast forwarded to Zatopek's "over training," added improvements based upon the scientific studies of physiologists in the measuring of VO2 max--the ability of your lungs to take in oxygen and the circulatory system to transfer it to your muscles--the methodology of Dr. Roger Bannister's (first) sub-4 minute mile, New Zealand's Arthur Lydiard, etc.
In Benson's opinion, "We over train our athletes with too much high intensity training. Don't get hung up on intervals. Keep it simple. Don't have four variables. (As far as how long a recovery you should allow) just don't let the athlete 'cool off'."
Latif Thomas, Sprints and Relays
UConn sprinter, Massachusetts coach, and owner of Complete Track and Field (along with its summer track and field clinics), Latif was the featured speaker on sprints and relays, and tapped for his expertise when the weekend clinic on the ERAU track rolled around.
Latif's clinics included "Block Starts and Acceleration," "Teaching and Progressing Top End Speed," " Mastering Your HS Short Sprints (55-200 meter) Program," " Mastering Your HS Long Sprints (400 meter) Program," " Strength and Power Development for HS Sprinters-A Real World Approach," Track 101 - "Coaching the HS Sprinter/Hurdler/Jumper & Coaching Multiple Event Groups at Once," and "Frequently Asked Questions and Frequently Experienced Problems." Thomas also made himself available for a Q and A on Saturday morning, plus planned and executed track workouts on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.
Latif's clinic on the "Long Sprints" began with the simple supposition that "the Boys 400 and the Girls 400 are not the same event, so stop coaching them like they are. Their testosterone level is not the same, their power level falls off at different times, and the girls are on the track longer. Girls need more aerobic work; a longer, continuous warm up, more volume in extensive themed sessions, longer (timed) distance reps on specific endurance days.
"Start with the end goals and work backwards; adjust them continuously (the more refined it is, the less flexibility you have); plot workouts on Sunday. The speed development should be short sprints, long sprints, super long sprints.
"I don't do ladders. Obsessing about volume and intensity is a sure sign that your program design process has gaping holes in it. Volume should start relatively high and stay relatively high through the prep periods. But as volume might stay the same, the intensity should go up. (Time over repeats.) If you do too many repeats, they will hate track. So keep the volume the same, but increase the intensity.
"I don't want to train slower than race pace. I want to improve intensity. Speed creates endurance; endurance doesn't create speed."
His Power Point gave an example workout. Essentially each runner ran the same 5 X 200, with a rest of five minutes between each sprint. Their target time varied: Boys from 24 - 26 seconds to 26 to 28 seconds; Girls from 29 - 31 seconds, to 32 - 34 seconds. That "intensity" would express itself over time as the expected target time would drop, while the volume (# of sprints) would remain the same.
While this might seem like too few sprints, Latif and Christian Taylor teamed up with over an hour of high-energy "warm ups." The routine written for Taylor by Coach Rana Reider, continuously alternated stretching and short sprints, the repetition of which kept the sweat flowing, there was no doubt everyone was getting a workout.
Dr. Drew Hardyk, Long Jump
Andrew Hardyk is described in his bio as "the former Assistant Coach and current Professor of Kinesiology at Penn State." His experience includes coaching "all of the jumps, as well as the multi sport events" at Division 1 schools.
Hardyk's clinics included "High Jump; Creating Top Performing High Jumpers," "Explosive Training for jumps Athletes," and "Long Jump - Technique and Teaching."
Dr. Hardyk's "approach" resonated with that of triple jumper Christian Taylor. For example, Hardyk explained that "most errors occur in the first four to six steps, so repeating this part over and over, using the same shoes, etc.," will result in a familiar pattern of success. "Do the same things over and over," like "starting from a stationary position."
In watching Taylor on Saturday, you can see this methodology in practice. Echoing Hardyk's advice, Taylor later explained, "in the triple jump, I want to run the same way, even when doing sprints. I start off with wider strides, then take shorter ones as I approach the board, having a more rapid turnover." (sic)
Hardyk: "You increase accuracy (in the long jump) by increasing speed. It is easier to increase accuracy (in your jump) with a 100% effort, than with an 80% effort. A more aggressive approach leads to a more relaxed takeoff. So add more steps (to the approach) as accuracy allows, until the entire approach is constructed.
"In the long jump, success is determined by speed, so don't slow down. As long as the athlete repeats it over and over and over again, they should do the same thing every time, both in practice and in meets.
"Practice your approach without a board, without a target. That way, you--the coach--know if they are accurate, but they (the athlete) doesn't. That makes the runner faster, and he is not "steering" for a board. Any time you do this--steer--and you adjust your steps, it will slow you down."
This method "helps promote repeatability. It can be done on the track, as well as in a gym or hallway, and should use perfect running technique. The coach needs to count and monitor steps. When a consistent approach is developed, add a board or takeoff mark.
"A full approach jump should rarely be performed in practice. That final step can place as much as ten times the force of their body weight on the takeoff leg. It is one of the most violent actions in sports.
"The approach and takeoff are inexorably intertwined and interrelated; the approach leads directly to the takeoff, and the takeoff is determined by the approach. The last two steps of the approach are the takeoff. Incorporate this transition into approach practice.
"Speed (for the eventual takeoff) is built up in the early part of the approach. It is VERY difficult to build up speed AND jump simultaneously. By the last four steps, no more speed should be added. Relax, maintain speed, and mentally prepare for that last step. Think about quick steps, not power steps.
"The penultimate--next to last--step should be slightly longer than the others. That lowers the center of mass to prepare for the jump. That last step (the jump step) hits the board perfectly (we hope). While there is a tendency to make it longer, it should be shorter than all the others. That shorter step should feel more powerful, adding leverage.
"(As far as the final foot placement) never lead with the heel. That will increase chances of an injury and slow down the leg speed. Instead, the jumper should land mid-sole ('flat footed,' although we would not want to say that to the athlete). At takeoff, there should be a 'feeling' of pushing backward, similar to that at the beginning of the takeoff. That last step is so quick that it should feel like the athlete is putting his foot behind, not in front of him.
"Keep it simple. Encourage the jumper's last steps to be quick. Keep cycling legs by keeping knees high. Focus on that last step being the shortest. That will result in the penultimate--second to last--step naturally being longer. It may feel like a foul will occur because the back foot is put 'down and back.' A forward body lean should be encouraged, because the tendency is to lean backwards at this point. Try to maintain speed and 'run' off the board.
"Some practical things to remember:
use a pre-measured approach at the meets, but adjust as necessary
take into consideration such things as wind direction and speed, how the athlete feels, etc.
in warm ups, the take off step should be 6" from the foul "line"
jumper will most likely need to adjust from there as competition progresses
pay attention to tendencies
experience is a valuable lesson
a perfect jump doesn't feel like anything
lean forward by the fourth to sixth step to gather speed
use (midway) coach's marks on the approach
this increases the amount of data about the midpoint accuracy of the approach
during the jump, the athlete is responsible for the start of the jump, and the coach for the end"
Christian Taylor
As mentioned, Taylor is top dog in the world of Olympic level jumpers. Besides the aforementioned numbers, he has the coaching (the result of no less than four coaches in the last ten years), the training (with two major wins, his is no doubt the best system out there), and the confidence to keep that momentum in place. Little wonder then, that this athlete attracted more attention than anyone at the FACA Conference.
Christian's two clinics were entitled "Triple Jump - Technique and Teaching," Part 1 and Part 2.
"The keys to the triple jump are:
speed down the runway (velocity will bring you into the jump)
speed throughout the jump
don't look down as you approach the takeoff board, as that will defeat the buildup of speed
trust your coach and be a sprinter
your focal point should be to run through the jump"
Christian added some training "secrets":
"I am only on the runway for two days of the week, but only one for jumping. I only get six jumps on that day, just like in a meet."
Interpretation: This self-imposed limit might have been the result of joint pain earlier in his career. The TJ is very tough on the body, and over jumping is a fast track to injury.
"I have two speed days a week. If I do 20s (meters), 40s, and 60s, everything is correlated with the triple jump. If I do 3 X 60s, I take those same walking steps (as I do in the TJ) at the beginning. And, as in the triple jump, in those last 30 meters I have as much and as quick a turnover as possible.
"Once a week I do either 150s and 250s, or 300s and 350s."
To these he added some meet mechanics:
"I am allowed two marks. I use chalk and make one back, and one at 10 meters.
I compete with a sprinter's mentality, and "let it rip."
I load up; give everything to the approach; don't lose anything.
I avoid 'butt kicks' (a kind of warm up exercise).
I aim for that 'straight line.'
I use a heel cup.
I remember that 'a small movement makes a big difference' further down the runway."
There is little doubt that this charismatic athlete put a "face" on the 2016 FACA Conference.
Although time constraints prevented this writer from visiting all the clinics, I'd like to mention that the previous information barely scrapes the surface of the important information exchanged at this, or any FACA event. In closing, it should be noted that every coach who takes the time to attend this pre-season conference will leave rewarded in more ways than can be expected.
Other clinic speakers included:
Jerry Clayton (Throws and Jumps) Head Men's Coach at the University of Michigan. He has coached 16 NCAA Champions, 88 All-Americans, and 33 Olympic and World Championship qualifiers.
Steve Mesler (Sports Psychology) High School national decathlon champion, All-SEC Champion, Olympic Gold Medalist
Gary England (Throws at Plus Clinic) 1977 NCAA Champion in the Shot Put (63') and two time Olympic Trials qualifier, he now coaches at Tulane
Joice Maduaka (Sprints and Relays) As a former sprinter from Great Britain, Joice competed in three Olympics and three World Championships in the 100, 200, and 4 X 100. Her personal bests are 11.23 and 22.83.
Todd Henson (Pole Vault and Hurdles) After spending six years as one of the coaches at the German Olympic Training Center, Henson now coaches at IMG. Coach of Olympic silver medalist Toby Stevenson (19'8").