Thursday 22 January 2009

On Track education

Coaching is so not just setting training sessions; tonight was all about educating....talking about Tue and reinforcing the positives but also correcting the many errors. Preparing one for the Vic Country Champs and educating three U13 girls in how to run a well controlled and disciplined 1500m this Saturday.

Tonight, whilst Jo was having a light session of striding 150m reps with a 20m acceleration zone, I took Claire, Steph & Celeste (with Talissa in tow) away for 5x300m at 5.40, 5.45 & 5.50 1500m pace. I talked about the first 300m being easy, controlled, the second lap being more of the same, the third lap is about being tough and sticking and then the final about having a go. Of course the girls had questions & statement, the one I remember most was "but the first 150m we take off fast to get our spot" , NO, that takes a couple of metres and then you settle and relax, relax and relax.

After a few reps the girls were hitting the pre-determined times over & over again and I think it will work on Saturday.

After the 300m runs we did 4x150m with accelerations. The girls and Jo all appreciated the easier night.

4 comments:

jojo said...

i certainly did-my little leggies are very AWARE of how much i have been stressing them the last 2 weeks with an ABUNDANCE of racing

Andrew(ajh) said...

IMHO, it's when they start asking questions and giving you their opinions, that you know you're doing a good job as a coach, cos you've got them thinking!

Vicki said...

Thanks for dropping by my blog. I had a good chuckle at your comment(s).

The fit vs fat debate has sprung up at the tennis I see via comments made about Casey Dellaqua by a coach but not her own.... interesting.

Looks like you're on the right track for coaching - education is key.

Cheers
Vicki

Ewen said...

It'll be interesting to see how they go. It's harder for kids to run anything like even-pace 15s because they all seem to sprint the first lap.

I often think dropping straight out the back - like Borzakovsky always does in the 800s - would be a good way for a kid to run. Teaching them to then move through the field to a good position at the bell could be a tad difficult though!