The Performance Zone 45W15-30 Revisted

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Katie Nelms  2009 silver medalist  CA State Finals 100m Hurdles

Here is an article that was posted a while back and due to the recent questions.I think it’s time to review it.  Unfortunately,our lives are so busy our youth athletes nutritional needs and requirements for good performance can slip through the cracks . Read more

Sports Injuries On The Rise

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Broken  Distal  Right  Tibial

Youth sport Injuries are on the rise and seem to be more and more in the news lately. Much of the increase has to do with year round one sport activity Read more

More Talk On Warming Up

 

 Dynamic Stretching vs. Static Stretching

 Taylor Tollison  of Elitesoccerconditioning.com has written a nice article on the basis of static and dynamic stretching.Thanks to Taylor for allowing this reprint.

As coaches and trainers we will perform anything from plyometrics to sprinting to reduce injury and increase performance.  The real question is whether the type of stretching we chose to perform before activity will have an affect on the performance and injury levels of our athletes Read more

Treatment and Prevention For The Achilles Tendon

 

Unfortunately, treatments for Achilles tendonitis and tears have not changed or improved much over the past 30 years. Depending on the severity of your tendonitis, you will be guided through the following “solutions” or “cures”. I’ll give you the treatment and my opinion and experience with it. Read more

Youth Runners and Cross County Running

 

Trackmom.com’s favorite Middle Distance and Long Distance 

Guest Contributor Alisa Harvey.

 She’s wriiten a great article on the basics of cross country competiton and your youth athlete. 

 Youth Runners and Cross Country Running  

Once a young runner has devoted a few solid weeks of training on the grass, dirt, and/or trails and their bodies have endured workout sessions of hill repeats, and interval training it is time to race competitively.  A competitive youth cross country runner should follow a regular race-day plan that will make them better prepared to race well. Read more

Speed Training With Lots Of Fun

 

    Looking for fun and a great training too for your super youth athlete?  

Henry and I are always on the look out for cool inexpensive ways to train Lauren and have a ton of fun in the process.This little tool ,the “Rocket Trainer” does that and a lot more.  It’s not only  economical,  The entire family can all use it athlete or not. You are only limited by your imagination and if you have none, there are many pre-planned layouts to perform drills. Read more

Pre-Mentality

 PRE-MENTALITY

(The Mental Athlete)

 

By: Christopher Mack, C1, Quiet Fire Youth Track Club, CA

 

We spend hours practicing our athletes physically, but how much time do we spend practicing the mental aspect of our sport.

 

Joan Benoit, Olympic Gold Medalist believes that running is 80% mental.  Professional athletes spend a lot of time and money with Sports Psychologists to help perfect techniques such as positive self-talk, affirmations, goal setting and visualization.

 

Psychologist in the early 1980’s spent hours explaining to athletes and teams the

importance of mental training techniques and skills.  Today we see athletes are hungry to

learn how to improve their competitive winning edge. 

 

If two athletes of equal ability, the athlete with the mental edge most often will win.

 

Mental training takes the same commitment like we trains the athlete’s body.  Daily mental

practice prepares the athlete for all possibilities and helps the athlete cope positively with the

unexpected, rather than being psyched out. 

 

Developing these five steps in your training approach can be very beneficial in your athletes

overall performance and giving them that competitive edge over their competitors.

 

1. Keep a mental log:  An athlete journal - To help you analyze your athletes thinking pattern and their strengths and weaknesses.
2. Goal setting:  Help your athlete to set realistic short and long term goals. Monitor the results throughout the season.
3. Positive self talk or affirmations:  Help your athlete change their negative thoughts to positive thoughts.  Negative:  I don’t want to let Coach Shelton down. Positive: Coach Shelton believes in me and I believe in myself.
4. Relaxation:  It is important to be relaxed during competition.  The mind must be ready and alert to respond quickly to the heat of competition.
5. Visualization/Mental rehearsal:  The images, feeling, and sounds we have in our mind’s eyes have great power.  Our mind is one our greatest gifts.  Set a competition visualization guide for your athlete’s events.

 

By using mental training strategies, the athlete creates a more personal control over what happens in competition.  Mental training also develops a mental toughness and training concentration that is sometimes lacking in the athletes we coach.

 

Steve Prefontaine, one of America’s greatest distance runner’s, is most remembered for his mental toughness in training and competition.  Two of his notable quotes:

 

 “Most people run a race to see who is fastest, I run a race to see who has the most guts.” 

 

“I’m going to work so that it’s a pure guts race at the end, and if it is, I am the only one who can win it.”

 

Many times athletes practice extremely well be compete poor and below their potential.  This is due to competition anxiety.  Rehearing competition visualization with your athletes gives them the opportunity to see themselves in many different competition settings.  As you help your athletes train their mind in conjunction with the physical training, you will see an increase in their performance and confidence.

 

Are you ready to take your athletes to the next level?  Think PRE!

Coach Chris

Quiet Fire Youth Track Club
 coachc4qf@aol.com
  

Planning For Success

 

 Planning For Success….

Coach Rashad Ahmad

 
As young people what are some of the things you do everyday that you plan for?
When you think about those things, what is important to you?

Are family, friends, being popular, sports, are those some of the things that are important?
Looking at track & field and looking at what you need to do to be successful at this, what are the things you  do to help you become successful?.
 
Do you just wake up each day and hope to be successful, do you have a plan, but not just any plan? You need to have a plan for success or a plan of success. Don’t hope for it, don’t guess or wish upon a star for it, plan on it. Just like a teacher will have a lesson plan, so should you have a plan, a plan for success.  There is an old saying ” If you fail to plan, you’re planning to fail”…what this means is, if you don’t have a plan in place to guide you, then you are planning to fail.
 
Part of your plan for success, is having those people in your life you can trust, you can count on. Have people who believe in you and your dreams, hopes, aspirations. Surround yourself with these kind of people, it doesn’t have to be alot of people, but again they have to support you. If it is alot of people who support you, then you have more support.
 
We all know that there are people in the world who don’t want you to succeed, who won’t support you, those are the one’s who are not part of your circle, your support group. How do you know who these people are, well just keep your eyes and ears open, they will let you know who they are, when they do, you must distance yourself from them.
 
I will continue in part two of this article about how important it is to have people on your side, in your corner, to help you become the success you are trying to be in track & field. and also in life.
 

To Your Success,
 
Coach Rashad

Coach Rashad is the head track coach for Illinois Oak Park Road Runners. A USATF Certified II, CSCS. He has undeniable passion and  expertise for Track and Field. In addition he runs a sucessful speed camp and finds time to train and compete at the Master Level  as well.

Please feel free to drop him a message right here at the comment box and for more infomation go to:

Illinois Park Road Runners

Speedy

Be of good cheer, keep the faith, be steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as you know, your labor is not in vain, in the Lord..1 Cor. 15:58.

It Does Matter Whether You Win Or Lose

It Does Matter Whether You Win or Lose!

Written by guest contributor Chris Mack Assistant Head Coach of the Quite Fire Track Club Los Angeles,California

Our society is passionately engaged in a tremendous love affair with sports.  A major focus is directed toward winning and winners.  Whether good or bad, the reality of winning is a central feature of the sporting experience.

 

I believe winning should not be the only focus of the youth sport experience.  It is important that the youth sports coach has a clear understanding of just where this whole issue of winning fits into their personal values and approaches to coaching young athletes.

 If given the choice, and all other factors being equal, most if not all athletes would prefer to win.  It is normal for coaches to have a desire for their athletes or team to win, rather than lose.  Winning often determines or defines whether a coach is really good.

 What is the price of winning? What values, priorities are sacrificed as a part of the coach of winning?  Nobody wins all the time, and all of those other factors are not always equal.  Where does winning fit for the coach?

 

The answer lies in the focus of youth sports.  I believe the primary mission of youth sport and of the youth sports coach is not to win races, titles or championships.  I truly believe the reason for youth sports and the mission of the youth sport coach is to WIN KIDS!

 Youth sport athletes, are not mini major leaguers.  They are not pint-sized pro athletes.  Youth athletes are kids!

Being a child- a kid is a very specific stage in one’s life. Youth sport is a very important activity of millions of kids, and for some is their most important activity.  It is critical that youth sport activities provide experiences that match the developmental needs of children at this stage in their lives.  It is very important for the  coach to remember they are foundation builders.  The  coach  should provide fundamental nurturing experiences that build a strong foundation for future successes in sports and in life.

 Coaches have to consider at least four critical areas in their foundation building: physical, psychological, social and moral.  When these four cornerstones of youth sport experience are in place, the body of the foundation is building on principles of the process of being a success.  True success in sport or in life, does not come quickly or easily.  There is processes an individual must invest to achieve true success.

The process includes:

• Realistic goal setting.
• Proper Planning.
• Purposeful practice and preparation
• Dedication and commitment.
• Patience and persistence.
• Experiencing personal pride and fulfillment when the goal is attained.

Understanding theses processes is one of the most important parts of a youngster’s sport experience.   

So, where does winning fits?  Is it important? Is it proper for youth sport coaches or young athletes to want to win?  The answer, of course, is OK to have a desire to win.

If a coach win championships but fail to promote and protect each child’s development and future, they have missed the point and purpose of being a youth sport coach!

Not only will a coach win in the athlete’s lives, but they will also probably have placed themselves and their athletes in the best position to win.

 

It really does matter whether you win or lose because it really matters that youth sports coaches win in the life of each and every kid they touch through sports!

 

WINNERS

Winners are positive thinkers

Winner take chances

Winners don’t give up

Winners are flexible

Winners are not perfect

Winners will fall but they refuse to stay down

Winners don’t blame

 Winners accept responsibility

 Winners are patient

Winners are people like you

Effort+ Will + Motivation+Determination = A Successful Athlete

 

Chris Mack

Quiet Fire TrackTeam

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I started running track in the street of Philly., at the young age of 6 - post college. I ran for the Philadelphia Express and the Gazelle Striders, Under the umbrella of the UAGTCA of Philly.  I competed in AAU and TAC meets.

I have numerous of awards and athletic achievements during my track life in Philly.  I was ranked all public and state in the 800M and I have a indoor record in the 1,000 meter run.  My best events were the 400M & 800M and relays: 4X400, 4X800 and the distance medley.  I was member of my high school distance medley who holds high school record.  I ran the 800M leg.

The most exciting meet I participated in as a youth, High school and College runner was the Penn Relays.

Getting Your Youth Cross Country Runner Faster… Is It Possible?

 Parents are constanly asking the burning question “How can I help my kid get faster”?  Coach Dean Hebert over at the “Running World According To Dean”   has answered this burning question and gives insight and help   to the parent of a Cross Country Athlete . 

 Coach Dean shares, “Training and  talent (genetics) will dictate how far his running will take him. The training is far more heavily weighted (pardon the pun) on what you do with your running not in the weight room”. 

 ”Kids mature at such different rates that often competitions seem “unfair” with some so developed and some still looking like they belong in grade school or middle school (junior high school). Combine that with genetics (some kids simply won’t be big or tall or fast or whatever) and it becomes an interesting dilemma. However, the good news is that the answer is actually more straightforward than the problem.

The first thing to dissuade ourselves of is that a successful runner has certain dimensions. We know that runners tend to be leaner than other athletes. There is also a tendency for the longer distance runners to be lighter and slighter in stature; the middle distance runners tend to be a bit bigger and stronger; and sprinters tend to be the most bulky and powerful of runners. These are only a tendencies and do not dictate success - there are numerous exceptions within these generalizations”.

 To read the entire article go to Youth Running: How can I help my teen runner get faster?

 

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