I am notoriously bad at Twitter. If you are here and are interested in jumping or sprinting at Elmhurst University, please fill out one of the recruit forms below. That is THE way to be sure to hear from me.
Most track coaches I know can coach multiple events, manage schedules and direct -sometimes enormous- track meets.
Often all of those things at one time, with tight budgets, minimal admin support, and a smile on their faces.
I am consistently surrounded by superheroes.
After 8 years at the high school level, and now 4 years into my collegiate coaching career I've had some time to consider what I would ask a high school coach to do for their athletes to set them up
@for
success in college.
Stop pampering your best performers. The seniors who get all the attention and all the extras are going to step into an environment next year where they are not the best. I have seen too many athletes be unable to handle being treated as a member of the team not THE member.
Stop making your sprinters (400m included) run 2+ miles of intervals in a practice. If we can coach athletes to run a fast 400m without a track, you should be able to be more efficient in teaching them speed and speed-endurance. Go to
@TFConsortium
for more info.
Teach your athletes to take pride in the process. PRs and high finishes are results of the process. When chasing the next number, it's too easy to teach them the habit of short-cutting the process for a PR. Celebrate process-oriented goals before times/distances.
Quit static stretching for a warm up. They'll get to college and find out that nobody does that anymore. It causes confusion and makes them question what else they did under your care that no competent collegiate coach does. Confidence = shattered.
I am incredibly proud of the bluejay track squad for their meet today. In blustery conditions, they put on smiles and showed up with some amazing results.
More important than the results was the resilience and support the team showed to each other.
Teach your hurdlers to 3-step. When a college comes recruiting a hurdler they'll ask if they can 3-step. Big colleges will stop the process. Smaller schools that still need to recruit that athlete will have to spend a year or more developing a 3-step. Save your athlete time later
Promote track as the ultimate team sport: consider your conference or state-qualifying meet. No single athlete or event-group can deliver a team trophy, every member must contribute on that day. To do that, you must start acting that way on day 1 of the season.
Teach your jumpers to jump big. If they learn to jump big regardless of board placement, they'll be more successful more often. When they get into college and are only good at stepping on a board, they're going to experience some major growing pains.
Finishing up "Stop Dragging Your Toes" and excited to get into this one as soon as I'm done.
Messed around and accidentally turned a jumper into a good sprinter, so time to take the next steps in his training.
Here's a quick snippet from video
#3
of the Course -- on block clearance & acceleration
The Course is a mix of video, text, & downloadable PDF. I think you'll dig it
@CoachDJBrock
@MikeCunningham
I have a google doc with lifting and sprint workouts I send to everyone and update as the summer goes along.
Nothing crazy, but I'd say the biggest thing I focus on is not doing too much too early. The last thing I want it is a kid fighting an injury in September.
The greatest kindness a person can commit is to plant the seed of a tree whose shade they will never enjoy. To every Jay alum, whatever the outcome, this moment is a result of your kindnesses.
4x4 FTW
A recruit told me there's a coach who recruits against us by saying our team has to train in dorm hallways.
While that's not true... if it were, aren't you embarrassed?
@MikeCunningham
Personally, I had to spend a couple years volunteering at a college program then moved up to a stipend job before finally moving to fully time collegiate coaching.
As a HS coach I couldn't even get into the right rooms, but as a collegiate volunteer I got access to networks.
The Elmhurst University Director of Cross Country & Track and Field Jordan Bartolazzi has announced the promotion of David Stone to Associate Head Track & Field Coach.
If you asked this woman if she'd be a conference champion three weeks ago, she'd have told you she might not make the conference line up. What a gritty jumper.
I've officially reached my social limit for the summer.
Want to pop by? Nope
Want to meet up randomly? Nope
Barbecue? Nope
Beach day? Nope
Reunion? Nope
Wedding? Nope
@jmarpdx
Stu McGill has some pretty compelling research on (side) planks. Part of his big 3 exercises to develop tension and stability in the low back.
A man who had never seen a triple jump before his freshman year just flew to Boston and put up a PB that is number 5 all-time at EU. We have a lot of work to do, but he's making it fun every step of the way.
Very excited to announce our first of two KEYNOTE speakers for Thursday December 8th!
•
@BobThurnhoffer
of
@UNMLoboXCTF
will share his story of “Amor Fati: An Evolution of a Track Coach”
•
Prior to UNM he was the head coach at Loyola Chicago! He will be giving 3 presentations!
Coaches who yell "MOOOOOOOVE!" During a sprint race...
Are they standing still?
Did you not give them proper instructions prior to the race? Are they in your way?
I recently followed up on several lists of recruits who I recruited as conference scoring athletes but who went into mid-major D1 programs... their results were not reassuring.
My first track coaching position was coaching sprinters/jumpers/hurdlers at my alma mater (Rockford boylan) a very PWI.
During picture day there was a long line of athletes (all white) and a small group of black athletes in a circle off to the side. The head coach leans over...
Never imagined what I’d be getting into when Joe offered me the job at UNM in Aug ‘21 but I packed up the Uhaul & drove from Chicago to ABQ excited for the opportunity. Ended up being 2 of the best yrs of my life. Wishing UNMTFXC nothing but the best. Onto the next chapter.
@MikeCunningham
I'm still with
@BooSchex
in that a coaches' union should exist. The burn and churn model of burning out coaches and hiring younger coaches at lower salaries just to maintain bottom line and keep productivity at unsustainable levels should stop.
Twitter do your thing!!! Please RT and help spread the word 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼...
💯 percent of proceeds this event will go to endowing a scholarship at an HBCU!!!
#1000coachesforchange
Join us:
I don't get excited about track and field athletes who clearly don't love track and field.
It's fine if it's just a job to you, but I can go watch Kevin in accounting if I want to see someone just showing up to collect a paycheck.
I'm not proud of this guy b/c of the mark (1st bluejay male over 14m since 1999) but because of all the work he's put in to get here. At every step he has had the opportunity to choose a lifestyle that does not support his athleticism and he chooses to bet on himself every time.
New to coaching high jump?
Each week:
Skip for height 1-2 days
Skip for distance 1-2 days
Sprint fast 1-2 days
Scissor jumps 1 day
Non-negotiable on technique:
-foot angled bt far corners of pit
-5 step curve
-aggressive lean
Great time with Loyola U HC
@BobThurnhoffer
episode 97 of the Gill Connections podcast.
He takes us on his journey from athlete to coach. I learned the value of a true friend hearing him tell his story. Bob has a really bright career ahead of him.
@BobThurnhoffer
Training for the last 120-150 would require heavy doses of acidosis. It's simply not a training modality that can or should be repeated regularly if the intent is to have the athlete healthy and racing at the end of the year.
Loved his course on the 400m, I watched it while I rode a stationary bike and it made stationary bike riding in my basement not suck. For reference I also watch John Wick movies while I ride, if you need an entertainment scale.
Any coaches looking 4 some fresh coaching ed material. I created 2 courses earlier this year on
@thecoachtube
1 for the 400m and another in the Long Jump. Both have a lot to do w philosophy of training. I have a wedding to pay off😬 cheers
I think one of the biggest challenges in coaching track is teaching the paradox of performance. In order to perform in, say a long jump, your best results come from letting go of the results and simply working on the process.
Working on a course to be released (hopefully) before the end of outdoor. Forced me to engage with my personal philosophies and which lens I view training through.
The 4x100m team of Lauren Marshall, Tiana Grady, Hannah Schwarz, and Aniya Seeley-Williams have advanced to Saturday's national final!
The team ran a time of 46.75 to finish sixth in the prelims.
#FlyJaysFly
🔥hot take🔥
I don't periodize my jumpers. We start with the basics every year and extend out the jump.
When an athlete needs a larger stimulus we add it, when it's time to "peak" we subtract it.
Elmhurst University's Ava David closed out her first appearance at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships by earning All-America honors with an eighth-place finish in the 200 meters.
Recap/Results:
Coach's lawns are a thing (lawns that are not in great shape during season, because when would we take care of them?)
Coach's spouse is a thing, because those should expect to be neglected too.
Coach's child... same deal.
Coach's mental health? Add it to the list.
Don't pay attention to recruiting standards. Contact the coaches you want to compete for.
If I turned away athletes because their high school marks weren't "good enough" I wouldn't be coaching some of the hardest working athletes in track and field.
Character matters more.
My wife convinced me that competing in long jump this indoor season is a good idea.
When she married me, I started questioning her judgement... this puts it into question again.
Our How We Adjust series focuses on how Elmhurst Coaches and staff are adjusting to the COVID-19 outbreak. Today's focus in on Director of Cross Country and Track & Field Jordan Bartolazzi. Story:
I see a lot of club coaches and recruiting advisors sending a lot of athletes to D1 programs where:
- the coaches turn over every 1-2 years
- they wont travel with the team
- graduation rates are low
- history of athletes improving is poor
All for the D1 tag...
Football season is mostly over. Fall soccer season is mostly over. Weather is turning cold.
I'm afraid it's time to prepare for an increase of high speed treadmill videos masquerading as speed training by charlatans.
The athlete who competes in both sprints and jumps must have special considerations in training. The CNS impact plus the structural damage of both events are unique and DO NOT compliment one another or cancel each other out.
You can't just add jumping to a sprinters workouts.
@CoachDoty
If the expectations are professional management skills, then the environment should reflect that. Salaries and autonomy should then reflect the CEO expectations.
If you are an athlete or parent that thinks your kid needs to be “pushed” - probably don’t have what it takes.
Reliant on external motivation? your potential is limited.
The great ones don’t care who is there or who is coaching.. they are skilled at improving regardless
In the history of Elmhurst University only 2 women have jumped over 11m in the triple jump. Too early prediction: if your best jump is 10.99m at the end of the 2024 season, you will be 7th on our top-10 list.
My coaching progression:
Fresh- you don't know anything, I'm here to teach you
Soph- learning is hard, I'm here to remind you
Jr- tell me what you know, I'll correct you
Sr- engage in the conversation as a full stakeholder, I'll support you
"When I hear about guys sleeping in their office I wonder what they hell they're doing there. Cause the game ain't that hard.
The work will always be there, your kids won't.
I tell my coaches, if you miss a recital or little league game... I'll fire you."
- Bruce Arians
For the first time in my coaching career, I get to tell recruits with a straight face that I only have space for one more jumper per gender but I don't have to be out there beating the bushes all summer because this jump squad looks deadly.
#dragonslayers
If you knew your job limited your ability to be with your wife and kids, and it stretched you thin to the point where you have no social life....
And you WEREN'T getting paid hand over fist to do it, you're just doing it for the logo and the story you tell yourself.
Imagine
@MikeCunningham
Love this! One of my ladies went from 9.36m in TJ as a freshman to 11.58m for indoor as a senior.
Another went from 18.76 in 110H last year to 15.76 this year.
Elmhurst University's Jordan Bartolazzi and the rest of the Bluejays' coaching staff was named the CCIW's Women's Track & Field Indoor Coaching Staff of the Year!
It's been just over three weeks since George Floyd was murdered. The number of track coaches, s&c coaches, and gym owners who have spent this time only promoting their clinics, writing to congress to open their gyms, or focusing on their income is astounding.
HS coaches, thank you for developing young track athletes.
Please, let them go when it's time. Nothing worse than a kid getting injured because he's blending the workouts his HS coach sends with the college workouts.
Torn between making a PSA for high school seniors about posting themselves drinking on social media if they intend to get recruited... and just using that as an easy filter for who I don't want to recruit.
If I taught a class on how to be a coach it would take 2 years.
Year 1- how to reverse-engineer the demands of your sport
Year 2 semester 1- how to communicate what you reverse engineered to the athletes you coach
Year 2 semester 2- how to manage yourself as a coach.
“I'd like to get married, have children. But I don’t even know how I can cultivate that right now… We’re supposed to be leading young men. But right now all they’re seeing is absentee fathers with the way the calendar is” -
@CoachWesMiller
We are LIVE:
There is no leadership without courage and there is no courage without vulnerability.
There aren't many sporting experiences that create vulnerability more than stepping onto a track and competing.
This is where the character of track athletes are shaped.