After a couple of throws this afternoon, I noticed that Taylor was not speeding up her second wind.  What I mean by that is Taylor's two winds were pretty much at the same speed.  This was causing her to enter her first turn a little off balance because she was not increasing her speed at the entry of her first turn.  After a couple of throws, Taylor's entry into her first turn was much smoother and more aggressive.  Just a split second faster second wind made a very positive difference with her throws.  Taylor has a great orbit progression.  Her turns are also progressing nicely.  This throw is at around 52m. 

Thanks for reading!

Charles

I always looked forward to throwing at Kent State University.  In December, 2005, SUNY Fredonia traveled to Kent State University for the Kent State Early Open Meet.  What I most looked forward to was throwing against the likes of Kibwe Johnson and AG Kruger.  Both Kibwe and AG, at the time, were members of the Ashland Elite Throwing Club, out of Ashland University.  I will include video of their throws in a later post.  When I say I threw against them, well, I threw in the same flight as both Kibwe and AG, but I was never a threat.  At this particular meet, it was the first time I threw over 18m.  I finished 7th overall.  I didn't expect to make the finals, considering Ashland and Kent State always have excellent throwers.  On this day I was fortunate enough to make the finals and set a personal best.  Up until this point in my throwing career, my personal best throw was 16.57m.  Please excuse the video quality.  The first couple of throws are not very clear with the camera we had available to us back then.

Thanks for reading!

Charles

Pre-season training weeks 1 and 2 are in the books.  Taylor is a dedicated and coachable athlete.  As a coach, you cannot ask for more in an athlete. 

The top video was taken today.  52.5kg for five easy reps.  The bottom video was taken yesterday.  Easy snatch work at 52.5kg. 

Taylor's training the last couple of weeks has consisted of four days a week training sessions.  Monday has consisted of international bench day work.  Tuesday has been squat work.  Thursday called for Olympic lifts.  Friday had Taylor hitting some push jerks and front squats.  The reps for her bench and squat days were inspired by the Strength Lab, compliments of Highland Games World Champion Matt Vincent.  If you have not checked out his series of books, you are missing out.  Matt lays out an easy to implement training program for any athlete interested in getting stronger and ready to compete in powerlifting, Highland Games, or other throwing events. 

Since Taylor is not going to compete until December, we are going to establish a strong training base that will carry her through the indoor season in a push to qualify for the 2016 USATF Indoor Track & Field National Championships.  

You can find more information on Matt Vincent here http://www.mattvincent.net/ 

You can find more information about USATF here www.usatf.org

Thanks for reading!

Charles

Rather than break up the Fall Conditioning to Indoor Peak weightlifting program, I have attached the document here.  For anyone that does implement this program with their throwers, please share your results.  This is one of about a million programs that can be implemented with your throwers.  You may not agree with everything in this program, but like I said, a million other one's exist.  As coaches we need to put the best plan in place to ensure our athletes are successful.  I first tested this program on myself, then took bits and pieces of it and implemented it with my throwers at Nazareth College.  What works for one athlete may not work for all athletes.  Structure appropriately to ensure the health and safety of your athletes!

Thanks for reading!

Charles    
 

The 2004-2005 school year marked my first season as throwing coach at SUNY Fredonia.  I had a great group of student-athletes that far exceeded expectations.  Pictured left to right is Meredith, Tim, myself, Nick, Jen, and Alex.  This picture was taken in the circle at Slippery Rock University.  This road trip gave the athletes an opportunity to bond in ways they didn't think were possible (Evening Star Motel anyone).  

What was unique about my first season as throwing coach was the fact that I was an athlete at SUNY Fredonia during the 2003-2004 season, my senior year.  I was teammates with Meredith and Jen.  Jen and I are the last teammates from SUNY Fredonia to win the same event during the Outdoor SUNYAC Championships.  We both won the hammer in 2004 at SUNY Cortland.  I don't believe teammates from SUNY Fredonia have won the same event at the same championships since 2004.  

What I find so special about this group is not only that it was my first season as a coach, but the throwers were so special.  Meredith was awarded the most dedicated female athlete by her peers.  Tim transferred into SUNY Fredonia from another college.  He was a scholarship kicker of a Division I Football team before coming to SUNY Fredonia.  Nick also transferred to SUNY Fredonia from Michigan State.  In high school, Nick was Cross-Country runner.  All 6'3" of him was a Cross-Country runner.  He had never thrown up until this season.  Nick knocked me down the SUNY Fredonia Top 10 list in the 35lb. Weight and Hammer Throw during the 2005-2006 season.  He took to the throwing events especially well.  Alex was a freshman during this season.  His older brother Wally was my teammate the previous season.  Alex had never thrown the 35lb. Weight or Hammer before this season.  He qualified for the SUNYAC Conference Championships in both events his freshman year, easily beating my freshmen bests of 40' in the Weight Throw and 37m in the Hammer Throw.  Jen had a very special season.  She had a very decorated career up to this 2004-2005 season, her senior year.

Jen qualified for the Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships in the 20lb. Weight Throw.  She won the Indoor SUNYAC Championship in the 20lb. Weight Throw.  She ended up finishing the season ranked 13th.  Jen set the SUNY Fredonia 20lb. Weight Throw record that season.  The NCAA decided to take 12 athletes that season for the 20lb. Weight Throw.  Jen was the first person left home that season.  That set the stage for a fantastic run during the Outdoor season.  Jen ended up breaking the SUNY Fredonia Hammer Throw record, defending her SUNYAC Hammer Throw Championship, and throwing at the Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships held at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa.  

My advice for new coaches who may be coaching at their Alma Mater at the college or high school level:

1. Treat all your student-athletes the same.
2. Be respectful of their time.  Hold yourself accountable to your throwing and weightlifting days and times.
3. Find a mentor you trust that is open to answering your questions and has a coaching philosophy that aligns with your coaching philosophy.
   

Tell me about your first season as a sport coach.  What sport did you coach?  What were your initial thoughts?  What did you learn?  What would you do differently? 

We want to hear from you!

Charles

In this weightlifting section, I will include a training program implemented during the the 2007-2008 season.  This post includes the first three weeks of the fall program, leading to a meet in early December, 2007.  The fall conditioning for this program consisted of a four day a week training program, lasting three weeks.

For all the other coaches out there, what type of fall conditioning do you implement at the beginning of your season?  Do you implement a fall conditioning program?  How long does your fall conditioning last?  How many days a week do you have your athletes train?

Thanks for reading!

Charles

Fall Conditioning ’07-‘08                                           Week 1 – 30 seconds rest (4 x thru)

Duration 3 weeks (4x/week)                                       Week 2 – 20 seconds rest (3 x thru)

                                                                                    Week 3 – 15 seconds rest (3 x thru)

Day 1

Dumbbell Circuit

Series of stations using a different dumbbell exercise.  Each station is based on reps and transition time between each station will start with 30 seconds. Time between sets range 5-8 min. Weight suggestions can be changed based on strength.

1.  Standing alternate arm shoulder press (12 x 12)

Hands pronated, knees slightly bent.  Keep wrist above elbow during the movement and alternate each arm per rep. Suggested weight 40lbs.

2. Seated alternate arm reverse tricep (12 x 12)

Sitting on the edge of a bench hold dbells at sides palms facing in. Initiate movement by raising elbow towards the ceiling and letting hand remain below elbow. Alternate right and left arms. Suggested weight 40lbs.

3.  Offset push up (12 x 12)

Prone on floor with straight legs place one hand flat on floor and the other will be holding on to the dumbbell on the floor.  Perform 12 pushups with one hand elevated on the dumbbell and then switch the dumbbell to the other hand and finish with 12 pushups with the dumbbell under the other hand. Use anything that will elevate the hand 6-8”.

4.  Walking dbell lunge (12 x 12)

Keep shoulders square and chest up-avoid bending at the waist. In the walking lunge step far enough to allow back knee to come close to touching the floor but the front knee does not travel in front of the foot. Hold dbells at side. Suggested weight 20lbs.

5.  Dbell RDLs (x12 with 3 second eccentric count)

Hold dbells palms facing down and resting on quads. With a flat back slowly lower the dbells to below the knee or mid-shin in a 3 second count. Knees are slightly bent. Suggested weight 60lbs.

6.  Farmers walk (max distance in 30 seconds)

Hold dbells at sides and walk in a brisk pace for 30 seconds.  Suggested weight 60lbs.

7. Power sit up with dbell (8 x 8 x 8)

In the traditional situp position secure feet and hold dbell on chest.  Curl up to the middle, back down, curl to the right knee, back down, and then curl to the left knee, back to starting position. This is one rep. Suggested weight 10lbs.

8. Standing hammer curl twists (12 x 12)

Hold dbells in a hammer curl position-elbows bent and tight to ribcage. Lock in the position and rotate the torso 90+degrees to the right and back around to the left.  Slight turning of the feet on the twist.  Suggested weight 30lbs.


Day 2

Plyos and Med ball work

This series of exercises and drills will require a 10K bumper plate, 10-12lb. med ball, 14”-20” plyo box and open area. 

Hammer drills:

10K bumper plate

1. Hammer winds with bumper-right and left 3 x (10 x 10)
2. Stop position turns.  Start with hands/bumper at zero rotate to 90 and stop. Check position then step to 180 hands up and in the direction of the throw. Return back to zero and repeat (3 x 3 turns)
3. Multi turns.  Begin straddling a line and perform 3 x 8-10 consecutive turns with bumper. Stay within the line as you build speed.

Med ball drills and exercises:

1. Sling releases. Hold med ball at zero, turn back and sling release over shoulder.  Hands high upon delivery. 3 x (3 x 3) right and left side
2. Multi turns with release.  Sling entry with 3 x 6-8 turns and a release.
3. Slam downs-two handed slam down to the ground as hard and repeat as fast as possible 3 x 10 reps. Emphasize the height of the med ball and follow the ball down.  Lengthen the path of the med ball as you increase speed.

Plyo box exercises:

1. Seated jump vertical-Sitting on the box, rock back to unhinge the hips and bring feet slightly off the floor.  Slam feet back to the ground and jump up vertically.  (4 x 8 jumps)
2. Seated jump forward- Sitting on the box, rock back to unhinge the hips and bring feet slightly off the floor. Slam feet back to the floor and perform 3 consecutive double foot hops forward. (4 x 3 hops)
3. Box jumps-Double leg jump (4 x 10) and single leg jump (4 x 10x10).

Day 3

Weight room circuit-each station is 30 seconds and you must complete as many reps as you can.  Rest time will change each week.

1. Dumbbell stepup-knee must be level with hip on the box.  Alternate legs and emphasize the opposite knee towards ceiling on step up. Dbells at sides.
2. Feet elevated pushup.  Prop feet up on a bench and perform as many pushups in 30 seconds
3. Mixed grip pull-ups-pronated, supinated, mixed grips. Change grip each set.
4. Band pull aparts- yellow band
5. Reverse hyper
6. Glute-ham raises (hamstring curl) plus weight
7. Overhead squat (45lb bar plus weight)
8. Plank -traditional plank position on the floor resting on forearms, legs straight on toes. Eyes focused on floor between hands, imagine a straight line from top of head down to toes.  ‘Pull belly button into spine’
9. Bondarchuk lunges-step over 45lb. bar (plus weight) and hold bar and stand up in a lunge position. Keep split leg stance and drop the back knee down to the ground and back up to starting position.  Do not allow a full lockout of the legs.  Allow 10 seconds to switch feet and repeat 30 seconds on other leg.
10. Russian Twist-secure feet knees bent arms straight out in front holding a 10lb.-10K plate. Rotate 180 degrees to the right and left side. Trunk angle 45°.

Week 1 – 30 seconds between each station (4 x thru) 5-8 minutes between sets.

Week 2 – 20 seconds between each station (3 x thru) 4-7 minutes rest between sets.

Week 3 – 15 seconds each station (3 x thru) 3-5 minutes rest between sets.


Day 4

Sled Pull/Drag and Hill Exercises

Distance for the sled workout 30m. with minimal rest between exercises. Depending on weight used you may go through the series 2-3 times.

Sled Exercises:

Pull

1. Walking forward lunge
2. Walking lateral lunge (repeat opposite side)
3. Giant steps with twist stretch. Large step forward with right foot, raise left hand straight up and rotate torso to the right.  Turn back to center and stand up square. Repeat other side.
4. Chop step/high knees-quick short steps with high knees
5. Bear crawl-hands and feet
6. 75% sprint-quick arms, quick legs, lean forward

Drag

1. Bent over pull thrus- straddle rope to sled behind you, hold the end of the rope between your legs and with a flat back and straight arms pull thru rope in front of you.  (weight may need adjusted) Take a few steps forward and repeat.
2. Backward walk-toe to heel.  Lean back with upper body and hold with straight arms
3. Backward walk with row to neck-step back with left then right foot until rope is taut and then pull rope to neck

Hill work: 3 x thru

Double hops up hill

Single leg bounding up hill (alternate right then left)

Bear crawl up hill (butt in air)

Crab crawl down hill (belly in air)

High knees up hill

Lateral walk up hill-left right touches, left right touches, etc. Bent knees the duration of the exercise.

Running workout:

4 x 50m (2 forward/2 backward) -1 min rest

4 x 100m (forward running) - 90 sec. rest

2 x 200m - 3 min. rest

2 x 100m – 2 min. rest

1 x 50m sprint

About a third of the way through practice it became evident that Taylor was not opening up to the sector on her finish.  She was pushing a lot of her throws down the right sector line.  I explained to her that if she brought her left around to 180 degrees at the finish she would have more degrees to push through her finish on.  Gaining degrees was something I picked up on my trip to Ashland back in January, 2005.  Jud Logan mentioned it a couple of times during practice when working with his Ashland Elite team.  It takes a lot of stress off the core and lower back when you finish your throw facing the sector, and not having your feet pointed at 0 degrees in the circle.  This little tip helped clean up Taylor's finishes.  She does a much better job of opening to the sector on the 50m throw posted.  Before that, she was not coming all the way around on her finish.

Thanks for reading!

Charles

Taylor is a 2015 graduate of St. John Fisher College.  She completed her collegiate career finishing 9th at the Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships held at St. Lawrence University.  Taylor graduated a multiple time Empire 8 Champion in the 20lb. Weight Throw and Hammer Throw.  She is also a New York State Hammer Champion in the Hammer.  In a later blog I'll go into more detail into how Taylor and I started throwing together.

After taking a three month layoff, yesterday marked the first practice Taylor and I had together.  I have mentioned it earlier, but I cannot stress it enough that I feel so fortunate to be able to work with Taylor this upcoming 2015-2016 season. 

I had Taylor take 24 throws yesterday.  16 throws with the competition hammer and 8 throws with a 5k hammer.  From past coaching experiences, I have had athletes hit better positions with the heavier hammer after a little bit of time off.  Taylor hit very good technique yesterday when she threw with the 5k hammer.  I didn't pay that much attention to her distances with the 5k, but her competition weight throws went pretty far, considering the time off.  Of the 16 throws she took with the competition hammer, I estimate that at least 4 throws went over 50m.  I consider that a pretty good day, all things considered.

We spent some time discussing our goals for the upcoming season.  The reason why I say our goals is because I believe coaching is an important two way relationship.  I won't share the distances we talked about, but we are in agreement that those numbers are within reach and attainable.

He is a video of one of Taylor's 50m throws.

Thanks for reading!

Charles