Techniques August 2023

CARYL SMITH GILBERT

USTFCCCA President

Caryl Smith Gilbert is the Director of Men’s and Women’s Track & Field at the University of Georgia. Caryl can be reached at UGATFXC@sports.uga.edu

DIVISION PRESIDENTS

MARC DAVIS

Track & Field

Marc Davis is the Director of Track &Field and Cross Counry at Troy University. Marc can be reached at mddavis@troy.edu.

DANA SCHWARTING

Track & Field

Dana Schwarting is the Head Men’s and Women’s Track & Field Coach at Lewis College. Dana can be reached at schwarda@ lewisu.edu

KENNETH COX

Track & Field

Kenneth Cox is the Head Cross Country and Track & Field Coach at Birmingham-Southern College. Kenneth can be reached at kcox@bsc.edu

MIKE COLLINS

Track & Field

Mike Collins is the Head Men’s and Women’s Cross Country and Track & Field Coach at LewisClark State College. Mike can be reached at mcollins@lcsc.edu

CHIP GAYDEN

Track & Field

Chip Gayden is the Head Men’s and Women’s Track & Field Coach at Meridian Community College. He can be reached at hgayden@meridiancc.edu

KEVIN SULLIVAN

Cross Country

Kevin Sullivan is the Director of Track and Field and Cross Country at the University of Michigan. Kevin can be reached at krsully@ umich.edu

JAMEY HARRIS

Cross Country

Jamey Harris is the Head

Men’ and Women’s Track & Field Coach at CAL Poly Humboldt University. Jamey can be reached at jamey@humboldt.edu

MATTHEW BARREAU

Cross Country

Matthew Barreau is the Head

Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Coach at Lewis and Clark College. Matthew can be reached at barreau@lclark.edu

RYAN SOMMERS

Cross Country

Ryan Sommers is the Head

Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Coach at Bethel (Ind.). Ryan can be reached at ryan.sommers@bethelcollege.edu

DEE BROWN

Cross Country

Dee Brown is the Director of Track and Field and Cross Country at Iowa Central CC. Dee can be reached at brown_dee@iowacentral.edu

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Techniques (ISSN 1939-3849) is published quarterly in February, May, August and November by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. Copyright 2023. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any manner, in whole or in part, without the permission of the publisher. techniques is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, photos and artwork even if accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope. The opinions expressed in techniques are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of the magazines’ managers or owners. Periodical Postage Paid at New Orleans La and Additional Entry Offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: USTFCCCA, PO Box 55969, Metairie, LA 70055-5969.

A Coaches Roundtable

Discussion of Coaching the 400-Meter Hurdles

Many coaches look for the quick, simple fix in training. Yet, at the same time, they complicate things and make training for different events much more complex than necessary. The 400meter hurdles are one such event. Not that it isn’t difficult. It is widely acknowledged as one of the toughest events in track and field, and designing training for the event can be incredibly challenging. But many coaches “overthink” the event and make it much more complicated than it needs to be.

Our coaching philosophy, regardless of the event, is to break it down and simplify the training as much as possible. Coaches should be reminded that simple doesn’t necessarily mean easy. Training for the 400-meter hurdles obviously isn’t easy. Vern Gambetta, the founding father of functional training and a former track and field coach, says this: “I have believed for years that simplicity yields complexity. Start simple and basic, and build complexity as needed. If it is not needed, then don’t go to more complexity. Simple is not necessarily simplistic,” he says.

The objective of this presentation is to provide an understanding into how leading collegiate coaches train their elite long hurdlers. The coaches were all asked to answer a number of questions to gain perspective of how coaches in different areas of the country orchestrate and design their training programs. Some of the questions presented to the panel of coaches were queries coaches have posed to me. Despite a coaching career that has spanned 43 years, and having coached several national champions in the 400-meter hurdles, some were questions that I have had throughout the years. This reinforces my belief that track and field coaches should always be learning. And it certainly goes along with the cliché that says, “It is always good to know what you don’t know.” As coaches navigate down the long and winding information highway, it is important for them to glean information from practitioners who have had plentiful successful experiences over a long period of time. Thus, there is no better way to continue to obtain information and enhance yourself as a coach than a coaches roundtable discussion. Seven very successful collegiate coaches were asked the same nine questions pertaining to the training of 400-meter hurdles in this presentation. But first, a brief look at the coaches who agreed to participate:

KIRBY LEE IMAGE OF SPORT

A COACHES ROUNDTABLE

Reece Vega, North Dakota State University. Vega is currently a third-year sprints/hurdles coach at North Dakota State University in Fargo, ND, where he was an All-American sprinter. He has been remarkably successful at his alma mater, having guided athletes to numerous all-conference honors and adding many performers to the all-time Bison “Top Ten” list. Vega, who has coached 35 All-Americans, came to NDSU from the University of Mary in Bismarck, ND, where he was ultra-successful. Now in his 16th year of coaching, Vega was named the NSIC “Indoor Assistant Coach of the Year” in 2019 and 2020, and the Central Region “Coach of the Year” in 2018. Vega is a former head coach at College of Saint Rose in Albany, NY, and at Graceland University in Lamoni, Iowa.

Curtis Taylor, University Oregon. The associate head coach for the Ducks, Taylor joined the Oregon staff in 2014 after a very successful stint at Laney College in California. He is in his ninth year overall at Oregon and sixth as associate head coach. He has guided Ducks to eight individual NCAA titles, 26 individual PAC-12 conference championships and is an eight-time “West Region Assistant Coach of the Year.” Taylor is a three-time NCAA Division I “National Assistant Coach of the Year” and in 2017 guided Jenna Prandini, the 2015 Bowerman winner. Taylor has been a part of 10 NCAA team championships while at Oregon.

Ernie Clark, San Jose State University(CA). Clark is in his second year as the sprint/ hurdles coach at San Jose State after a long, very successful career at Ashland in Ohio where he had been associate head coach since 2015. Clark was a seven-time regional “Coach of the Year” and a fourtime “National Assistant Coach of the Year” while at Ashland. He coached 85 Division II national qualifiers, had 45 All-Americans and 13 national champions at Ashland, which won indoor national titles in 2018, 2019, 2020, and outdoor national championships in 2018 and 2019. Clark has coached a number of Olympic trials qualifiers, including Myles Pringle and Trevor Bassitt, the 400-meter bronze medalist in the recent World Championships in Eugene.

Reynaldo Radlin, Grand Valley State University (MI). Coach Radlin is in his fifth year as the sprint/hurdles coach at the highly successful GVSU in Michigan. A former high school coach in Phoenix, Radlin has coached 25 national qualifiers and 19

All-Americans for the Lakers. He began his coaching career at Troy (AL) and was there from 2015-2018. Radlin graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he was an Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) champion in the 400-meter hurdles. He earned his master’s degree in “Sport and Fitness Management” from Troy University.

Kebba Tolbert, Harvard University. Tolbert is in his 12th year as the associate head coach at Harvard University where he oversees the women’s sprints, hurdles, horizontal jumps and heptathlon. Tolbert started his coaching career at Iowa Wesleyan and has developed All-Americans and conference champions at a number of different levels, including NCAA Divisions I and III and NAIA. His very successful coaching stops have included McKendree (IL) Syracuse, Portland State (Head Coach) and UTEP, prior to Harvard. He is a many-time “Assistant Coach of the Year” and has been an instructor at the USTFCCCA Academy for over a decade. Coach Tolbert has an undergraduate degree from Colby College in Maine and a master’s degree from Smith College (MA).

Mark Mueller, Duke University. The ninth- year associate head coach at Duke oversees sprints, hurdles, and relays. He was named the 2021 Southeast Region “Assistant of the Year” following Duke’s first-ever ACC outdoor championship. Mueller has coached Madeline Price, Steven Soloman and Brittany Aveni to world stage finals in the long sprints. Lauren Hoffman, another one of Mueller’s athletes, placed third in the NCAA championships in the 400-meter hurdles in 2022. Coach Mueller was both a football and track and field athlete at Stanford, and received his master’s degree in Theological studies from Duke.

LaRon Bennett, University of Virginia. Bennett joined the Cavaliers in 2021 as the sprint, hurdles and relays coach after a very successful stint at Belhaven, a Division III school in Mississippi where he was the director of track and field and cross country. From 2012 to 2017, Bennett was at Drake University in Iowa where he served as co-head coach in his final year. Coach Bennett started his coaching career at Georgia, where he was a three-time All-American for the Bulldogs. Bennett competed in the 400-meter hurdles at four different Olympic trials.

The nine questions and the responses by all seven of the coaches are listed below. Some answers have been edited for the sake of brevity, clarity, and grammatical correct-

ness.

1. What is the biggest limiting factor for you in how you train 400-meter hurdlers and how do you work to control or eliminate it?

Reece Vega: For us at NDSU, it’s weather. Luckily, we have an indoor facility that helps. It’s tough for us to develop a stride pattern until it is nice enough to get outdoors.

Curtis Taylor: The biggest limiting factor is time. So often you must have workouts that cater to both hurdles and make decisions with regards to which hurdle event will likely be the most successful for the athlete.

Ernie Clark: The biggest limiting factor is always speed. You can’t run the 400 hurdles fast without being fast! I continuously try to improve sprint technique and speed from 30 meters to 400 meters to help improve the athlete’s potential in the 400 hurdle race. The second BIGGEST limiting factor is the inability to use both lead legs. Therefore, I always make athletes drill and use both legs. There will never be progress in the 400 hurdles for young people without taking steps from the race and alternating at some point. THEY MUST BE ABLE TO USE BOTH LEGS TO REACH FULL POTENTIAL.

Reynaldo Radlin: The ability to get race model repetitions on the outdoor track during the winter months is limited. However, having a 300-meter track with hurdle marks allows us to be creative and prepared.

Kebba Tolbert: I don’t know that there are any significant factors besides the time and energy of the athlete.

Mark Mueller: I think the biggest limiting factor varies based on the athlete. Speed and running efficiency are essential, but I would say, specifically to hurdling, steering is critical. Anything that breaks momentum is compounded as the race progresses. We work a lot at addressing all factors that lead to speed loss navigating the barriers. The specifics of what contributes to loss in momentum varies from athlete to athlete, so I try to take an individual approach with each of my athletes.

LaRon Bennett: The biggest factor for me is usually matching an athlete’s speed to the most efficient hurdle race plan. We do a lot

of pace work and timing cues, so the athlete can tell if they are on pace or not.

2. Many coaches believe the best way to improve your performance in the 400meter hurdles is by improving your maximum velocity. How important is speed in your overall program?

Reece Vega: Speed is critical, but I would say there is a balance between speed, speed endurance, and special speed endurance.

Curtis Taylor: Speed is, and always has been, a priority in my/our program. I think though, that you must consider how you’re getting your speed gains and if they are frequency-oriented in nature. They may not necessarily have a positive effect on 400meter hurdles training.

Ernie Clark: It’s HUGE. If an athlete isn’t fast, then they won’t ever be fast in the event. It is STILL a speed power event even though historically coaches have tried to treat it as mid distance. It is NOT. It IS in fact

speed and power, so the systems need to be trained accordingly.

Reynaldo Radlin: Speed is an essential component throughout the entire training year. 400-meter hurdlers need a good balance of all training elements to be successful.

Kebba Tolbert: Maximum speed is an important skill to develop in long hurdlers. However, it’s important to understand that many long sprinters will struggle to express this in training (mainly due to the acceleration demands). This is where relays and distances over 80-200 meters can be important. As with 400/800 types, we sometimes don’t see big improvements in testing speed, but can see the overall effects of improvement on their performance. That said, we work on speed and its subcomponents (technique, power, coordination) with regular densities in our training cycles.

Mark Mueller: I fully agree. It is my top priority for the majority of the off-season training, and we never get too far away from

it. We continue to touch on true maximum velocity throughout the season at least every two weeks, even if it is just a few repetitions before a speed endurance or special endurance session.

LaRon Bennett: Speed is vital to establishing a good hurdle race, but speed endurance is the key piece to running a fast race. You must be able to get up to the 90 percent range of sprinting capacity and be able to maintain through the lactic threshold as long as possible.

3. What percentage of time do you spend on long speed work that matches the 400meter hurdles tempo? Or put another way, what percentage of your interval training is done at 400-meter hurdles race pace?

Reece Vega: We spend a majority of the time on race pace unless weather or facilities hinder it. Most of the time we will hit the first few repetitions at race pace and then back down as the workout progresses. I’d say around 75 percent at the race pace.

Curtis Taylor: None. If I’m doing some running that matches the 400-meter hurdles tempo, I’m doing it over hurdles.

Ernie Clark: There is almost no interval training at race pace, except some repetitions that will emulate the finish pace. But the pace from hurdles 1to 8 are too fast to do “intervals.” I have the athletes essentially do race simulation work from hurdles 1 to 8. The work is at high speeds, but not done as interval training. This work is done with anywhere from 6 to 10 minutes rest.

Reynaldo Radlin: We try to do specific race model work every other week during the season.

Kebba Tolbert: Interval training and specific endurance work are crucial – especially as the 400 hurdler gets older. When an athlete is young, we don’t get too fancy or advanced with their specific endurance training and programming. In all cases, with long sprinters and hurdlers, we are doing some form of interval training almost every micro cycle (once we get to specific prep). As they get older and/or deeper into the annual cycle,

we often will do two days of targeted specific endurance training.

Mark Mueller: Starting in the late fall, we will address some segments of the 400-meter hurdles race for rhythm purposes, and we will work on race pace work once a week in practice in season. I tend to have my 400meter hurdlers run more races than an open 400-meter sprinter would because I think the specific rhythm of the race is harder to replicate in practice and they need more experience racing.

LaRon Bennett: Fall training we focus on hurdle mobility and general base training. Winter through early spring we drill and do hurdle specific workouts three times a week.

4 How much time do you spend on hurdle mechanics/drills, and do you think they are important? What are some of your favorite drills?

Reece Vega: We spend a large amount of time doing hurdle drills during the preseason (September-December). During the season we spend more time hurdling during workouts. Hangs, walks, 1-steppers, 3-step-

pers, and tempo hurdles are my favorite.

Curtis Taylor:  I would say 50 percent of the time is doing drills as the actual running hurdling doesn’t really take that long. I feel that lots of approach and steering type exercises are important as well as lead leg coordination and switching/change down exercises.

Ernie Clark:  Every hurdle day will begin with hurdle drills and technique, BOTH legs. I have a core set of drills that include ground drills, and 3-step half hurdle drills.

Reynaldo Radlin: Every hurdle session starts with some form of hurdle drills. Quick 3-step exercises isolating the trail leg and 4-step rhythm drills are my favorites.

Kebba Tolbert: We spend relatively little time on drills, but a lot of time on mechanics. In late general prep and early specific prep, we’ll do some hurdle drill work with the 400 hurdles crew, after that, not too much. We do, in fact, do a lot of hurdle work from specific prep onward, but I wouldn’t classify it as drill work. We’ll focus on

being comfortable with different rhythms and step patterns. We’ll emphasize solid technical execution and smoothness with the non-preferred leg. We’ll make sure the athletes are developing steering abilities and maintaining momentum into and off of the hurdle. All of these require technical skills needed to improve performance levels and safeguard sport health.

Mark Mueller: It depends on the level of the hurdler. If they have experience with the short hurdles or have extensive experience from high school, and their form is solid, then I don’t do as many drills, because I see the steering/approach and execution of proper takeoff to the hurdle as being more indicative of what they will look like over the hurdle. I have learned from great coaches (Boo Schexnayder and Dan Pfaff, in particular) that many flaws we see and try to coach/cue are simply instinctual guarding mechanisms. The root of the issue is how they approach and take-off, not what I am telling them to do with their limbs in the air. I have very simple foundational drills that we do as a warmup and most often it is a simple 2-step or 4-step alternate drill that I adjust and progress depending on what I am seeing.

LaRon Bennett: We will drill three times a week. Drilling with the proper mechanics is key to running hurdles efficiently. Our focus is mostly on fast trail-leg and a lead-leg that is in the right position going in and off the hurdle. I like trail-leg drills, too, because the trail-leg controls the speed of the race.

5. How important is the first hurdle to success in the 400-meter hurdles, and what are some of the training/techniques you do to develop consistency to the first hurdle? Reece Vega: I believe hitting the first two hurdles in rhythm sets the athlete up both mentally and physically. We all have seen those athletes that will stutter to the first hurdle, and they think about it for the rest of the race. We train the athlete to be able to hit the first hurdle with either lead leg. I have been to a number of meets where a 15 mph wind is blowing into the face of the athletes at the start and they won’t be able to use the first hurdle stride pattern they are accustomed to.

Curtis Taylor: It’s very important and I feel that repetition is the key.

Ernie Clark: Its REPS! We build skills of perfection in the first 30 meters and get consistent to hurdle 1 by doing it over and over. Most every session begins with a full effort start to 1 and the session will usually end with a start to H1.

Reynaldo Radlin: Extremely important to establish rhythm in the race. Early acceleration work, take-off and touchdown film review, and rehearsing the blocks to H1 early and often.

Kebba Tolbert: How athletes approach the first hurdle is a crucial component in 400meter hurdles outcome. In general, when analyzing 400 hurdles races at all levels, I feel most athletes go out too fast. It’s rampant and an understudied factor. This, in turn, disrupts energy distribution, speed curves, and technical efficiency. So, we really try to take an approach to the first hurdle that allows the athlete to work within their performance capacity and not get too caught up in what’s going on in the lanes around them – especially at this early part of the race. So, really being comfortable with your own rhythm is essential here. We do a significant amount of work where we demand discipline with splits or touchdowns over the first few hurdles. Mistakes of even just a few tenths in the first few hurdles can prove very costly later in the race. We graph hurdle races and use pacing charts to help them see the steepness of deceleration curves when they go too fast. So often, athletes don’t really recognize the feel of it because they’re so used to going out too fast. So even throttling back a little bit in the first third of the race feels like a radical shift for them. By showing them touchdown times, pacing charts, and then demonstrating the commensurate uptick in technical execution, they begin to see the light. The difference in energy they report in debriefing is significant as well.

Mark Mueller: Acceleration is important in every sprint race, but it is important to set up the rest of the race. The athlete does not necessarily need to be great at it as a standalone component. I don’t try to set up consistency as much as adaptability. Their steps often change from the beginning of the season to the end of the season because they are improving and bringing more speed and have lengthened their stride length or gained more confidence. Also, wind and weather can affect this more often than we take into account, so I want them to be able

to steer and adjust, and we constantly practice and highlight being adaptive.

LaRon Bennett: The first, third, fifth, seventh and last hurdles are key transition hurdles. Hurdle 1 sets up the race. The third establishes the acceleration of the race, and the fifth hurdle sets up the second half of the race. The seventh hurdle positions the athlete for the end of the race and is an indicator of fitness. Athletes should sprint off the last hurdle hard. This is where races are won and lost. Repetition and touchdown cues help with consistency.

6. What are the best methods you use to improve race management and race modeling?

Reece Vega: Race repetitions in practice and hitting the 200 meters in practice at race pace. As we get farther along during the season, the athlete will be able to hit longer and longer intervals at race pace. During the first few weeks hitting the 200-meter at race pace over five hurdles is difficult. As the season progresses, that gets pushed out to 300 meters over eight hurdles and sometimes 350 meters. This helps the athlete be physically able to run at the desired pace, as well as know mentally they can do it.

Curtis Taylor: Race simulation and effort in practice. Keeping the hurdles as close to their normal marks as much as possible and only adjusting them when they absolutely need to.

Ernie Clark: The best method is to DO IT. I always start the season with starts to minimal hurdles. Example: Maybe 1x H1, H3, H4, H3, H1. But as the season progresses, I might move to 1x H1, H3, H5, H7, H1. These are done with intensity and focus. Video is done and hurdle splits are taken to try to hit race pace goals and stride patterns.

Reynaldo Radlin--We work to establish a baseline model through hurdles four through five with a basic strategy before the season opener. Once we race, we review the film and stretch the zones out based on how that athlete executed and their overall ability.

Kebba Tolbert: See above. But we also do race modeling over various segments of the race. So, depending on what we’re trying to attack, we may do work and repetitions at anywhere from three to 12 hurdles.

Mark Mueller: I think that the most important thing is to have a good foundation of understanding and feeling of maintaining velocity over the barriers and knowing the goal of mitigating as much loss as possible. I think they need to understand how much an extra few inches of height on the first three hurdles costs them throughout the race, and that all energy loss is cumulative. I break it down for them as much as they need to hear, and then I film and review the split times from practice and show them what happened and why they lost velocity. I believe this is critical and requires a lot more work to understand the physics and math on the coaches’ part. It also requires the coach to correctly identify the root, and then communicate this in an effective way to each athlete.

LaRon Bennett: I always connect “real race” strategies to everyday practice workouts. They must know the “why” of “what” they do.

7. Do you demand that the 400-meter hurdler have the ability to alternate lead legs, and if you do, what do you do to train and teach this? Explain.

Reece Vega: Yes, we can try to train a consistent stride pattern through the whole 400 hurdle race, but we have all seen races where the wind, rain, or level of competition throw that out the window. I believe to CONSISTENTLY have good 400 hurdle performances an athlete needs to alternate. Any athlete can have one good performance where all the stride patterns line up, but consistency is key in running rounds and performing at a high level when the athlete needs to. To train it, I have always liked doing “Shuffle the Deck,” where I have athletes run a set distance from 60 meters to 300 meters and put the hurdles at random spacing through each repetition. It forces them to use whatever lead leg works for that hurdle.

Curtis Taylor: I think it’s very important. See answer number four.

Ernie Clark: I absolutely demand it. Potential cannot be reached without it. We drill both legs and sometimes focus on weak only on a day to gain confidence with the weak lead leg. I also do 5-step hurdles with the weak leg sometimes as a warmup, or as a conclusion to the end of the day to FORCE reps with it. It must be used to improve.

Reynaldo Radlin: Yes, we start with reduced height 3-step whole and isolated drills early

in the fall and gradually progress the height, spacing, and number of steps between the hurdles (4,6,8 steps).

Kebba Tolbert: I believe this is a very important skill. We start work on the nonpreferred leg in general prep and continue it throughout the season. We start with super low hurdles, as low as 18 to 20 inches and begin teaching. We do basic drills and runs to teach comfort with the non-preferred leg and work from there. Anything is on the table from basic movement skills to working from four to 16 steps apart. We teach nonpreferred leg work in non-fatigued states. Lack of skill and confidence with the nonpreferred leg literally costs athletes tenths of seconds per hurdle. They end up too close, they stutter, they go too high, and they lose momentum into and off the hurdle. The list goes on and on.

Mark Mueller: I think to be competitive at the national level, it is essential for the vast majority of athletes. I think it is as much mental fear as anything else. I make it a point of emphasis to not say “my bad leg,” because that sets a fixed mindset that they can’t improve it, and that it is hard to overcome. We simply drill it as their “other good leg,” a bit more than their more comfortable side. I challenge them in creative ways to think about it differently than they have been and encourage progress when they show even the slightest bit of improvement. I frame it so they don’t need to compare it to how it feels to their other leg, but to gain competency for the specific and few times they need to use it in the race. If the expectations are manageable, it becomes much less scary.

LaRon Bennett: Absolutely! Being able to alternate allows you to accelerate and decelerate between race patterns versus chopping steps. Example: if you run 13 steps but can’t alternate, you run faster starting off, but at the latter half of your race, when you are fatigued, you will likely go down to 15 steps. If you can alternate, you can run 13 steps and then transition down to 14 steps, resulting in less of a drop in time.

8. If you could give one piece of advice to a beginning coach of a 400-meter hurdler, what would you tell them? Explain. Reece Vega: Don’t get caught focusing too much on the specifics. Keep it simple.

Curtis Taylor: Teach them how to hurdle first and don’t just move someone into the

event because they are a failed short hurdler or a mediocre 400 runner. They must bring some talent and desire into the event.

Ernie Clark: Don’t get caught up in stride patterns and counting steps at first, not at all! Focus on sprinting, attacking the hurdle in and out, and using whatever leg comes up. Stride patterns will NOT be consistent for years as the athlete progresses, so don’t set in stone a stride pattern early and get stuck on it. It will actually limit their ability to progress. And TEACH and ENFORCE both lead legs!

Reynaldo Radlin: Don’t get caught up in the steps. Just because an athlete can physically take a certain number of steps between hurdles early in the race, it doesn’t necessarily mean that will be the most successful pattern for them for the entire race. An example would be the athlete who is physically capable of taking 13 or 14 steps through three hurdles, but they are working too hard to do it.

Kebba Tolbert: Study the history of the event – the development, the different approaches often used in training, the different body types and nationalities that have been successful. What are the commonalities of success at the youth, college, and professional levels?

Mark Mueller: The best advice I received going into graduate school was, “Dig for gold, rather than rake for leaves.” I think the best way to do that is to read, read, read, and then talk with mentors and peers. Read books, read interviews, read articles, read research, and branch out and read about experts in other fields. We like to just look at drills on Twitter and social media, but don’t dive deep enough into the science, the math, the specific case studies of athletes, the journeys of other coaches, and other great performers and educators. And then once you read something good, write down your ideas and thoughts and share them with someone else.

LaRon Bennett: Make sure hurdle drills are done right and relevant to what you want to see in a race. Make sure hurdlers know the “why,” so they are better able to execute during practices and races. Lastly, you need to be fast without hurdles, so you can be fast with the hurdles. So, train accordingly.

9. What is your favorite 400-meter hurdles

simulation training or workout?

Reece Vega: My favorite workout is 2 x 300-meter over hurdles with 10 minutes recovery. The athlete has two minutes rest after the second 300 meters, followed by 3 x 150-meter over the last 150 meters of the 400 meter hurdle race with two minutes rest. We only do it twice a year. It really gives me a good idea of where the athlete is at.

Curtis Taylor: I like race simulations over 300-meter hurdles. It gives you an opportunity to work on race modeling and stride patterning without fear of focusing on or blowing up that last 100 meters.

Ernie Clark: Any form of fast through first five hurdles or even up to 7H, and immediately walk to about the 150 meter while getting 1:00 to 1:30 rest, and then sprinting H8, 9, and 10 to the finish. Full recovery and repeat. It’s tough.

Reynaldo Radlin: 1 x H8 + H6-8, H7-9, H8-10 w/walk or jog back, or Tempo 200s over hurdles.

Kebba Tolbert: It really depends on where we are with the athlete in their development. But for older, more advanced athletes, I like doing work over seven to 10 hurdles. I’ll often follow it with a short break (1-6 minutes) and then go into some form of fatigue hurdling work (usually working over hurdles seven to 10, looking at two to four units total). We may do anywhere from one to three sets with near complete recovery.

Mark Mueller: I primarily do two. I will split the race into two to three sections and give a short rest between reps, or I will run seven to eight hurdles with a 100-150 rep after.

LaRon Bennett: 300h-100-100 x 3. Basically run 300 over the last five hurdles - walk 100 meters for recovery - run 100 meters with no hurdles – walk 100 meters – run 100 meters. Rest seven minutes and repeat set.

SUMMARY

Change is constant and the great coaches embrace it and understand that there is always more to learn. It is difficult to learn, however, when you know everything, and I have encountered more and more coaches in recent years that fall into that category. Most of us will agree that great coaches have a passion and are in constant pursuit of excellence. They are always challenging themselves to get better. A principle from the legendary basketball coach John Wooden of UCLA, certainly applies to this: “It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.” It is our hope that this article can inspire and encourage coaches to continue to learn and provide them with an awareness and understanding that will guide them in their quest for success and excellence in their 400 meter hurdles training programs for their athletes.

A special thank you to Ann Thorson and Amelia Sherman for editing and technical assistance.

MIKE THORSON, FORMER DIRECTOR OF TRACK & FIELD/CROSS COUNTRY @ THE UNIVERSITY OF MARY (ND)

Approaching Greatness

Managing Approach Run Length in Horizontal Jump Training and Competition

Whether in training or competition, the length of the long or triple jump approach is a critical variable. Approach length dictates velocities as the jumper arrives at the board, and longer approaches (bringing higher velocities) raise the ceiling on performances. Of course, we all know that raising the ceiling isn’t necessarily the same as raising performances. An approach that is too long (and produces velocities that are too high) increases coordination demands and might very well decrease performances. In the same way, approaches in training should allow the purpose of the practice to be accomplished. When you take this into account, its remarkable how little thought is often given to such an important factor.

STEPS OR METERS?

The key factor in approach run planning is the number of steps employed. More steps mean greater velocities. While an approach of a certain number of steps is associated with a certain measurable distance, it’s not smart to base approach length decisions on that measurement. Stride length is determined by talent and training. Better, more highly trained athletes exhibit longer stride lengths. In fact, when athletes of comparable talent and training levels use the same number of steps (and styles), their approach distances are often very similar.

COMPETITION APPROACH LENGTH – NORMS

In long jump competition we see a wide range of approach lengths, sometimes as little as 12 steps or as long as 22 steps. When examining better long jumpers, 12 to 14 steps seem common for ages up to 12. Thirteen to15 year olds usually use

14 to 16 steps, and 16 to 18 year olds use 16 to 18 steps. Approaches longer than 18 steps are reserved for older and elite level competitors. The triple jump, with its higher level of coordinative demand, usually shows athletes using slightly shorter approaches than in the long jump. Most triple jumpers (at any level) usually use one to four less steps than they might use in a long jump competition. This, of course, is also affected by the athlete’s technical proficiency. For example, an athlete who is very sound technically in the triple jump might use only one to two steps less than they would in their long jump approach, while a person who is technically sound in long jump but struggles in the triple jump might use three or four steps less.

ODDS AND EVENS

In our discussion, we have been using predominately even numbers, but odd numbers of steps are allowable and, in some cases, advised. To understand this, we must have an understanding of human handedness patterns. All humans possess a leg that is stronger than the other, while the other leg is more coordinated than the strong leg. In most cases, right-handed people show a strong left leg and a coordinated right leg, although this is not always the case. Left handers (for some reason) do not show comparable patterns, meaning it’s not unusual at all for a left-handed person to have a strong right leg and coordinated right leg (the pattern we normally associate with right-handers).

In any case, the strong leg should always be forward in the starting stance. Most athletes prefer to long jump off of the strong leg, which results in the approach containing an even number of steps. Some athletes, however, particularly the faster

APPROACHING GREATNESS

ones, struggle to coordinate takeoffs at high speeds with the strong (but less coordinated) leg, and prefer to jump off of the coordinated leg. This results in an approach containing an odd number of steps.

In the triple jump, using the coordinated leg for the first two takeoffs (when speeds are higher) and the stronger leg for the final takeoff (when velocities have decreased) is advised in most cases. Since the strong leg is forward at the start, this would result in a triple jump approach containing an odd number of steps. If this athlete long jumps off of the strong leg, it would result in using an even number of steps in the long jump and one or three less steps in the triple jump (resulting in an odd number of steps). Situations like this one, where a jumper might use an even number of steps in one event, and an odd number in another, are seldom mentioned but are a perfectly acceptable coaching practice. Some athletes do execute the first two takeoffs with the stronger leg, which results in an even number of steps in the triple jump approach. In most cases the coach would use two or four less steps in the triple jump approach than would be used with the same athlete in the long jump.

COMPETITION APPROACH LENGTH –ADJUSTMENTS AND PROGRESSIONS

The norms previously provided serve as a solid starting point for the coach when beginning to work with an athlete. However, there are exceptions, and we must identify factors which indicate a need for a longer or shorter run. Extreme levels of technical difficulties or inconsistencies might force an athlete to take less steps. In this case coach and athlete are hoping that the decrease in step number, even though it might lower the potential performance, might result in a higher level of consistency.

Remarkably high levels of consistency in the horizontal jumps are not always something to be happy with. Examining most high level long or triple jump competitions shows that top competitors usually hit two great jumps per competition, with the remaining trials being average, poor, or fouls. The reason for this apparent inconsistency is risktaking behavior. If the approach run is long enough and the velocities are appropriate, it’s difficult to hit all three or six jumps due to the high velocity and high coordinative demand. Remarkable levels of consistency at a certain level are often a sign of underachievement and the need for a more risk-

taking philosophy when approach length is determined.

TRAINING THE MEET LENGTH APPROACH

Developing the long or triple jump approach requires training and repetition. Constant efforts at improving acceleration abilities result in improved momentum values. Easier achievement of high velocities allows relaxation at takeoff and budgets coordinative capabilities to allow better takeoffs. Improvements of maximal velocity raise the ceiling on performance. While not critical at the developmental level, speed endurance is very important with emerging elite and elite competitors. Speed endurance improves levels of specific coordination at high speeds and results in more comfortable, fluid takeoffs.

Of course, rehearsal of the meet length approach is a critical part of the training program as well. Once the specific preparation training phase has begun, regular rehearsal should start and remain a constant part of the training regimen for the entire season. Most programs devote one day a week to this purpose. In a competition, a jumper will typically do two to three warm-up efforts and then get six trials in the competition, so doing eight to nine approach runs in a session makes sense. During the competitive season, the training schedule is often crowded. If mastery levels are high, you can do a few less, and devote the remainder of the session to speed or speed endurance work on the track afterwards. Its not unusual for jumpers inseason to do four to six full approach efforts in training, then finishing with one to three speed endurance efforts of 120 meters on the track. Of particular importance is implementation of the takeoff. Many coaches have failed because they figured that short run jump work on the takeoff would suffice and they failed to address the takeoff in these full-approach sessions. While these sessions will always involve the same number of steps that the jumper uses in competition, it can be a time to experiment with a longer approach and assess its potential benefits.

EARLY SEASON MEETS –LONG OR SHORT RUNS?

A common part of long and triple jump coaching culture is using shorter approaches in early-season meets, then progressing to longer approaches later in the season. This is a destructive practice. There are incredible levels of subtlety in the rhythms and

distribution of an approach of any length, and mastering them requires many repetitions at intensities that can only be achieved in competition. Employing short runs during the first part of the competitive season only delays and inhibits the mastery of these subtleties.

SHORT RUN JUMPING

Long jumping and triple jumping from runs that are shorter than the meet length run is a common (and highly productive) coaching practice. The shorter runs reduce velocities, so the physical demands are lessened, allowing more repetitions to be done safely. Also, the reduced velocities are more conducive to skill development. Nearly every successful jump program uses short run jumping one or two times a week as the cornerstone of the technical development program. These sessions are scheduled separately and independently of the full approach rehearsal themed sessions.

MANAGING THE LENGTH OF THE SHORT APPROACH – STARTING POINTS

At the start of the training season, skill development is our top priority, so the short approach should be short. Most horizontal jumps training programs begin work using approaches of six to eight steps. (Odd-even concerns are still valid here, five to seven steps approaches are possibilities for jumpers with an odd number of steps in their full approaches.) These should be done sooner rather than later, within a week or two of the onset of training. Skill development in the earliest part of the training year is critical, since skill teaching is much more likely to succeed before the tough workouts of the specific preparation period begin.

MANAGING THE LENGTH OF THE SHORT APPROACH – PROGRESSION

Over time, we want to add more velocity to the practice environment to simulate competition and challenge the athlete’s levels of skill mastery. In horizontal jumps training, this results in a gradual increase in the number of steps in the short approach run over time. This progression continues, adding two steps at a time, until 12 (or 13) step runs are being done in training. The rate of progression is determined by the time available. The 12 to 13 step threshold must be achieved prior to the start of the competitive season in order to adequately prepare the athlete for the meets. More available time allows more patience in this progression. A good coach

measures the time available and budgets the time accordingly.

WHY 12-13?

Two to three sessions of short run jumping from 12 to 13 steps are an essential part of horizontal jump preparation. This is because any problems that are likely to appear in competition will be visible at 12 to 13 steps. Runs shorter than 12 to 13 steps may not reveal these issues. Horizontal jumpers seldom, if ever, do true, full approach, meet-like jumps in training, due to the high demand associated with those efforts. However, progressing the short approach to 12 to 13 steps (along with regular full approach runway practice) subjects the jumper to enough velocity and intensity that they can successfully synthesize technique at meet speeds in early season competitions. It is hard to achieve meet-like intensity and adrenaline levels in training. However, the use of runway practice and progressing the short approach to the 12 to 13 step range in training progresses the jumper to a point where early season meets can serve as high intensity training sessions and avoid the need to do such work in the training environment.

SERPENTINING THE SHORT RUN PROGRESSION

Learning a skill is an adaptation, not unlike any other adaptation that results from training. Adaptation requires periodic increases in intensity. An many cases, coaches fail because they don’t progress the length of the short approach run because complete mastery at that level of speed and intensity has not been achieved. Complete mastery cannot be expected until the level of practice intensity challenges the current level of mastery.

For example, a coach might begin a long jumper’s short run jump progression at six steps. After a couple of sessions, improvement has occurred, but complete mastery has not been achieved. It’s not reasonable to expect complete mastery to be achieved until the athlete has been challenged at a different, higher level of intensity. So, in this case, instead of staying with the sixstep work, a session of eight step jumping should be planned. This eight-step session will challenge the athlete at a new level. This new level of intensity might result in a subpar practice, but will assist greatly in achieving mastery at the six-step level of intensity. For this reason, its advantageous

to use a serpentine approach to increasing the length of the short run, rather than a linear progression

A common serpentine progression might occur like this. After beginning with a couple of six-step sessions, an eight-step session is done, followed by a return to 6-steps. It is in this return to six steps, due to the shot of intensity received from the eight-step session, that high levels of mastery and progress are seen. After this, the coach would schedule a couple of eight-step sessions, followed by a 10-step session. This 10-step session would be followed by the final eight step session, followed by a couple more 10 step sessions. After these, the first 12 step session would be scheduled. In this model each time modest levels (not high levels) of mastery are shown, intensity is increased as a challenge and stimulus to the athlete.

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Running Periodization

Adapted from Running Periodization: Training Theories to Run Faster

The high school and college crosscountry and track environment presents a unique training problem. Between the emphasis on racing and the desire for immediate results, runners’ aerobic development is often sacrificed for the sake of intensity. And that’s not ideal if the goal is to become a better distance runner. Runners and coaches need to adequately prepare for many races, sustain motivation and desire, and train with an optimal strategy.

VOLUME

Aerobic training volume is crucial for runners during their developmental high school and college years, if they desire to be good runners. While there is no magical number of miles to run per week to be successful, the best high school and college runners tend to be the ones who run the most, although it can take years to safely reach a higher level of mileage.

Many high school runners who run in college go from a low-mileage high school program to a high-mileage college program, which often leads to injuries. If a high school runner doesn’t run a lot in high school, he or she can’t just jump into running a lot in college. There must either be a bridge between high school and college training, or better volume preparation in high school to handle the college training. College coaches who train their athletes with high mileage also need to be careful recruiting high school runners who run low mileage in high school, lest they get injured

“YOU CAN’T UNDERSTAND THE VALUE OF A WHOLE PROCESS BY SEPARATING THE PARTS FROM THE PROCESS, OR THE PROCESS FROM THE PARTS.”

PART 4: HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE PERIODIZATION

in their freshman year of college from the much greater training load that awaits them. In this case, the runner should spend his or her freshman year of college adjusting to the higher volume, rather than follow the volume, intensity, and racing schedule of the rest of the team. Aerobic development takes a lot longer than anaerobic development. Although volume has a significant impact on every runner’s success, high school runners need to increase their mileage slowly and methodically, matching the training to what they can handle each year.

Injuries like shin splints (medial tibial stress syndrome) and stress fractures are common among high school runners, who are subjecting their bones to a new stress. From their current starting point, whether zero, 20, or 50 miles per week, slowly increase the mileage from the beginning of cross-country season until it’s time to back off to taper prior to the most important end-of-season races. Plan the cross-country season as one macrocycle, decreasing the volume during the final mesocycle. After the short transition phase following cross-coun-

try season, start increasing the volume again through the macrocycle of indoor track season, and finally again for outdoor track season. If there is no indoor track season, combine the winter and spring seasons into one macrocycle, and increase the volume after the transition phase following cross country until the final mesocycle of outdoor track season. All of this requires a methodical approach, focusing on aerobic training, and sprinkling in just enough speed work to improve speed and elicit performance peaks.

Perhaps the biggest training mistake that runners make is running too fast during their easy runs. High school (and, to a lesser extent, college) runners may be the epitome of this. Between the natural immaturity that accompanies young age and the competitiveness that accompanies the team environment, young runners often like to race each other, even when the run is supposed to be easy. If young runners always push the pace on easy days and do a lot of interval training and races, they can’t also do a lot of volume. To accommodate and progress

with volume, intensity of easy runs must decrease, at least until the runner gets used to higher volume. College runners who are used to high volume can spend more time getting used to a higher intensity at their already high volume.

Not only are interval training (or race) days of low volume, the day before and the day after are also typically of low volume because those days often serve as easy, recovery days. Few runners are going to want to sacrifice a race by running a lot the day before. If a high school runner has a track meet on Tuesday and Saturday, that leaves Thursday as the only day of the week to focus on volume. If it’s possible to run longer the day after a cross-county or track meet, that still leaves only Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday to focus on lowintensity volume. This is the problem that high school runners (and their coaches) have, with many cross-country and track meets scheduled throughout the school year. College runners also encounter this problem, albeit to a lesser degree because of races typically scheduled only on weekends.

With all those races on the calendar, how do you train for them all?

The smart thing to do is to not train for them all. If high school and college runners race often, not all those races should be dealt with the same way. Not every race is so important that you must be tapered for it. Train through early-season races, even using those races as workouts to meet the purpose of the mesocycle or microcycle. For example, a cross-country 5K race or a 3,000/3,200-meter track race can replace a VO2max interval workout; a college 8K/10K race can replace an acidosis (lactate) threshold workout; and an 800-meter/1,500meter/mile race can replace an anaerobic

capacity workout.

INTENSITY

In the developmental years, training intensity needs to be carefully controlled, with the major increase in training from year to year coming from volume, sprinkling in just enough intensity at the right times to get the job done and keep the athletes interested and motivated. The more aerobically fit runners are, the more they will ultimately get from their subsequent speed work. At a young age, training should focus on general skill acquisition and general conditioning, which can be used as a springboard to specific skill acquisition and specific condition-

ing as the athlete physically and psychologically matures. One of the confusing problems is that runners (and their coaches) get results when they run fast workouts. But hammering through more and more interval workouts is not how to keep getting faster. This is true for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that anaerobic fitness is limited (you can only increase speed by so much). In contrast, aerobic fitness is virtually unlimited, at least up to the point that genetics will allow for further adaptation.

There are exceptions to the methodical, aerobic-volume approach. For example, if a high school student comes out for the crosscountry and track teams because he or she

wants to have fun, hang out with friends, or simply to get excused from physical education class, then, by all means, take the shortterm approach and don’t worry about six months from now. Likewise, if the studentathlete is a senior, with no plans to run in college, then the training should also reflect that circumstance. If, however, a freshman comes out for the team and wants to find out how good he or she can become, then a long-term training approach that focuses on volume and carefully controls intensity is necessary. There are many reasons to run cross country and track; the studentathlete’s goals must always be of primary importance.

TRAINING PROGRAM DESIGN

The design of a high school or college runner’s training program is easier than that of other training programs because the structure is already provided as four distinct seasons (macrocycles): cross country, indoor track, outdoor track, and summer. (If there’s no indoor track season, then outdoor track becomes a larger macrocycle, with perhaps a slightly longer recovery/transition period following cross-country season.)

All you have to do is divide those macrocycles into mesocycles, working backwards from the end of each season, and factor in recovery/transition phases following the final race of each season. Each macrocycle begins with a general preparation phase, followed by a specific preparation phase, competition phase, and recovery/transition phase. Repeat this pattern for each season, and you have an annual high school and college training plan. The duration of each phase (general prep, specific prep, competition, and recovery/transition) can be shortened or lengthened to accommodate the competition schedule of each season. Races during the general prep and specific prep phases should be trained through, using those races as workouts, so as not to sacrifice the aerobic training that needs to be done to be able to race fast during the competition phase.

The following training program is for high school and college runners who compete in two or three seasons per year. The annual program is planned in four macrocycles: cross country (14 weeks), indoor track (14 weeks), outdoor track (15 weeks), and summer (9 weeks). The final two weeks of cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track are used to recover from the competition phase and transition into the next season. If your

specific seasons are longer or shorter than 14 weeks, adjust the number of weeks in each macrocycle and corresponding mesocycles. For example, if the important races span three weeks instead of four, add a fifth week to the general preparation mesocycle. If you don’t have an indoor track season, bridge cross country to outdoor track with another macrocycle that focuses on general and specific preparation and eliminate the competition mesocycle.

The high school/college training program includes three four-week competition phases throughout the year, one at the end of each season. Other than the four-week competition mesocycle, during which you can focus on running fast races, all other races within each macrocycle should be trained through. Run early- and mid-season races as workouts that meet the specified target of that mesocycle. For example, a 5K cross-country race in mesocycle 1 can be run as a threshold workout, with the amount of mileage on the day before and day after that you would normally plan if the race were a threshold workout. In other words, don’t back off before and after every race of the season, otherwise you’ll sacrifice the all-important aerobic development. Remember, you can’t expect your athletes to run very fast for every race all year or even all season. But when the training is planned well, they can run fast when it counts at the end of the season.

You can plan the training as concentrated blocks, using a linear periodization approach—general preparation of aerobic training followed in succession by acidosis threshold, VO2max, and anaerobic capacity. With a short time frame, you want to make sure you cover everything. It’s possible, however, especially with races throughout each season, to include a maintenance workout in each mesocycle to maintain the fitness factor you focused on in the previous mesocycle. For example, when you transition from acidosis threshold training in mesocycle 1 to VO2max training in mesocycle 2, feel free to take out one of the VO2max workouts and insert a maintenance acidosis threshold workout. Same in mesocycle 3—feel free to take out one of the anaerobic capacity workouts and insert a maintenance VO2max workout from mesocycle 2. Races themselves may also serve as maintenance workouts.

This program is best used as a template, adjusting the duration of cycles and emphases of mesocycles as needed based on the

specific races you’re training for and your running strengths. For example, for runners training for 800 meters during indoor and outdoor track seasons, introduce anaerobic capacity (speed endurance) workouts during the specific preparation phase rather than wait until the competition phase. For college runners training for 5,000 or 10,000 meters, place greater emphasis on acidosis threshold and VO2max during the specific preparation phase. Emphasize the most important fitness factors during the specific preparation and competition phases for the runner and for the target race.

High school and college runners, who are young and can recover quickly from hard workouts, can also take a block periodization training approach by making slight adjustments to this template, doing three to four hard workouts (instead of two) in the first microcycle of each mesocycle (with a drop in volume to accommodate the higher intensity), followed by one hard workout in each of the next three microcycles (with higher volume). Races can substitute for workouts.

The final part of this series on periodization will discuss training female athletes and menstrual cycle periodization.

DR. JASON KARP IS A COACH, EXERCISE PHYSIOLOGIST, BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF 15 BOOKS AND MORE THAN 400 ARTICLES, AND TED SPEAKER. HE IS THE 2011 IDEA PERSONAL TRAINER OF THE YEAR AND TWO-TIME RECIPIENT OF THE PRESIDENT’S COUNCIL ON SPORTS, FITNESS & NUTRITION COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP AWARD. HIS REVO₂LUTION RUNNING COACHING CERTIFICATION, WHICH HAS BEEN OBTAINED BY COACHES AND FITNESS PROFESSIONALS IN 26 COUNTRIES, WAS ACQUIRED BY INTERNATIONAL SPORTS SCIENCES ASSOCIATION IN 2022. IN 2021, HE BECAME THE FIRST AMERICAN DISTANCE RUNNING COACH TO LIVE AND COACH IN KENYA. RUNNING PERIODIZATION AND HIS OTHER BOOKS ARE AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.

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The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) is pleased to announce the 2023 induction class for the Collegiate Track & Field/Cross Country Athlete Hall of Fame. The class of 14 will be enshrined on September 14, 2023, at the Hult Center for the Performing Arts in Eugene, Oregon.

This year’s class features some of the greatest names in collegiate track & field and cross country history. With 70 national collegiate titles, 39 world records, and eight Olympic/World Championships medals achieved while in college, these athletes have left an indelible mark on the sports.

“The USTFCCCA is proud to honor these exceptional athletes for their achievements and contributions to collegiate track & field and cross country,” said Sam Seemes, CEO of the USTFCCCA. “Their accomplishments have inspired countless athletes and fans, and their induction into the Collegiate Athlete Hall of Fame serves as a testament to their enduring legacy.”

Dyrol Burleson Oregon, 1959-1962

Joetta Clark Tennessee, 1981-1984

Michael Carter SMU, 1980-1984

Michael Conley Arkansas, 1982-1985

Sheila Hudson California, 1986-1990

Holli Hyche Indiana State, 1991-1994

Edwin Moses Morehouse, 1974-1977

Renaldo Nehemiah Maryland, 1978-1979

Sonia O’Sullivan Villanova, 1988-1991

Julie Shea NC State, 1978-1981

Seilala Sua UCLA, 1997-2000

John Thomas Boston University, 1959-1962

Wyomia Tyus Tennessee State, 1963-1968

Dave Wottle Bowling Green, 1969-1973

The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association is proud to recognize the outstanding efforts of the country’s top high school coaches. One boys coach and one girls coach from 50 states – as well as the District of Columbia – were honored for their successes during the spring of 2023, as selected by a committee of experts from around the nation (two coaches are honored, if they share coaching responsibilities). State-by-state winners were selected based on their teams’ performances throughout the 2023 outdoor track & field season. Among the factors taken into consideration were team score and placement at the state championships, margin of victory, performance against rankings if available, individual championships, and how their teams’ performances stacked up to previous years (e.g. first title in school history, consecutive titles, etc.). Winners from each state were in consideration for the Association’s National High School Track and Field Coach of the Year award. One boys coach and one girls coach were chosen by a panel of experts to be named National High School Track and Field Coach of the Year.

HIGH SCHOOL TRACK & FIELD BOYS’ COACHES OF THE YEAR

Alabama

Chris Schmidt

Hoover High School

Alaska

Tara Edwards

Grace Christian

Arizona

Josh Barge

Red Mountain High School

Arkansas

Tommy Parker

Russellville High School

California

Johnny Wiley

Granada Hills Charter

Colorado

Chris Faust

Cherokee Trail High School

Connecticut

Jeff Billing

Hall High School

Delaware

Tim Byrne

Salesianum School

District of Columbia

Conrad Singh

Gonzaga College High School

Florida

Barrett Saunders

The Benjamin School

Georgia

Bob Mullen

Southwest DeKalb High School

Hawaii

Alika Fonseca

Saint Louis School

Idaho

Eliza Morris

Aberdeen High School

Illinois

Barry Malloyd

East Saint Louis

Senior High School

Indiana

Casey Popenfoose

Brownsburg High School

Iowa

Matt Jaschsen

Johnston High School

Kansas

Levi Huesman

Olathe North High School

Kentucky

David Stewart

Saint Xavier High School

Louisiana

Mychal Word

Mansfield High School

Maine

Jamie Juntura

Leavitt Area High School

Maryland

Chris Brewington

Oakland Mills

High School

Massachusetts

Steven Nugent

North Andover High School

Michigan

Asa Kelly

Benzie Central High School

Minnesota

James Finch

Minnetonka High School

Mississippi

Chris Barnett

Pearl High School

Missouri

Matt Chance

Bowling Green High School

Montana

Laura Athun

Manhattan Christian School

Nebraska

Dan Tietjen

Creighton

Preparatory School

Justin Redfearn Boys’ National Coach of the Year Utah Snow Canyon High School

Ernest Martinez Girls’ National Coach of the Year New Mexico Los Alamos High School

Nevada

Mike Smith

Shadow Ridge High School

New Hampshire

Kathy Aldridge Gilford High School

New Hampshire

Joe Wernig

Gilford High School

New Jersey

Clinton Tabb

Pennsauken High School

New Mexico

Kenny Henry V.Sue Cleveland High

New York

Jan Mitchell Iona Preparatory School

North Carolina

Ty Mathis

T.Wingate Andrews High School

North Dakota

Jonathan Jahner

Bowman County High School

Ohio

Ted Ginn, Sr. Glenville High School

Oklahoma

Scott Chronister Coweta High School

Oregon

Dave Turnbull Summit High School

Pennsylvania

Bob Walker

Chambersburg Area Senior High School

Rhode Island

Jim Doyle

Bishop Hendricken High School

South Carolina

Matt Oberly Spring Valley High School

South Dakota

Luke Vander Leest

Sioux Falls Christian School

Tennessee Steve Brock Brentwood High School

Texas

Don Spaulding Aubrey High School

Utah

Justin Redfearn Snow Canyon High School

Vermont

Chip Langmaid

St. Johnsbury Academy

Virginia James Demarco Patriot High School

Washington

Chris Stovall

Yelm High School

West Virginia Jamie Burgess

Buffalo High School

Wisconsin

Jon Schwantz

Shiocton Middle/ High School

Wyoming

Ryan Olson

Burlington High School

2023 USTFCCCA HIGH SCHOOL TRACK & FIELD STATE GIRLS’ COACHES OF THE YEAR

Alabama

Luke Robinson

Scottsboro High School

Alaska

Melissa Hall

Chugiak High School

Arizona

Abraham Johnson

Highland High School

Arkansas

John Koonce

El Dorado High School

California

Neil Nelson Woodrow Wilson High School

Colorado

Jennifer McQuitty

Alamosa High School

Connecticut

Anne Burrows

Bloomfield High School

Delaware

Patrick Castagno

The Tatnall School

District of Columbia

Marvin Parker

Dunbar High School

Florida

Erin McCray

Miami Southridge

Senior High School

Georgia

Ryan Davis

Woodward Academy

Hawaii

Duncan MacDonald

Punahou High School

Idaho

Vonnie Willis

Melba Jr/Sr High School

Illinois

Jason Monson

Huntley High School

Indiana

Jim Pearce

Noblesville High School

Iowa

Ben Duea

Northwest High School

Kansas

Dee Bell

Olathe West High School

Kentucky

Zacharie Brooks

duPont Manual High School

Louisiana Bill Jones

Episcopal of Baton Rouge

Maine

Alan Mosca

Bangor High School

Maryland

Mark Reedy

Western School of Technology

Massachusetts

Sotirios Pintzopoulos

North Reading High School

Michigan

Brandon Jiles

Oak Park High School

Minnesota

Jane Reimer-Morgan

Minnetonka High School

Mississippi

Johnathan Perkins

Clinton High School

Missouri

Tiffany Spain

Cardinal Ritter College

Prep High School

Montana

Jesse Zentz

Helena High School

Nebraska

Ashleigh Kitrell

Papillion-La Vista

South High School

Nevada

Kory Andersen

Liberty High School

New Hampshire Noah Pion

Bedford High School

New Jersey Mike Penta

Elizabeth High School

New Mexico

Ernest Martinez

Los Alamos High School

New York

Dave Feuer

Cornwall Central High School

North Carolina

Dustin Allen

Cuthbertson High School

North Dakota

Rory Beil Davies High School

Ohio

Jeff Howard

Woodridge High School

Oklahoma

Chris Huff

Cache High School

Oregon

John Parks

Lake Oswego High School

Pennsylvania

Amber Jenkins

Haverford High School

Rhode Island

Jeff Parenteau

West Warwick High School

South Carolina

Aleshia Taylor

Blythewood High School

South Dakota

Julie Preheim

Colman-Egan School

Tennessee

Ryan Moseley

Martin Luther King Jr. Magnet High School

Texas

Stacy Bessire

Randolph High School

Utah

Troy Norris

Panguitch High School

Vermont Kaitlin White

Essex High School

Virginia

Matt Walton

Glen Alen High School

Washington

Cap Perry

Garfield-Palouse High School

West Virginia

Steve Blinco

Morgantown High School

Wisconsin

Terry Anders

Fall Creek High School

Wyoming Jess Nugent Big Piney High School

2023 OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD

NCAA DIVISION I

NCAA DIVISION II

NCAA DIVISION III

Mike Holloway Florida Men’s COY

Kyle Rutledge Pittsburg State Men’s COY

Todd Linder MIT Men’s COY

Travis Geopfert Arkansas Men’s Assistant COY

Jack Hoyt Azusa Pacific Women’s COY

Nickolas Davis UW-La Crosse Women’s COY

Chris Johnson Arkansas Women’s Assistant COY

Jesse Miller Pittsburg State Men’s Assistant COY

Derek Rousseau MIT Men’s Assistant COY

Andrea Blackett Azusa Pacific Women’s Assistant COY

Katie Wagner UW-La Crosse Women’s Assistant COY

Ky Robinson Stanford Men’s Track AOY

Makanakaishe Charamba Carson-Newman Men’s Track AOY

Alex Phillip John Caroll Men’s Track AOY

Julien Alfred Texas Women’s Track AOY

Denisha Cartwright Minnesota State Women’s Track AOY

Kenadee Wayt Mount Union Women’s Track AOY

Cordell Tinch Pittsburg State Men’s Field AOY

Yakob Ekoue UW-Eau Claire Men’s Field AOY

Jaydon Hibbert Arkansas Co-Men’s Field AOY

Cheyenne Williamson Saginaw Valley State

Women’s Field AOY

Victoria Kadiri Johns Hopkins Women’s Field AOY

Leo Neugebauer Texas Co-Men’s Field AOY

Edrick Floréal Texas Women’s COY

Jasmine Moore Florida Women’s Field AOY

NATIONAL AWARD WINNERS

Men’s Assistant COY

Women’s

Praise Idamadudu Cumberland (Tenn.)

Women’s Track AOY

Men’s Field AOY

Machaeda Linton William

Women’s Field AOY

NJCAA

Men’s

Women’s

Men’s Track AOY

Success Umukoro South Plains (Tx.)

Women’s Track AOY

Christopher

Men’s Field AOY

AOY

NJCAA III

Karizma Brathwaite Onondaga (N.Y.) CC

Women’s Track AOY

Men’s Field AOY

Na’Shae

Women’s Field AOY

CC

Laurier Primeau British Columbia Women’s COY

Keith Blackwell New Mexico JC Men’s COY

Robert Cervanka DuPage (Ill.) Men’s COY

Nate Wolf Dordt (Iowa) Men’s Assistant COY

Keith Blackwell New Mexico JC Women’s COY

Jim Macnider Harper (Ill.) Women’s COY

Malcolm Dias William Carey (Miss.)

Assistant COY

Wes Miller South Plains (Tx.)

Kenny Brown DuPage (Ill.)

Assistant COY

Phemelo Matlhabe Life (GA.)

Men’s Track AOY

Jeff Becker New Mexico JC

Women’s Assistant COY

Claudia Davila Joilet (Ill.) JC

Assistant COY

Sanele Masondo Colby (Kan.) CC

Men’s Track AOY

Noah Mack DuPage (Ill.)

Dylan Cucera Midland (Neb.)

Dominic Demeritte Life (Ga.) Men’s COY

Young Barton (Kan.) CC

Keenan Cannon Mohawk Valley (N.Y.) CC

Miracle Ailes Iowa Western CC Women’s Field

Early Howard (Md.)

Carey (Miss.)