Articles

Oregon Coach Jimmy Radcliffe is the keynote speaker at the Track and Football Consortium III. Speakers include Chris Korfist, Tony Holler, Joel Smith, Dan Fichter, Lou Sponsel, Matt Gifford, Alec Holler, and Catherine Garceau.

Plainfield North Coach Tony Holler explains why he records, ranks, and publishes the times for his track workouts.

To attract athletes to participate in track and field, coaches must be prepared to promote the sport and recruit the talent.

Football games have become track meets held in the fall. Have you seen the pads football players wear today? Football players wear compression shorts, tight jerseys, thin shoulder pads, and a weapon called a helmet. Football has become a game of sprinting, jumping, and explosion. Even the pachyderms of the offensive line get drafted based on their 40-times.

Schools today are glorified daycare centers, run by rote and discouraging innovation and independent thinking. Most coaches operate on 10 diametrically opposite principles. Among them are working with kids who are there by choice, successful promotion, adapting to a wide range of abilities, and the freedom to develop their own programs.

We will share the newest ideas in speed training translating to success in football and track. Explosive speed will be broken down into sprinting, jumping, and strength training.

The diaphragm, psoas, and glute form the nucleus of the human body.  Movement, correctly done, must initiate from the psoas which partners with the diaphragm.  The glute is the reciprocal muscle of the psoas.

I’ve had lots of time to think about the coach I am. My father was a coach for 47 years. From the day I was born, I was a coach’s son. As an athlete, I evaluated and dissected each and every guy who ever tried to coach me. My study of coaches continues as I enter my 35th year in the business.

The science of speed training is a murky business.  What works for one may injure another.  Strength can improve speed or destroy it.  Plyometrics may result in broken records or broken athletes.  Periodization is sacred to some, scoffed at by others.  Should speed coaches adopt the training concepts of body builders, endurance athletes, or swimmers?  Maybe we should copy the Jamaicans and eat more mountain yams.  Or maybe we should cling to that old-time religion and coach like our forefathers.

The key to high school track success is marketing. Not TV marketing. Not profit-based marketing. High school track must be sold to kids. Track coaches must find ways to make running fun. Track coaches must find ways to make track meets more exciting. We must think out of the box. We must think like kids.

Tony Holler to be inducted into the ITCCCA Hall of Fame, Class of 2015. Coach Holler reflects on the coaches who influenced his career.

In ancient Greece, Spartan boys were forced to endure beatings to make them strong warriors.  Some football coaches continue this archaic practice.  Too many programs produce misery as they attempt to create toughness. I continue to search for happy and healthy sports programs.  Happy and healthy kids perform well.