coaching management 19.1

A HOST OF DUTIESRunning a championship event

> Recovery Nutrition> Providing Recruiting Advice

PRESEASON 2011 | VOL. XIX NO. 1 | $7.00

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FOR THE 10TH CONSECUTIVE TIME

MONDO... TOP CHOICE OF THE OLYMPICS AGAIN!

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Circle No. 100

CoachesNetwork.com Coaching Management 1

ManagementCoaching

CONTENTS | TRACK & FIELD EDITION | PRESEASON 2011 | VOL. XIX, NO. 1

3 PRESEASON BULLETIN BOARDNCAA Division I continues to discuss regionals … New NFHS rules on jewelry, hair control, high jump, and pole vault … Coach suspends team to teach a lesson … Three questions for Missouri’s Brett Halter… Boosting enrollment with track and field ... High school partners with University of Washington

11Q&A LISA MORGANTrack and field athletes at Columbia High School, in Maplewood, N.J., are being recog-nized on a national level thanks to Head Coach Lisa Morgan’s focus on maximizing individual potential.

14COVERSTORY A HOST OF DUTIESEveryone wants to win a championship, but not everyone wants to host one. Here’s a look at how to run an organized, memorable, end-of-year event—and why you might want to.

21 LEADERSHIP READY TO RECEIVEMany high school athletes today are eager to receive advice on how to get recruited to col-leges. That’s why every coach must be prepared to offer meaningful guidance on the topic.

27NUTRITION NEXT UP: RECOVERYAfter a competition or practice, an athlete’s body is working hard to adapt to the stresses it just encountered. In order to aid that recovery process, the right nutrients are essential.

Publisher Mark GoldbergMarketing Director Sheryl ShafferEditorial Dept. Eleanor Frankel, Director R.J. Anderson, Kenny Berkowitz, Patrick Bohn, Abigail Funk, Mike Phelps, Dennis Read

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Mailing lists for Coaching Management Track & Field are provided by the Clell Wade Coaches Directory.

The Coaching Management Track & Field edition is pub lished in January and September by MAG, Inc. and is distributed free to college and high school coaches in the United States and Canada.

Copyright © 2011 by MAG, Inc. All rights reserved. Text may not be reproduced in any manner, in whole or in part, without the permission of the pub lisher. Un solicited materials will not be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Coaching Management, P.O. Box 4806, Ithaca, N.Y. 14852. Printed in the U.S.A.

31 SURFACES & FACILITY EQUIPMENT33 TEAM EQUIPMENT 35 STRENGTH & CONDITIONING

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ON THE COVER

Runners in the 800 meters take off at the 2010 NCAA Division III outdoor championships, host-ed by Baldwin-Wallace College. Coaches provide advice on hosting end-of-year events in our cover story, starting on page 14.

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

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W W W . M O N D O W O R L D W I D E . C O M8 0 0 3 6 1 3 7 4 7 m o n d o @ m o n d o u s a . c o m

FOR THE 10TH CONSECUTIVE TIME

MONDO... TOP CHOICE OF THE OLYMPICS AGAIN!

MO

ND

O

TR

AC

K

SU

RF

AC

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MONDO IS OFFICIAL SUPPLIER OF

SPORT FLOORING AND EQUIPMENT

TO THE LONDON 2012 OLYMPIC

AND PARALYMPIC GAMES

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Circle No. 101


Championships

More Changes in Division I?

AdvAncing to the ncAA division i trAck And Field outdoor chAmpionships FinAl meet is a great accomplishment for college athletes. Figuring out how runners, jumpers, and throwers should qualify for that experience continues to be a great challenge for coaches and administrators.

After one year of using two qualifying meets, which followed several years with meets at four preliminary sites, the division i championships/sports management cabinet has asked the division i men’s and Women’s track and Field committee to come up with ideas for improving the regional events. it has also asked the committee to consider eliminating the qualifying round.

the four regional qualifying meets were originally implemented to increase access for track athletes to ncAA championships. they were condensed to two meets in part because coaches felt there was inconsistency due to the varying numbers of participants in the different geographic regions.

“runners would be going through four different qualifying processes at four different sites to get to the same championship,” says sam seemes, chief executive officer for the u.s. track and Field and cross country coaches Association. “With the [twosite] format, if we have four heats with seven athletes per heat in the 100meter dash and the top three finishers qualifying, we have the same process at the other.”

But questions remain whether the qualifying rounds are worthwhile. the main concern, according to todd patulski, chair of the division i track and Field committee and executive Associate Athletics director at Baylor university, is the cost to institutions. “schools are responsible for funding trips to the regionals, not only with regard to travel, but keeping

kids on campus after the spring semester, and those things are expensive,” he says.

With regards to improving the current format, patulski is gathering feedback from various site representatives and coaches on ways to improve the meet. “one of the things we’re looking at is fixing the flow of the meets,” he says. “We’re having conversations on whether the long jump finals should be at one pit or separate ones. there’s also a discussion about not having the 10,000meter run at the preliminary rounds because it may be too much to ask athletes to run that event at the preliminaries and championships. those are things our committee has to decide on, then we will make recommendations to the cabinet.”

in terms of eliminating the regionals altogether, one idea being discussed is a “24/8” model. the current format sends

BULLETIN BOARDPREsEasoN 2011

96 athletes in each men’s and women’s individual event, 24 men’s and women’s relay teams and 24 men and women for the decathlon and heptathlon. in the onemeet model, the top 24 declared individuals with the top times would qualify for the championships, while the remaining eight participants would be the conference champions with the next best times. there would still be 24 relay teams per event, determined in a similar manner: the top 18 declared teams would have access as would the next best six conference champions.

“the 24/8 format is an idea that could relieve some of the financial burden to the participating schools. Whether it’s the best way to do it, however, is an unknown,” says seemes. “You’ve got an obligation to provide participation opportunities for athletes and access to champi

After eight years of conducting qualifying meets prior to the Divi-sion I outdoor championships, the NCAA is reconsidering the idea. At right, the University of Michigan’s Erin Pendleton competes at the 2010 East preliminary round.

| | | | | |CoNTENTs

3 D-I reviews championships

4 New HS rules more lenient

6 D-III coach suspends team

6 3 Qs on replacing a legend

8 Boosting enrollment

9 HS team hosts college meet

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Nurtures athletesand the earth.

When installing the BSS 3000 up to 300,000 fewer pounds of carbon dioxide enters the atmosphere compared with a standard full pour track.

kills

saves the environment.records.

Beynon Sports Surfaces16 Alt RoadHunt Valley, Maryland 21030410 771-9473www.beynonsports.com

CoachingMgmt_Sept_v3.indd 2 8/10/10 7:51 PM

Adjustments were also made in the high jump and pole vault rules. Once a high jumper or vaulter is declared the winner of an event, he or she will be allowed to determine the height of the crossbar for successive jumps in the same meet. And jumpers and vaulters will no longer be charged with an unsuccess-ful attempt in the case of a faulty or improperly placed crossbar. A final rules change for pole vaulters allows those who have passed on three or more con-secutive heights additional time to warm up before their next attempt.

“Over the last couple of years, we had a state association that experiment-ed with setting aside two minutes for vaulters to do their run-throughs,” says Oakes. “In over half of the meets where it was tried, vaulters didn’t use the full time, so the committee felt comfortable that changing the rule wouldn’t signifi-cantly lengthen meets. And it can greatly help student-athletes who are coming in at higher heights after sitting out for a while.”

In ratifying proposals from the NFHS Sports Medicine Advisory Committee, the rules committee clarified the intention to permit student-athletes to compete wear-ing braces, casts, and prostheses, with the specific requirements for approval to be determined by state associations. In response to concerns about head injuries, any athlete who exhibits signs of a con-

onships. If you keep cutting back, it’s diffi-cult to do that. The NCAA is trying to iden-tify the best way to balance access and financial viability, but it’s challenging because the two aren’t exactly bedfellows.”

Louisiana State University Head Coach Dennis Shaver feels that cutting down to 32 competitors isn’t necessarily a bad thing. “You have the whole year to position your-self to be one of those 32 athletes,” he says. “In all likelihood, you’re still going to wind up with the top athletes qualifying.”

Shaver wonders if there is too much emphasis being placed on providing access to championships. “Where do we need to focus on participation?” he asks. “Is it on the number of participants at the championship meet? I’m sure the NCAA really likes the numbers they have now, but we need to consider what’s best for the athletes and the sport itself. I recog-nize a 24/8 model will reduce the number of athletes who get the ‘NCAA champi-onship experience,’ but it should be chal-lenging to make the field.”

A one-site championship also makes qualifying more consistent. “Any time you can put the entire meet at one venue, it’s going to be fairer to the athletes because all of the conditions and facilities will be the same,” Shaver says. “I think our exec-utive committee and our coaches’ associa-tion can agree that a one-site system is fairer than what we have now.”

RULES CHANGES

New HS Revisions Allow More Leniency

AFTer CLeArINg 7-FeeT-6 TO eNSUre AT LeAST A SeCOND pLACe FINISH AND A LeAgUe TITLe for South pasadena (Calif.) High School last May, pole vaulter robin Laird became a topic of national debate among high school coaches. It wasn’t her performance that generated attention, though. It was the friendship bracelet around her wrist.

Seconds after the vault, the opposing coach lodged a complaint, since NFHS rules prohibit athletes from wearing any type of jew-elry. Laird was disquali-

fied, South pasadena lost the meet and dropped to second in the league stand-ings, and some people questioned the opposing coach’s sportsmanship.

In response, the NFHS Track and Field and Cross Country rules Committee revis-ited and has revised its rules regarding

BULLETIN BOARD

4 Coaching Management CoachesNetwork.com

Along with more leniency on jew-elry, new NFHS rules for this year cover high jump and pole vault reg-ulations. Above, Amy Medina of Mountain View High School com-petes in the Colorado Class 4A state championships.

jewelry worn during competition. It also implemented several other new rules, which took effect with the start of the 2010-11 school year.

“It was a big year for rule changes,” says Becky Oakes, NFHS Assistant Direc-tor and Liaison to the Track and Field and Cross Country rules Committee. “The committee did a lot of good work clarify-ing some old rules, writing new ones, and making the track and field language con-sistent with that of other sports. Some of these rule changes may only have a lim-ited impact, but others will affect coaches across the board.”

The South pasadena situation, which dominated the discussion, prompted the committee to create a less strict initial penalty to keep student-athletes in the competition. A first violation of the jewel-ry rule now results in a team warning, and athletes will only be disqualified if they commit a subsequent violation during the same meet.

“The committee’s intent was to add a little leniency,” says Oakes. “They’ve been discussing jewelry-related rules for four or five years, and this seemed like a reasonable way to address the issue while preserving the safety and integrity of the sport. Wearing jewelry is still prohibited, but instead of going straight to disqualifi-cation, they’ve reduced the severity of the penalty and built in a warning.”

In the wake of that decision, the committee relaxed its rule on hair control, agreeing to allow bobby pins, barrettes, and clips, as long as they are not adorned or longer than two inches. It also updated rules on medical alert bracelets and neck-laces, allowing cloth, vinyl, and rubber alerts to be worn freely, though metal ones still need to be taped to the body and visible.

For a complete list of rules changes and interpretations, visit: www.nfhs.org/ track.aspx.

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Circle No. 102


sponsored dance early in the fall semester, administrators and Head Coach Donald Fritsch decided to send a strong message.

In September, the school suspended the entire team for three meets. “It was nothing evil or criminal that they did,” Fritsch says. “But they were exhibiting stu-pid, rude, and obnoxious behavior.

“It was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” he continues. “We were on thin ice due to a pattern of similar behav-ior, and I had warned the team numer-ous times to not do anything that would embarrass the program. But they appar-ently thought nothing would come of it and continued with the same behavior.”

Although only 17 of the 24 mem-bers of the squad were at the dance, and not all of them were accused of misbehaving, the administration chose to suspend the entire team. “I initially wanted to isolate individuals to pun-ish, but our athletic administrators felt we needed to have some consequences for the whole team,” Fritsch says. “After thinking about it, I agreed with them. There’s been a pattern of bad behavior that we haven’t been able to isolate to one or two people, and a feeling that


cussion, including loss of consciousness, headache, dizziness, confusion, or a lack of balance, will be immediately removed from competition until cleared by a healthcare professional.

Overall, says Oakes, committee mem-bers were very thoughtful in coming up with changes that will work for athletes, coaches, and officials. “Leniency was very much on their minds,” she says. “Their goal is to keep athletes participating, so they looked at the best ways to let per-formances stand, help athletes stay in the competition, and match any disciplinary action with the severity of the infraction. It’s all about improving the experience of our competitors.”

TEAM DISCIPLINE

The Last Straw THe UnIverSITy OF WISCOnSIn-LA

CrOSSe men’S CrOSS COUnTry TeAm is respected nationally, having won two nCAA Division III titles in the last 10 years. But on its own campus, the squad’s repu-tation has been less than stellar. So when team members misbehaved at a school-

the team in general can’t seem to con-duct themselves appropriately.”

The suspension took the eagles out of the St. Olaf Invitational and the roy Griak Invitational, a meet they had won in 2009, as well as the University of Wis-consin Adidas Invitational. “The Wiscon-sin Adidas Invitational is a classy Division I meet, and we were the only non-Division I team invited,” Fritsch says. “I wanted to send the message loud and clear to the team that this type of behavior is unac-ceptable, and if they want to go to presti-gious meets like that, they have to act in classy manner.”

Along with the suspensions, Fritsch is incorporating regular efforts to show his runners the importance of doing the right thing. “We meet every day and a lot of the discussions have nothing to do with training and racing,” Fritsch says. “They’re about lifestyles, making good choices, and developing as quality individuals.”

He also enlisted help from a pair of former All-Americans who were on cam-pus for the school’s Wall of Fame ceremo-ny. “I asked them to speak to the team about what it means to be a distance runner with the La Crosse program—the

3 QUESTIONS

After 27 yeArs at the helm of the University of Missouri track and field program, a stint that included coaching 139 All-Americans, 108 conference champi-ons, and seven NCAA champions, rick McGuire retired last spring. replacing a legend is never easy, but that was the task given to Brett Halter, a 17-year veteran of McGuire’s staff who was promoted to Head Coach in mid-August.

CM: What has it been like taking over the program?Halter: It’s been fast and fun. Coach McGuire was

great about keeping me really involved with many aspects of the program for several years so I’m not lost. the biggest difference is that I’m now dealing with so many different things. I have to be a coach, psycholo-gist, mentor, dad, mechanic, and craftsman, among oth-er roles. It’s a lot of hats to wear.

Have you done anything to put your own stamp on the program?

Coach McGuire had a large impact on the sport and in many people’s lives. so it’s really important to

me to carry on his legacy. It’s absolutely critical that we maintain his value-based philosophy of coaching, our academic integrity, and pursuit of athletic excellence.

the single most difficult thing is that anything I say or do that looks like a personal twist on the program could be interpreted as an indictment of Coach McGuire. that is not the case at all, but might be seen that way.

What part of Coach McGuire’s philosophy is most important to you to maintain?

At one of the first prac-tices I came to when I started here, Coach McGuire said, “Hey, I love you guys,” to the team after a meeting. that was like fingernails on a chalkboard to me. that wasn’t me. But I’ve learned that creating such an environment is very conducive to high-level performance.

It took me some time to recognize the value of uncondi-tional love and creating a fam-ily atmosphere—and what that really means. An environment full of love and free of ridicule, innuendo, harsh criti-cism, foul language, and challenging your manhood is very important for me to continue.

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recognized that this had to be dealt with more severely,” he says. “Instead of just talking about it, I should have been putting down some pretty hardcore con-sequences a long time ago. If they’re

not breaking the law, you don’t see it as being that bad, but there was a con-tinuing pattern of small issues year after year that I should have recognized as a problem.”

honor, the tradition, and the responsibil-ity that you have as part of this family,” Fritsch says.

One other tactic has been to reeval-uate the messages he sends as a coach. “Part of the problem is that we try as coaches to instill in athletes a mindset that they are invincible and nothing can stop them from reaching their goals,” Fritsch says. “Combining that with a sense of entitlement some young people have can lead to disrespectful treatment of others. So I’m making our athletes aware that the invincible mindset that can lead to success in competition can get them in trouble elsewhere.”

Fritsch believes team members have gotten the message and are ready to restore a positive reputation to the pro-gram. But he has some regrets about not acting sooner. “I should have pulled my head out of the sand years ago and

Members of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse men’s cross country squad learned a tough lesson this fall, sitting out three meets for misbehavior at a school event.

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Circle No. 103


NATIONAL TREND

To Boost Enrollment

For small colleges trying to beat the recession, increasing enroll-ment by adding athletic opportunities has become a hot trend. and that has meant the addition of track and field programs at many ncaa Division ii and naia schools.

carroll college, an naia institution in helena, mont., with 1,500 students, is one of those schools. When matt mor-ris accepted the position of head coach for the indoor and outdoor track and field program, he was charged with two main goals: start a successful men’s and women’s team, and build a big one, too.

“if a school the size of carroll is loo-king to grow, one of the best ways to bring in new students is to add sports,” morris says. “track and field is probably the easiest, most cost-efficient sport to add. it’s relatively inexpensive and there’s no roster limit. the school was very up-front with me that it’s my job to bring in a certain number of student-athletes.”

While the exact number of student-athletes is still to be determined, morris

says having that mandate doesn’t alter his approach greatly. “i don’t think it really changes anything as far as the way i run this program,” he says. “my goal is always to provide a great student-athlete expe-rience and make sure kids really enjoy their time on campus. if i can do that, i’ll have kids flocking to join the program.”

the carroll squad has approxima-tely 60 athletes for its inaugural 2010-11 season, which includes 27 new track and field recruits. other members come from the existing cross country team, some stu-dents already on campus who decided to join the squad, and athletes playing ano-ther sport who will also run track.

For morris, building a roster has been just one of many challenges that come with starting a program. “there are no veterans on the team, so i can’t turn to

Following a national trend, Carroll College has added track and field to its athletic offerings in order to boost overall student enrollment. Freshman Troy Solly, at right, was a high school state qualifier in Washington in the 300-meter hurdles.

Circle No. 104

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someone and say, ‘Get these guys going on drills,’” he says. “But on the flip side, there aren’t any bad habits to break or philo-sophical changes to implement. If I had juniors and seniors who were used to a different coach or a certain structure, then I’d be changing gears on them in the mid-dle of their career, which can be tough.”

When recruiting prospective mem-bers of the team, Morris, who previously coached at Western Illinois University, was forced to think hard about how to sell Carroll to high school athletes, since the track program doesn’t have a history of success and tradition. “Program prestige is a big deal, but it can also be a detri-ment,” he says. “I loved Western Illinois, but because the team had struggled for so long, I was starting in a hole. It can be harder to build your way back to ground level than to start from scratch.”

With that in mind, Morris is focused on selling recruits on the potential of what’s to come if they enroll at Carroll. “As coaches, we are constantly trying to get athletes to do something we think they’re capable of before they know they can do it,” he says. “It’s no different when you’re recruiting. I tell prospective stu-dent-athletes, ‘I know we don’t have this

facility yet, but here’s what we do have, and here’s what we’re going to look like in three years. You can be part of that.’ I’m selling them on what they could become.”

It also helps that the Carroll athletic department has proven itself, even if the track program hasn’t. The football team has won six national championships since 2002 and other Carroll programs are consistently among the NAIA’s best.

“Carroll and its community are exci-ted about athletics,” Morris says. “When people think of Carroll, they’re thinking good things. The school already has a tremendous product—it just didn’t have track and field until now.”

NEW TRADITIONS

More Than a MeetHoW do YoU INsPIre YoUr HIGH

sCHool ATHleTes To NeW HeIGHTs and promote the sport of cross country at the same time? For ephrata (Wash.) High school, the answer was to host a pre-season meet for the two biggest universi-ties in the state.

ephrata is a school of 680 students in a town that’s better known for the Grand Coulee dam than for the school’s cross

country program. But it is the hometown of University of Washington Head Track and Field and Cross Country Coach Greg Metcalf, which is how the event came to be.

Metcalf was hoping to create a new tradition against archrival Washington state University and was looking for a neutral site. He contacted his former youth coach, Joe McManus, currently the UsATF Inland Northwest Cross Country Chair, who put the wheels in motion.

“He wanted an early season warmup at a location midway between the two schools—something to help them ease into their seasons,” says McManus. “so I spoke to the high school, acted as meet director, and helped make it all happen.”

ephrata Athletic director Michele Webb and Head Cross Country Coach shel-ley Yenney both loved the idea and started to brainstorm how it could be a boon for the high school. Their ideas included sched-uling other athletic events around the meet, getting parents involved, and work-ing with the media to publicize everything.

They set a date for sept. 3. Yenney organized a cross country jamboree against Quincy High school, ellensburg High school, and othello High school ear-ly in the afternoon. The Washington vs.

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Circle No. 106

BULLETIN BOARD

The high schoolers ran 3,000 meters along the new course, and though the scores didn’t count toward the season’s results, Yenney was pleased to see the Tigers place seven boys and seven girls in the top 20 finishers. In the weeks since then, she’s used the experience to chal-lenge her team to work harder and moti-vate them to reach the next level.

But the best part of the day hap-pened that evening, when team parents hosted a supper for the U of Washington and Ephrata runners. “At the dinner, our student-athletes were able to spend time with the runners from UW, asking them

questions about where they came from and how they were selected to the team,” says Yenney. “You could see the conver-sations having a clear impression on our athletes. That was what I hoped they’d get out of the experience—and why I’d like to turn it into an annual event.”

Yenney says her runners also learned a lot. “My student-athletes now better understand how collegiate runners train and prepare for a race,” she says. “They saw the dedication and commitment they would need to compete at the collegiate level, and it inspired them to raise the bar for themselves.” CM

I had to correct a mistake I made on the half page spread previ-ous so three lines are now over.

Washington State meet took place at 5 p.m. And Webb scheduled a football game against Quincy that evening.

McManus developed a course for all the runners, a two-kilometer loop around Ephrata’s practice fields, which the col-legiate women ran twice and the men ran three times. (Washington outpaced WSU in both races.) He also enlisted the help of friends, including Metcalf’s former high school coach, to help out on the day of the meet. The local press encouraged fans to wear their colors—purple for UW, crimson for WSU, and orange and black for Ephrata—and make the races into an event for the whole community.

“We’re a small town, and we don’t usually get the chance to see nationally-ranked runners competing here,” says Yenney. “There was a lot of community support, and you could definitely see the Husky-Cougar rivalry in the crowd.”

After the day of races, the Ephrata High School and University of Washington squads got together for a parent-sponsored dinner.

Circle No. 107


At the time it seemed like the worst fate, but lisa morgan now looks back on her injury in college as a blessing in dis-guise. When morgan, now head Boys’ and Girls’ Coach at Columbia high school in maplewood, N.J., was sidelined with a hip flexor injury at the University of kentucky,

her coach put her in charge of showing recruits around cam-pus and helping first-year runners settle in. the coaching bug bit, and morgan’s been at it ever since.

After graduating from kentucky, morgan ac-cepted an assistant

coaching job at Columbia, her alma mater, then was offered an assistant coaching position at seton hall University, where she remained for 10 years. in 2004, she became a stay-at-home mom for her new-

MaXIMIZIng InDIVIDUaL PERFORMancE

Q&A

born son, duke, but soon began volunteer-ing at Columbia. she took a year off when a new head coach came aboard, and in 2007 morgan was asked to take the reins herself.

last year, morgan led the girls’ indoor and outdoor squads to New Jersey state interscholastic Athletic Association Group 4 state championships. the outdoor team set state records in points earned at both the sectional and state championship meets. Also last season, the boys’ team placed fifth at the Nike indoor Nationals in the 4x400-meter relay, setting a school record in the process. And at the New Balance Nationals last summer, the girls’ team won the overall title while the boys’ squad finished sixth.

in this interview, morgan talks about how to get the most out of her student-athletes, working with parents, and national compe-tition. she also recounts a tough end to her first year as head coach at Columbia when she dismissed a top runner from the team.

Q&A with lisa morgan | columbia HigH ScHool, maplewood, N.J.

CM: What is your coaching philosophy?Morgan: In general, my coaching philos-

ophy is to maximize the individual potential of each athlete. I believe that athletics is a direct reflection of life, so if I can get all of my athletes to maximize their performance, I set them up to perform well in everything they do.

How do you maximize performance?A big part of it is effective communica-

tion. I let my athletes know from day one that I’m approachable. They have to feel comfortable bringing me any and every problem they’re having. I can’t coach an athlete to perform their best if I don’t know about certain things that may be affecting their performance.

For example, maybe an athlete isn’t getting the proper meals at home. Or maybe they’re not getting enough rest because they have a large class load and they’re staying up until 2 a.m. every night doing homework. Whatever the issue is, I need to know about it.

The Columbia girls’ outdoor team, including Brianna Thomas on left and Kayann Richards on right, set a record in points earned in winning the 2010 New Jersey Group 4 high school state championships.

I also have goals analysis meetings with each of my athletes at the beginning of the year. This helps them feel comfortable with me and allows me to get into their minds to see what they believe they can do. That dis-cussion plays a big part in how I work with each of them to maximize performance.

Opening up that dialogue has also led to some fantastic relationships with athletes. I was recently invited to the baby shower of an athlete I coached 11 years ago, for example. Those relationships trump any award or win for me.

Do you get parents involved or prefer they stay out of the way?

I actually involve parents in our goals meet-ings because they are a big part of us having success. Parents are that link between a coach and the athletes. They have to understand my goals and philosophy so they can help their child do what needs to be done at home.

That includes proper nutrition and rest, first of all. But a coach also needs parents to champion for them. I need to know that our parents will stand behind what I’m telling their child at practices and meets. The last


thing a coach wants is noise. I want one voice talking to my athletes, and that’s my voice.

Have you ever had a problem with a parent?

Absolutely. There’s no utopia in coaching. Every coach has had a parent who thinks they know more about coaching than they do. When that happens, you need to immediately talk with them. You don’t have to be confron-tational, but you do have to recognize there is a conflict that needs to be handled.

I’ll sit down with that parent and say, “Here’s my philosophy. This is where I see your son or daughter. This is my plan. What’s your philosophy?” And then I listen to them. They want to be heard, too.

Our parents have my phone number and my e-mail address and any time there’s a problem, they discuss it with me first. Not my assistant and not the athlete, because at the end of the day I’m the one with the mas-ter plan who’s making the decisions.

You’ve made your team welcoming, with a roster of 120. How do you handle coaching such a large team?

I can’t write 120 different workouts, so I have to figure out how to group my athletes. In the beginning of the year, we’re all out there together until I begin to see strengths and weaknesses. Then I group them. I don’t separate the boys and girls from each other, I separate by event. From there, knowing my athletes on a personal level helps me figure out who needs stroking and who needs more of an iron fist.

Do you help your athletes get recruited to colleges?

I have helped every single one of my athletes get an education at the next level, whether that’s at an NCAA Division I, II, or III university or a junior college. I don’t look at my job as using athletes to win cham-pionships for Columbia High School. It’s about what happens next in their lives. I’m a big advocate of getting a higher education and I play a big part in the recruiting process with them for that reason.

Do you think national competition is important for getting recruited?

Absolutely. That’s been proven with one

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Circle No. 108 Circle No. 109

Q&A

of my athletes, Kayann Richards. Her recruit-ment shot through the roof after we attended the New Balance Nationals and Nike Team Nationals last summer. The college coaches who go to these competitions get to look at an athlete in person, rather than only see their times on paper. They can get a sense of whether an athlete is maxed out, or if they have more potential for growth.

How do you handle it when an athlete doesn’t perform to expectations?

I don’t settle for mediocrity. The girls’ team won the New Balance competition, and I’m ecstatic about that, but I was dis-appointed that we did not perform to our ability. We did not win the sprint medley and we should have. In fact, we should have set a national record. My anchor leg heard too many voices that day. I blame it on myself—a coach has to know when to take responsibility. I should have done a better job of preparing her for that moment.

What did you say to her after the race?I hugged her and told her I loved her and

that it was okay. You can’t change anything

after the fact. That was a moment and we couldn’t get it back. We discussed it afterward and we both learned valuable lessons. That competition was still a great experience.

In your first year as Head Coach at Columbia, you dismissed an athlete from the team. What happened?

At the Penn Relays, we were in the 4x100-meter relay tri-state final. We had the fastest time going in and we should have won. I had three seniors on the first three legs and used a freshman as the anchor. Not everybody agreed with my decision to put a freshman in that position, but it was my choice and I believed that was the way we could win.

Well, the exchange from the third leg to the anchor was bad and we lost. The first attempt to get her the stick failed, and even though all our third leg had to do was try again because they weren’t yet out of the zone, she stopped trying. She was so caught up in the fact that my decision to anchor a freshman wasn’t going to work that she just stopped.

It was a sad day. I hugged them, I cried for them, but we let it go for the rest of

the weekend. On Monday back at school, I called the four girls into a classroom to talk about it. As I started my spiel about what happened, that third leg senior just went off. She told me it was my fault and swore at me and walked out of the classroom. I gave her one chance to come back in the room and she kept walking, so I removed her from the team.

I immediately went to my athletic director and told him what happened, and I stuck to my guns even when the athlete and her par-ents gave me a very hard time. It was a rough patch, and I took a hit. I lost another great senior runner because her mother didn’t agree with what I did. And we lost competi-tions after that because two of my best run-ners weren’t competing.

The story comes full circle, though. That freshman anchor was Kayann Richards, now a senior and our top runner. After the incident, my team transformed. The young athletes saw that I was going to give them a chance and that they matter just as much as the older athletes. So we had a tough end of our season, but when I look at where we are now, I wouldn’t have done anything differently. CM


Circle No. 110

Runners take off at the start of the first heat of the women’s 800 meters at the 2010 NCAA Division III outdoor championships, hosted by Baldwin-Wallace College. Lane five holds eventual national champion Marie Borner from Bethel (Minn.) University. A HOST

OF DUTIES


COVER STORY

Bill Taraschke says a school would have to be “totally insane” to take on the workload associated with hosting a major meet. So why did the longtime Baldwin-Wallace College Head Men’s and Women’s Coach agree to host the 2010 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships, along with the 2009 Cross Country Championships?

A HOST OF DUTIES

Everyone wants to win a championship, but not everyone wants to host one. Here’s a look at how to

run an organized, memorable, end-of-year event— and why you might want to. By Patrick Bohn

“If you have the expertise and facilities needed to run a championship event, you have an obligation to give back to the sport,” Taraschke says. “Hosting a meet is one way to do it.”

The city of Cleveland was selected to be one of the NCAA’s six “Championship Cities” for 2010, and Case Western Reserve University was originally slated to hold the outdoor track championships. When Case Western was unable to host the meet, Cleve-land was left scrambling for a host, and Baldwin-Wallace stepped up.

“My thought was ‘Do we let Cleve-land get a black eye for saying it can host something and then backing out, or do we support it?’” says Taraschke. “I’ve got the experience, and with our facilities, I could host a meet tomorrow, so I agreed to do it.”

No one would deny that hosting a cham-pionship meet is an intense process involv-ing long hours and the coordination of hundreds of people. But if executed proper-ly, it can be a major boost to your program, school, and surrounding community.

WHY BOTHER?While Taraschke’s initial reason for host-

ing the D-III meet was to help his city, another reason was to publicize his program. “It allows possible recruits to see what Divi-sion III track and field and Baldwin-Wallace are all about,” he says. “When people come to our facilities and leave with a positive feeling, they’ll remember the school.”

University of Arkansas Head Men’s Coach Chris Bucknam, whose school hosted the 2009 NCAA Division I Outdoor Champion-ships as well as the 2010 indoor title meet, says all the hard work can help ensure your track program is seen as top-notch. “Holding this type of event brings exposure to your program, while at the same time justifying

the money you spend on your facilities and putting them to great use,” he explains. “We built our facilities with the intention of host-ing major events and it doesn’t get much bigger than an NCAA Championship.”

Texas A&M University hosted the 2009 NCAA Division I Indoor Championships and Head Men’s and Women’s Coach Pat Henry believes doing so is a great way to relay to recruits that track and field won’t get lost among a school’s revenue-generat-ing sports. “As an institution, it allows us to show that the sport is important to the school and that it represents the quality of competition and team that we’re trying to have,” he says. “When young athletes see us hosting a meet on television, we hope it helps them make a decision to come here.”

At the high school level, the benefits tend to be community-based. Brian Weaver,

Head Boys’ and Girls’ Coach at Buchanan High School in Clovis, Calif., says hosting the 2009 and 2010 California Interscholas-tic Federation State Championships on the school’s campus was a boon for the area (and Buchanan will host again in 2011). “The community has given a lot of financial sup-port to the Clovis Unified School District, and hosting the state meets was a way to give back,” he says. “There were a couple million dollars spent in the Clovis-Fresno area over the course of each meet, which was a great way to stimulate the local economy.”

Winter Park (Fla.) High School Head Boys’ Coach Dennis Kozub found that host-ing the 2009 and 2010 Florida High School Athletic Association championships allowed

his school to strengthen its community ties. “When we host a big meet, the parents come down and they want to get involved, so it grows a community feeling,” he says.

Weaver also feels it’s important for high schools to take ownership of state champi-onship meets. “In the past, the California Interscholastic Federation rented venues from local junior colleges for the state meet,” he says. “But a lot of people like high school events to be hosted by a high school community. When that happens, the money from the event isn’t going to someone else, it’s going back to the high school.”

WHAT’S NEEDEDIf those arguments sound persuasive, the

first step in hosting a meet is figuring out whether it’s feasible for your school. The three major areas of concern are admin-

istrative support, facilities, and finding a meet director.

Indiana Wesleyan University hosted the 2010 NAIA Outdoor Championships, and Head Men’s and Women’s Coach John Foss began the process by selling the idea to his school administration. “It’s one thing to say, ‘This is going to be a great event for the school,’ but it’s another to prove it,” he says. “When administrators look at hosting a big meet, their responsibility is to more than the track and field program. They need to know the pros and cons for the entire school.”

Foss made sure to fully assess the costs and expected revenue to give administrators a solid idea of meet finances. Then he started gathering support on campus. “After submit-

ting our proposal, we raised enthusiasm by talking to administrators and faculty about what hosting the meet would mean for Indi-ana Wesleyan,” he says. “Such an undertaking is great for my program, but I had to be able to look at it from other perspectives.”

In bringing the proposal to administra-tors, Foss also had to determine whether the track facility could handle a champi-onship meet. Host schools need a facility that is large enough and equipped with the right amenities. In the end, Foss convinced administrators to spend $300,000 to upgrade the track and field facility.

“We have a beautiful outdoor track, but not much in the way of seating,” Foss says.

PATRICK BOhN is an Assistant Editor at Coaching Management. He can be reached at: [email protected].

A big part of hosting a championship meet is orga-nizing all the details to perfection. But another aspect is making the event memorable for the student-athletes participating. At the University of Arkansas, Head Men’s Coach Chris Bucknam starts by ensuring a great atmosphere.

“We always want to provide a welcoming attitude and make sure people get treated right,” says Bucknam. “There’s enough pressure on the athletes at an event this size, so we want them to feel com-fortable. When they leave the meet, we hope they are thinking, ‘I want to go back there again.’”

At Baldwin-Wallace College, coaches and administrators provide comfortable spaces for athletes to relax during down times. “We set up an athlete lounge in our indoor facility,” says Head Men’s and Women’s Coach Bill Taraschke. “We provided 16 computers and free wireless access. We set up a big screen TV and had video

games so the athletes could relax and enjoy themselves if they came in a few hours before their event.”

Taraschke adds that adequate seating is also critical when it comes to atmosphere. “We have seating for about 8,000 fans in our facil-ity,” he says. “But we’ve gone to venues that weren’t as big, and they just didn’t feel like championship meets. At our facility, there was a ‘wow’ factor.”

At Indiana Wesleyan University, Head Men’s and Women’s Coach John Foss asked his athletes what amenities they’d want if they went to a meet. The results? “We had a big concert and made sure there were lots of food options available to the participants at all hours of the day,” he says. “We even had retired members of the community shuttle athletes around in golf carts. The community members were having so much fun it was contagious.”

MAKING IT MEMORABLE


COVER STORY

“You need to have 3,000 seats minimum to host an NAIA national meet and we had 600, all in our bleachers. It was too expensive to increase bleacher seating to 3,000, so we increased it to 1,500 and built earth berms on three sides of the track, elevated eight to 10 feet. We tented those, and people brought lawn chairs and sat there.”

Other features also had to be improved. “We needed to upgrade our scoreboard because it could only show the order of finishers and not times or scores,” Foss says. “Our press box was only 10x10 feet, which wasn’t enough room for all the media and the games committee, so we enlarged it into a 10x30 foot space.”

Foss also analyzed whether the facility could accommodate the increased level of competi-tion. “For every field event, you have to make sure your facility can handle a national-caliber athlete,” he says. “We dealt with that in the hammer throw. Our facilities were equipped to handle throws up to 180 feet, but we had to be prepared for athletes throwing more than 200. Previously, that throw would have landed in the street. We altered the space so a throw of 270 feet could land safely.”

Another initial priority is finding one person to be in charge of the meet. In many cases, the head track and field coach, or an assistant coach, can serve as meet director. But if you can convince an administrator to take the reins, that’s even better.

“Our event managers are the meet direc-tors,” says Henry. “I want to be involved in meet management because it’s my facility and what happens will be a reflection on my staff. But I am still trying to win a track meet, so I need someone else to oversee the details.”

Taraschke says the best person to put in charge of the meet depends on the institu-tion, but it helps to have someone who has clout with the school’s administration. “Ideally, the athletic director or even some-one higher up will be in charge, because of the sway they have,” he says. “If you’re a Pepsi institution and Coke is sponsoring the event, for example, someone is going to have to tell food service to cover up the Pepsi signs, and it’s better if that comes from an athletic director or vice president.”

“From a political standpoint, an athletic director is positioned so much better than a coach,” Foss says. “Our athletic director reports to the executive vice president, so he has a direct link to someone at the top levels of the university administration. With him in charge, we’re one step closer to a decision maker.”

At the high school level, coaches some-times have no choice but to direct the meet themselves. Weaver served as the co-director of the California state meets, and he admits it

can be a tough situation. “Ideally, someone else would be in charge,” he says. “I love coaching and watching my kids compete and it tugs at my heartstrings if I miss them. But my college coach taught me that if you’re involved with something, you have to give back.”

DIVIDING UP DUTIESRegardless of who serves as meet director,

the next job is delegating tasks. Taraschke says the sooner you start dividing up duties and reviewing the details, the better. “You don’t

pull off a meet this size on the spur of the moment,” he says. “You have to make a list of everything you’ll need to get done, sit down with your campus people well ahead of time, and decide who’s going to do what.

“We had two major meetings that sum-mer before the outdoor championships, one at the beginning to assign responsibilities and another at the end to see how they were going,” Taraschke continues. “In between, there was a lot of individual interaction. I am a big, ‘Let’s go get a cup of coffee and talk,’


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Circle No. 111

kind of person. That will get you a lot of cooperation.”

Foss says the key is dividing responsibili-ties into smaller subgroups. “We established committees for everything,” he says. “We had a housing and hospitality committee, a spon-

sorship committee, and many others. We tried to involve as many people as possible.”

Weaver started by splitting the meet in half. He put his co-director in charge of everything outside the stadium, including ticket takers, parking, community sponsor-ship, and security personnel. Weaver handled everything inside the facility, from officials, concessions, and announcers to the volun-teers who raked pits, moved blocks, and set up hurdles.

“Every month, myself, the other meet director, and the district coordinator would get together with people who were assigned to oversee different areas of the meet, like

the head of the district custodians, the food service people, and the head of the technol-ogy group,” Weaver says. “All told, there were about 30 of us who met and discussed things like how to set up concessions and handling crowd control and parking. This

way, we were able to see how things were coming along and determine whether any improvements needed to be made.”

Taraschke says a crucial part of delegat-ing responsibility is making sure everyone is in an area where they can succeed. “Our head athletic trainer took care of medical services and making sure there were athletic trainers, doctors, and ambulances on hand,” he says. “Our sports information director handled all the media-related issues, such as advertising and credentialing the press. Our safety people oversaw the security plan. You have to put people in their areas of strength and not micromanage.”

But there’s more to getting people involved than just assigning tasks: You have to moti-vate them as well. “Make sure that people who are going to be involved with service work take ownership of what they do,” Foss says. “We told the facilities people that the

track was their responsibility and they were going to get the credit if it looked good. That helped them become passionate about help-ing us, rather than just doing it because we asked them to.”

On the day of the meet, there is more delegating to do. Weaver divided his “inside” crew of about 400 volunteers into roughly 10 groups responsible for specific tasks. Each group had one person in charge who report-ed to Weaver.

“Those 10 people were like my depart-ment heads,” he says. “They were coaches, teachers, or former athletes. I went over my expectations with each group, then after I


“If there’s a problem, you need to stay calm and use your resources. You have to solve the problem and make sure the athletes aren’t negatively affected by your decisions.” BriaN Weaver, BuChaNaN high SChool, CloviS, Calif.

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“If there’s a problem, you need to stay calm and use your resources. You have to solve the problem and make sure the athletes aren’t negatively affected by your decisions.” Brian Weaver, Buchanan high School, cloviS, calif.

left, the heads of the groups went over them again. I trusted them to put out any small fires, but I wanted them to come to me if they had any problems.

“I’ve found it’s best to give everyone their assignments and let them work,” Weaver continues. “You need people around you who you can trust to get the job done. If you don’t, you’ll go crazy trying to do it all yourself.”

READY FOR ANYTHINGNo matter how much preparation and

organizing you have done, the day of the meet requires another level of readiness. The main focus is keeping everything on schedule.

“Track is the worst event in athletics if it’s not organized properly,” Henry says. “If you run it well, it’s tremendous. But if you have delays because of poor organization, it’s bad. Athletes appreciate that if the 200 meters is scheduled to start at 2:22, it starts at 2:22, because everything they do, from the time they go to sleep the night before to when they go through warm-ups, is dependant on their event starting on time.”

The trick to not getting behind is to be thinking at least two to three events ahead.

“If you’ve got the 400-meter hurdles follow-ing your 1,500-meter run, and the 1,500 is only using one or two lanes, you should be setting up hurdles in the other lanes in order to be ready,” Kozub says.

“The main thing I look for on the day of the meet is the flow of the event,” says Bucknam. “There needs to be a way for coaches and athletes to get from one place to another easily. If someone needs to get to the shot put area in five minutes, I make sure they can.”

Additionally, Kozub says if you’re the one responsible for making sure the meet runs smoothly, you may need to roll up your sleeves and get to work. “You can’t be the coach who doesn’t want to run around,” he says. “If you don’t understand your respon-sibility and how to get things done, your meet is going to be a disaster.”

It’s also important to be prepared for glitches. “You’re going to have some prob-lems, so the key is to be ready,” says Henry. “Have backup plans in place. The more organized you are, the better prepared you’ll be for anything unexpected.”

Weaver cautions against getting flustered. “If there’s a problem, you need to stay calm

and use your resources,” he says. “You have to solve the problem and make sure the athletes aren’t negatively affected by your decisions. For example, we had an official make an error during the pole vault—some coaches didn’t think their kids had a fair amount of rest between jumps. We had to recognize it was our fault and change it.”

Another key is to listen carefully to any-one with a complaint, no matter how busy you are. “During one event, we had a small stone in one lane on the track, and the run-ner in that lane didn’t win his heat and his parent was irate,” Kozub says. “I listened to them, and after they were done I told them I’d talk to the officials. Even though the officials told us there was nothing to do, the parent and athlete appreciated that we listened to them. If you just blow off their concerns, they won’t be happy.”

Finally, remember that your attitude goes a long way toward making everything go smoothly. “If you want to run a major event, you need to have a passion not just for the benefits, but for being a good host,” Foss says. “It helps to want things to be perfect, because even though you won’t get there, you can come close.” CM

COVER STORY

coachesnetwork.com Coaching Management 19

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Circle No. 115


Molly Cassidy smiles at the question. An interviewer has just asked the 19-year-old field hockey player why she spent the sum-mer before her senior year of high school in the Netherlands. “I realized if I wanted to learn from the best, I had to go overseas, where my sport is more popular,” she says. “It

Many high school athletes today are eager to receive advice on how to get recruited to colleges. That’s why

every coach must be prepared to offer meaningful guidance on the topic. By Dr. Karen Weaver

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was tough with the language barrier, but it prepared me for my college career.”

Like elite athletes in other sports, Molly decided at an early age she wanted to play field hockey at a high level. While she was recognized as one of the top high school play-ers in California, leading La Costa Canyon High School to three state titles, she worried that wouldn’t be enough to land an athletic scholarship at an NCAA Division I school. So she looked for chances to play against better competition and receive elite coaching.

When field hockey teams from the Neth-erlands came to train at the Olympic Train-ing Center in Chula Vista, Calif., she not only watched the practices, but spoke with players in hopes of finding better coaching. Through those conversations, she found opportunities to attend high-level summer field hockey camps in Europe.

Both Molly and her family knew the road to an NCAA Division I scholarship would

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be easier if she was mentored by some of the top coaches in the world. And all the work paid off. Michigan State University offered her a field hockey grant in aid in 2009, and as a redshirt freshman goalkeeper, Molly was named Big Ten Conference Defensive or Freshman Player of the Week five times in 2010. She was also chosen for the Division I All-Region First Team.

The world of recruiting is changing before our eyes. High school athletes are eschewing their high school coaches and

traditional training methods and using an entirely different process to get noticed by college coaches. And unless a major shift in our thinking occurs, high school coaches may soon become inconsequential in the recruiting process.

TODAY’S REALITYMore than ever before, club sport

coaches and personal trainers hold signifi-cant influence over top high school ath-letes. IMG Academies in Florida, Texas, and Arizona are examples of this trend. Built 30 years ago for tennis players to train year round, they have since expanded to include athletes in all sports who can come for a day, week, or month and compete with oth-ers from around the world. IMG will post your information and stats on its Web site and promote you when you commit to a college.

Just as significant, online recruiting com-panies have exploded, offering targeted eli-gibility seminars to those who want to play NCAA Division I or II sports. You can even self-promote using the Internet. YouTube has become the premier place to post high-light videos.

The value system of some high school coaches has also changed. Because the media emphasizes Division I as the ultimate colle-giate athletic experience, coaches have come to believe that a measure of their success is how many athletes they send to Division I institutions.

And parents are contributing to this by putting pressure on coaches to deliver a scholarship opportunity for their child. In their world, if Sally is the leading runner on her high school team, that must mean she

KAREN WEAVER, EdD, is Director of Athletics at Penn State University-Abington and serves as a consultant on college athletics recruiting, speaking regularly to high school student-athletes and parents. She spent 16 years as a head coach at the NCAA Division I and III levels and posts about the college recruitment process at: twitter.com/collegeathlete. She can be reached through her Web site at: www.intelligentrecruiting.org.

is good enough to get an athletic scholar-ship. If she doesn’t get a scholarship it’s the coach’s fault, right?

When parents don’t feel the coach is doing enough, they will turn elsewhere for help. From signing up for “expert” recruiting advice to seeking costly club or international experience, every avenue is considered.

We could spend hours thinking about where we went wrong in the process of pre-paring our student-athletes for college ath-letics—AAU tournaments, summer camps,

combines, and invitationals are just some of the ways we have conditioned student-athletes to believe that their athletic skill is a ticket to financial reward. While hindsight is 20/20, it doesn’t change where we’re at.

Instead, as coaches, we have to help our students and their families see the bigger picture. Somehow, we have to help them understand that a college coach’s opinion and their program’s needs are not more important than what a young person wants to get out of college.

CHANGING MINDSETSIf you are frustrated by the “profession-

alism” that seems to have taken over the college athletic recruiting process, take a deep breath. There are solutions to how to give advice that resonates with parents and student-athletes.

As coaches, we know that our potential to influence and guide our athletes lies in a complete understanding of the challenges they face. Therefore, the key is to be knowl-edgeable about the facts of recruiting and present them in a way that keeps the stu-dent-athlete’s best interests in mind. There are a myriad of opportunities to compete collegiately, but most parents only recognize the Division I dream—Division II and III schools rarely enter the equation. As a high school coach, you may be the only person able to truly guide them through the pros and cons of this path and help them make the best decision.

That’s why, to start, it’s important to illustrate the realities of competing at the Division I level. There are many reasons to pursue this option. The commitment of the coaching staff to the athlete’s development

is one very strong point. Coaches usually have the resources to provide top strength and conditioning, sport-specific mental and physical training, and nutritional advice. Athletes competing at the Division I level are also pushed by similar caliber athletes everyday in practice.

If you’re like Molly Cassidy, whose dream is to play on the U.S. national team, Division I is where you need to go. If you truly have the ability to play at the highest level and you relish the idea of challenging yourself

to the utmost potential, Division I can be a once in a lifetime experience. But beware that it does come with tradeoffs.

Many students and their families buy into the dream of playing for a Division I pro-gram, only to find out when they arrive on campus that the time commitment is much greater than they realized. Along with a lack of playing time, this is one of the top reasons why student-athletes transfer to a lower-divi-sion school. As their mentor, ask them to really think about why they want to go to a Division I program. Is it because it validates their athletic talent? Or is it because they truly want to play at an elite level and are willing to endure the sacrifice it entails.

In some cases, a student’s academic goals may simply not mesh with the com-mitment expected of a Division I athlete. If a student-athlete chooses a major that conflicts with practice times (biology labs are sometimes only offered in the after-noon), that can ignite problems between the athlete and the team. At the Division I level, more often than not, a coach will recommend to an athlete if they want to remain on the team, they will have to adjust their academic schedule. The same goes for student-athletes who want to pursue other interests, like studying abroad, writing for the student newspaper, or assisting a pro-fessor with a research project.

There are a myriad of opportunities to compete collegiately, but most parents only recognize the Division I dream—Division II and III schools rarely enter the equation … That’s why, to start, it’s important to illustrate the realities of competing at the Division I level.


So many high school athletes join a col-lege team believing the workload will be just like it was for them in high school. Nothing could be further from the truth. Playing on a Division I team is a large commitment, both in time and emotion. Even on an official paid visit to a campus, you would be hard pressed to find a coach who would tell you the challenges—it’s one of those areas that never gets discussed until after you arrive on campus.

One way to get some insight into a col-lege coach’s commitment to the balance of academics and athletes is to ask for the team’s graduation rate. College coaches are required to provide you this data. Over the years, I have been amazed by the number of teams that boast how many top recruits they bring in, only to find out that less than one third remain on the team until their senior year.

MONEY MATTERSOne of the areas most misunderstood by

parents is scholarship money. Because the high-profile sports of football and basket-ball provide full scholarships, most people assume the same is true in all sports. But

many NCAA Division I teams are termed “equivalency” sports, meaning there is very limited scholarship money to hand out.

In track and field, which is an equivalency sport, NCAA rules mandate that schools can offer no more than 12.6 scholarships for men and 18 full scholarships for women. Those scholarships, which also cover the cross-country team, can be divided up among a number of athletes. For example, a women’s track and field team may decide to offer full scholarships to six of its athletes, half schol-arships to 12 of its athletes, and one-quarter the amount of a full scholarship to 24 of its athletes.

Sometimes, athletes are told their schol-arship money will increase based on how they perform as freshmen. It can be dif-ficult for 18- and 19-year olds to shoulder the pressure to perform well enough their freshman year to increase their scholarship money, especially when they know their parents can’t afford the tuition.

And not all schools offer all 12.6 and 18 scholarships. Those numbers are the maxi-mum allowed by the NCAA, but there is no minimum in track and field.

If an athlete has concerns about the amount of money he or she may receive, it is appropriate to ask how much scholarship money the team has. While it is not okay to ask how much another athlete is receiving, asking the total amount of scholarships avail-able to one team helps families understand the realities of the scholarship situation. Ath-letes should be sure to do this for every school they speak with and not assume that schools in the same conference have the same amount of scholarship dollars.

It’s also important to know that NCAA scholarships are only binding for one year. Although it is not a common practice, a coach does not have to renew an athlete’s scholarship every year. This rule has recently been challenged in court by a former Rice University football player.

Along with understanding scholarship money, it’s helpful to make sure students understand the bigger picture of how schools fund their sports in Division I. Many athletic departments create a tiered system of financ-ing, which results in funding some programs more than others. This means that the money allocated for a non-revenue team will be less


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than some of the other teams, including the football or basketball team.

This can affect many things. One example is medical expenses—if an athlete is injured seriously enough to require surgery, and is in a lower-tier sport, some programs will cap the amount of reimbursement picked up by the school. Or, a lower-tiered sport might not subsidize spring break travel to play games in warmer climates, thus requiring each athlete to come up with $300 to $1,000 to cover their expenses. It may also mean traveling in vans instead of chartered buses—a tough environ-ment to study or sleep in.

OTHER OPTIONSIf discussing these realities dampens a

student-athlete’s desire to play Division I, the next step is to be well-versed on the other options. They include NCAA Divi-sions II and III, NAIA, and junior colleges.

“I chose Division II” is the NCAA slo-gan for Division II institutions, and the group has worked hard at differentiating its members from Divisions I and III in recent years. Most Division II programs offer a wide range of teams and focus on integrat-

ing their student-athletes into the campus and local communities. They also focus on ensuring student-athletes have a balanced college experience, meaning there is time for pursuits beyond athletics.

NCAA Division II does offer scholar-ships, but, depending on the sport, will usually have fewer than Division I. In both men’s and women’s track and field, 12.6 scholarships are allowed. Like in Division I, some schools may not have the resources to offer the maximum number of scholar-ships.

“Discover-Develop-Dedicate” is the new tagline for NCAA Division III schools. While traditionally known as the “non-scholar-ship” division, member institutions sell their well-rounded educational and athletic experiences to prospective student-athletes. Non-scholarship hardly means uncompeti-tive—many of the top Division III programs compete with and beat higher-division pro-grams during the course of a season.

NAIA schools award scholarships and are launching an eligibility clearinghouse this year similar to the NCAA model. Many NAIA schools are currently increasing their

athletic offerings as part of an institutional goal of sustaining enrollment. They can be a great option for student-athletes wanting a small school experience, especially if they don’t have a long list of athletic accomplish-ments.

At the community college level, student-athletes can also receive partial and full athletic scholarships. This can be an inex-pensive way to fund the first two years of an athlete’s education, especially if a student is not sure of what they want to do both aca-demically and athletically.

It’s important to help a young person realize that their athletic abilities can be used to advance their educational aspirations, not just to impress a coach. If an athlete is able to attend a quality academic school that he or she otherwise couldn’t get in to thanks to athletic talents, in the long run, that could greatly serve one’s career prospects. It is also important to consider the network of college career counselors and alumni who can help in the job market. I often hear high school athletics directors say about college, “It’s not just a four-year commitment—it’s a 40-year relationship.”

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Circle No. 118

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GUIDING THE ATHLETEYou’ve probably heard some top high

school coaches boast that, “Every athlete on my team who is interested goes on to play in college.” This is actually possible for almost any high school coach to say. If the athlete is not focused only on Division I, there any many opportunities.

In guiding athletes and their parents, my best advice is to offer them many questions. It’s all about the experience the athlete wants to get from their time in college. And, by answering probing questions, they can bet-ter understand what is right for them. Here are some questions your athletes should consider:

What do you want academically? Unless you have Olympic aspirations, your aca-demic dreams should come first. You only have four years to hone your skills for the working world and you want to find a school that matches your choice of study. Even if you love the head coach at the school with “technology” in its name, if you’re not really sure that math is your thing, this is probably a poor choice.

What do you want competitively? Are

you excited about joining a team where you are going to have to push yourself to a new level to get playing time? Or do you want a continuation of your high school experience, with time for other pursuits? And don’t define competitive by the NCAA division the school is in. There are many Division III schools, for example, that are highly competitive, and may not leave time for outside interests.

What type of coach do you want? In most cases, your college coach will be an important person in your life. During com-munication with college coaches recruiting you, carefully judge their character and style of coaching. Ask others about them. Think about the coaches you have enjoyed most during your high school career and why.

How much money is available? It’s really important to compare dollars to dollars and not scholarships to scholarships. Let’s say an NAIA coach at a state school offers you a par-tial scholarship totaling $4,000 and tuition at that school is $8,000. Compare that to a $20,000 partial scholarship at an NCAA Division I school, where tuition is $40,000. You are being offered a lot more money at the

Division I school, but you still need to come up with $20,000 every year vs. $4,000 at the NAIA school.

What factors are important to your family? Take the time to talk about how choices will affect your entire family. This can be anything from attending a parent’s alma mater to how far away the school is from home.

What if you don’t compete? One of the best questions you can ask yourself is this: Will I be happy at this school if—for what-ever reason—I don’t remain on the team? This can be a great way to really examine if the school is a good fit.

By having more substantive discussions with your student-athletes about the recruit-ing process, you are developing their critical thinking skills about an important decision in their lives. A personal trainer or a club coach may think they know everything about the college recruiting process, but they may not understand all the factors at play. As an educator, you have the ability to help your athletes make a choice that puts them in the best possible position to get the most out of college. CM

Circle No. 119

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It’s Monday evening and your athletes are leaving the locker room after a tough practice. Some are heading to the library, others to their dorms or homes, and a few are going to a captains meeting. They all have water bottles and are doing a good job rehydrating their bodies.

After a competition or practice, an athlete’s body is working hard to adapt to the stresses it just

encountered. In order to aid that recovery process, the right nutrients are essential. By Michelle Rockwell

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But are they focused on refueling? How many of them will wait hours before their next meal or snack? And when hunger kicks in, will they grab whatever is within reach?

Most track and field athletes know the value of hydration and nutrition, and many look for healthy foods at mealtimes. But all too often, they don’t know about arguably the most important time to provide their bodies with fuel to replenish and reload: immediately following a workout or competition.

Post-activity eating and drinking is an essential component of athletic success. And improving recovery nutrition is one of the



easiest ways athletes can measurably boost their performance.

MUST-HAVESRecovery nutrition is best thought of as a

window of opportunity. Research has found that in the approximately 30 minutes after intense exercise, the body optimizes its abil-ity to replenish energy stores—particularly muscle and liver glycogen. This is also a criti-cal time because the body instigates muscle protein synthesis for muscle tissue recovery and repair, replenishes fluids and electrolytes lost through sweat, and adapts to the stresses encountered in the workout.

In other words, while an athlete’s body is starting to recover from a workout, it needs nutrients to aid that recovery. For muscles to adapt and become stronger, they need rest and fuel. Research has found that the food consumed immediately after the workout will aid recovery.

In addition, the longer and more intense a workout, the more important it is to kick-start the body’s recovery and replen-ishment mechanisms with adequate fueling. Since track and field athletes often complete extremely tough workouts, recovery nutri-tion becomes very important for them.

But simply consuming a healthy snack or meal is not good enough. Having the right balance of carbohydrates, protein, and fluids/electrolytes is key.

Carbohydrates: Hard exercise dramati-cally decreases the body’s carbohydrate stores. One recent estimate suggests that a 150-pound athlete may utilize 200 grams

Michelle Rockwell is a Sports Dietitian based in Raleigh-Durham, N.C. She works with athletes at North Carolina State University and serves as a consultant to teams and individual athletes nationwide. She is also co-founder of RK Team Nutrition and can be reached at: www.rkteamnutrition.com.

of muscle glycogen and 50 grams of liver glycogen in a typical rigorous training ses-sion or competition—that’s a total of 1,000 calories worth of carbs!

Athletes should consume .5 to .7 grams of carbohydrates per pound of body weight within the first 30 minutes after exercise. For someone weighing 150 pounds, that means roughly 75 to 100 grams. The foods and beverages in the “Good Choices” box (below), each contain about 50 grams of carbohydrates—but you should encourage athletes to read product labels and broaden their horizons with a wide selection of carb-containing foods and drinks.

Beyond the 30-minute “immediate” recov-ery window, it’s also important for athletes to consume more carbs—at least another 50 grams—about two hours after exercise. This helps complete the restoration of glycogen levels and ensure that muscle tissue will be ready to perform at the next workout, prac-tice, or competition.

To make matters slightly more complicat-ed, some carbohydrates are better for recovery than others. High-glycemic carb sources are absorbed more quickly by the body, help-ing restore glycogen levels more efficiently after workouts than low-glycemic sources. High-glycemic foods are generally those with refined flours and added sugars, such as bagels, low-fiber/high-sugar cereals, granola bars or sports bars, pretzels, and flavored milks.

Protein: Protein consumed within the recovery window provides amino acid build-ing blocks for muscle tissue synthesis and repair. It also helps ensure a net positive pro-

tein balance, which means protein synthesis exceeds protein degradation (breakdown) in muscle tissue. Protein degradation is elevated after exercise, so failing to consume protein can actually result in muscle loss.

Rearchers generally suggest that ath-letes need 10 to 20 grams of protein in the 30-minute recovery window. The foods in “Good Choices” (below) each contain roughly 10 grams, but athletes should be encouraged to read nutrition labels and make their own choices.

There is limited evidence to suggest that one protein source is superior to anoth-er for promoting muscle recovery. Some researchers have reported that whey protein is most favorable because of its unique amino acid composition and absorption rate, but most recommendations do not distinguish between protein sources. With so many pro-tein-rich options, from meat, dairy, and eggs to nuts, seeds, and legumes, athletes should choose the ones they like best, and perhaps even experiment with different combinations to see if they notice a difference in recovery with certain foods as compared to others.

Fluids/electrolytes: The total amount of fluid and electrolytes needed after physical activity varies by individual based on body chemistry, sweat rate and salt content in sweat, and other factors. The simplest guide for replenishment is weight loss during workouts: Athletes should weigh themselves before and after activity, and consume 16 to 24 fluid ounces for every pound lost. For example, someone who drops three pounds during practice needs 48 to 72 ounces of fluid during the recovery window. Of course, athletes must also be encouraged to focus on hydration during activity, so ideally, their pre- and post-workout weight shouldn’t be much different.

Because sweat contains electrolytes like sodium and potassium, the best recovery hydration options are sports drinks, fruit juice, and flavored milk as opposed to plain water. Chocolate milk in particular is an excellent choice, because it rehydrates and provides electrolytes while also supplying the body with carbs and protein.

Beyond those three key areas, fat is another component that athletes sometimes ask about regarding recovery nutrition. Conventional wisdom is that low-fat foods and beverages are the best options because a high fat con-tent slows digestion and thus delays nutrient

caRbohydRatesBagel3 slices of white bread2 pancakes or 2 pieces of French toastLarge muffin2 pieces of fresh fruit1 cup of cold cereal (check labels)1 sports bar or 2 small granola bars (check labels)10 ounces of fruit juice16 ounces of chocolate or strawberry milk

PRotein1 ounce of meat/poultry/fish/seafood2 eggs or 2 egg whites8 ounces of milk (dairy or soy)1 cup of yogurt1/2 cup of beans1/2 cup of hummus1 sports bar (check labels)1/3 cup of nuts or 2 tablespoons of peanut butter

GOOD CHOICES each item listed in the left hand column contains roughly 50 grams of carbohydrates, while those in the right hand column contain roughly 10 grams of protein. athletes should consume .5 to .7 grams of carbs per pound of body weight and 10 to 20 grams of protein within 30 minutes after exercise to promote optimal recovery.

If athletes eat a snack during the 30-minute window, they should plan on consuming a full meal about two hours later, complete with at least 50 grams of carbs and 15 grams of protein.

NUTRITION


absorption. However, some researchers note that significant depletion of fat stores within muscles (intramuscular triglycerides) occurs during training. As much as 900 calories of fat may be oxidized during a hard workout

or competition. Some recent studies have also found that “healthy fats,” such as the omega-3 fatty acids found in avocados, nuts, and olive oil help regulate the inflammatory response after workouts. For those reasons, athletes shouldn’t be afraid to consume moderate amounts of fat in post-workout meals.

MEAL OR SNACK?Athletes crave simplicity in nutrition

advice. One of their most frequently asked questions is whether they are better off con-suming a meal or simply a snack after work-outs and games. Some ask this question

because they have so little appetite after hard work that a snack is all they can stomach.

In most cases, my answer is that athletes should do both—eat a snack and then a meal. It’s fine if they only consume a snack in the

30-minute window, as long as it meets the criteria outlined above. A large glass of choc-olate milk and a few handfuls of pretzels may be all they need to get enough carbs, protein, and electrolytes to begin optimal recovery.

If they go that route, they should plan on consuming a full meal about two hours later, complete with at least 50 grams of carbs and 15 grams of protein, and a larger quantity of food overall. This will ensure that muscle gly-cogen replacement continues and the body’s longer-term recovery processes receive ade-quate fuel. It will also allow replacement of the broader spectrum of micronutrients and

amino acids that the snack didn’t provide.For those who can eat a full meal within

the 30-minute window, the advice basically flip-flops. They should consume a snack about two hours after their meal, with at least

50 grams of carbs and 15 grams of protein. The overall goal is to kick-start recovery with immediate refueling, and then to follow up with further nutritional support after a couple of hours.

MAKING IT HAPPENIn my work with athletes, I develop spe-

cific nutrition plans that cover daily intake before, during, and after exercise. In terms of recovery nutrition, we work on realistic strat-egies to make sure the plans are followed.

For example, with one high school team, a parent provided individual servings of

If athletes eat a snack during the 30-minute window, they should plan on consuming a full meal about two hours later, complete with at least 50 grams of carbs and 15 grams of protein.

Circle No. 120

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NUTRITION

chocolate milk to all team members after workouts. On a collegiate team, the athletic trainer brought bananas, sports bars, and a cooler of sports drinks to practices. Simple steps like those meant that players had easy access to quality protein, carbohydrates, flu-ids, and electrolytes during the critical 30-minute recovery window.

Once these types of changes are imple-mented, I have consistently seen practice and competition performance improve. In addition, the incidence of muscle cramping decreased, and athletes had an easier time maintaining their body weight throughout the season.

Of course, there are many ways to improve players’ recovery nutrition habits. I asked professionals at several athletic programs for their tips, and here’s what they shared:

Change the culture: Some teams have a well-defined routine they follow after practices and competitions. Athletes might get treatment in the athletic training room, meet with coaches, hit the showers, or hang out with friends, and before they know it, an hour or two has passed and the immediate recovery window has closed.

For these teams, you need to find ways to build recovery nutrition into their post-game culture. This can happen through simple steps, such as passing out recovery shakes as athletes wait for treatment, or making sure they have a sports drink in hand before they meet with family and friends after a meet.

At Texas Christian University, Sport Dieti-tian Amy Goodson has made the “box meal” a post-competition staple. She typically pro-

vides a turkey or ham and cheese sub sand-wich along with baked chips and fruit or a cookie. Because the athletes know a box will be waiting for them, they’ve made it part of their routine.

“It’s a great mix of carbohydrate and pro-tein, and almost everyone loves sandwiches,” Goodson says. “The box meals are easy to eat on a bus and very affordable to put together,

To download This auThor’s handouT for aThleTes on recovery fueling, go To:

www.training-conditioning.com/recovery.pdf.

making them a great choice for our athletes.”At St. John’s University, former Sports

Dietitian Mary Ellen Bingham noticed that the team traveled 45 minutes each way to run in Central Park or the New York Armory, so she recommended bringing fuel and fluids for the ride back to campus. Low-fat choco-late milk and trail mix are some of the ath-letes’ favorites, and they’ve carried the lessons from these practices to meet days.

Account for low appetites: Since exercise can suppress appetite, many athletes struggle with a lack of hunger after working out. As Leslie Bonci, Director of Sports Nutrition at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center,

tells her athletes, “You need it the most when you want it the least.”

Athletes who don’t feel hungry after workouts often do better with recovery beverages. Flavored milk, drinkable yogurts, and fruit smoothies can provide everything they need without requiring an appetite. Ice-cold sports drinks, fruit juice, and low-fat milkshakes can be especially appealing because of their cooling effect. Once athletes get in the habit of consuming something after workouts, even if it’s just liquid, they’ll usually end up looking forward to it.

Talk about the impact: Rob Skinner, Director of Sports Nutrition at the Uni-versity of Virginia, has found it important to explain how recovery nutrition works. He recently helped a cross country runner improve his race performances. The athlete was running daily, progressing from harder to easier runs throughout the week. He also did strength and medicine ball workouts on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.

When Skinner started him on recovery meals with the right mix of carbohydrates and protein, his race times got better and better. Because of the athlete’s intense train-ing regimen, he might have attributed his improvement to tweaks in his running sched-ule or strength workouts. But when Skinner explained the mechanisms of muscle recovery and pointed out that the performance gains coincided with a new emphasis on post-exercise nutrition, the runner was sold on the value of recovery meals following each work-out. As a result, he understood that sticking with his new nutrition strategy was a vital part of optimizing his race performance.

Don’t ignore weight goals: Athletes trying to lose weight often resist recovery nutrition because they feel it is a source of unnecessary calories. Some even feel that eating a meal after physical activity “can-cels out” the benefits of their hard work by replacing calories they just burned. Athletes looking to change their body weight require special attention, as they often don’t make wise choices from a recovery standpoint.

Recently, Bonci worked with a University of Pittsburgh swimmer who had altered her diet to lose weight. The athlete had lost 16 pounds in a short time, but her performance had dropped off significantly. When Bonci

asked about her recovery fueling habits, she learned the swimmer was eating lunch or dinner within 30 minutes of finishing prac-tices and meets, but the meal usually con-sisted of a grilled chicken salad—in other words, almost no carbohydrates.

Bonci recommended adding pasta, a roll, and some fruit juice, or switching to a grilled chicken wrap to provide enough carbohy-drates for optimal recovery. She explained why carbs are so important and thus why an entrée salad didn’t cut it. The athlete took this advice, and was pleased to see her perfor-mance improve. She was also happy to notice that she didn’t gain any weight in the process.

Many athletes who restrict calories for weight loss find that a post-competition or post-workout recovery snack or small meal takes the edge off their appetite, allowing them to better control their portions at subsequent meals. It’s essential to stress that the critical recovery window post-exercise is the worst time to shortchange the body’s fueling needs.

Every athlete interested in optimizing per-formance should understand the importance of recovery nutrition. If you can get them to change their habits, you won’t need to spend hours coaxing them to stick with it. They’ll soon notice the difference for themselves, and wonder why they didn’t pay attention to recovery nutrition a lot sooner. CM

a version of this article was previously published in coaching Management’s sister publication, Training & conditioning. More articles from T&c can be found at: www.Training-conditioning.com.


Athletes who don’t feel hungry after workouts often do better with recovery beverages. Flavored milk, drinkable yogurts, and fruit smoothies can provide everything they need without requiring an appetite. Ice-cold drinks can be especially appealing.


Track Surfaces and Facility Equipment

surface InnovatIonBeynon Sports Surfaces has launched yet another innovative track and field product. The BSS 3000 IAAF certified system has been designed for faster times and less surface-related injuries. The product efficiently converts impact

energy into kinetic energy, thus leading to faster times, and does not contain any SBR.Beynon Sports Surfaces • 410-771-9473 www.beynonsports.com Circle No. 501

cleat-Proof ProtectIonCross-Over Zone® and Bench Zone® Track Protectors provide the cushion and cleat-proof protection that modern track surfaces demand. Made with tough geotextile fabric and self-ballasted with chain-in-vinyl edging all around, they stay down without stakes or sandbags. Easy to install, remove, and store, these track protectors are used by hundreds of high schools and colleges, including Villanova University and NC State University. Standard sizes are kept in stock for immediate shipment.Aer-Flo, Inc.• 800-823-7356www.aerflo.com Circle No. 500

Powerful MotIvatIonAustin Plastics’ off-season strength and conditioning board is a great way to motivate athletes and give them an incentive to accomplish their goals. The company offers a printing program that makes chang-ing records a quick and easy process, and its boards allow users to display records for all to see. Austin Plastics & Supply • 800-290-1025www.athleticrecordboards.com Circle No. 506

MaxIMuM energy returnMondo’s track surface for the 2008 Beijing Olympics was designed to provide optimal traction and a greater contact area than other tracks. It converts the maximum amount of force generated by ath-letes’ foot strikes to energy for maximum energy return, which helps athletes achieve faster times compared to running on other surfaces. The Mondo surface also provides excellent running superior-ity and maximum safety with the optimum blend of speed and comfort for both competition and training. Mondo • 800-361-3747www.mondoworldwide.com Circle No. 504

a Portable solutIonA Portable Discus Cage, used in conjunction with the Premier Outdoor Throwing Platform, is the perfect solution when you need a temporary throwing area. All-aluminum posts feature 3’ offset to prevent deflection. Precisely angled brackets, combined

with exact length-weighted support braces, allow for repeatable cage assembly—adding stability and eliminating human error. Weather-treated nylon main safety net can be raised and lowered by A pulley system. Also includes backup net to keep onlookers at a safe distance. Models for both high school and college programs.Aluminum Athletic Equipment • 800-523-5471www.myaaeworld.com Circle No. 515

blazIng a traIlSince 1974, Blazer has provided its customers with the same quality, service, and fair prices that have always defined the company. These will remain Blazer’s everlasting goals. Blazer produces top quality hurdles—choose your school color

for the gate tubes at no additional charge. Enjoy free freight and free placement of your school name and logo on a full flight of 80 hurdles.Blazer Manufacturing Company • (800) 322-2731www.blazerathletic.com Circle No. 516

Package DealBecause tighter budgets make total costs more important than ever, M-F Track has packaged its popular First Place Competitor High School Pole Vault Pit with a weather cover, PV standards, base pads, and two cross bars at

an attractive price that saves schools $1,200. The First Place Pit carries a 10-year guarantee on workmanship and materials and a lifetime guarantee on handles and straps. See this pit in the company’s 2010 Everything Track & Field catalog.M-F Athletic • 800-556-7464www.mfathletic.com Circle No. 517

HIgH stabIlItyOn Track high jump and pole vault standards feature lightweight anodized aluminum uprights equipped with polymer measurement scales that resist peeling and tearing. Unique on-off riser clamps make height adjustment certain and secure at all heights—no more slipping because of loose screw-downs. The steel riser tubes and offsets are electroplated with zinc for durability. The pole vault standard slides along heavy steel rail units for unsurpassed stability. On Track • 800-697-2999www.ontrackandfield.com Circle No. 527


Track Surfaces and Facility Equipment

Don’t replace—restoreSchool budget tight? Blazer Manufacturing has an alternative way to make your old hurdles look like new. Blazer hurdle bases are built to last for decades. Contact the company for information on how to replace the tops (gate board

and tubes), and your Blazer hurdles will look like new again. Extend your hurdles’ life another decade. This will only work for existing Blazer hurdles.Blazer Manufacturing Company • (800) 322-2731www.blazerathletic.com Circle No. 523

new lifeResurfacing for your surface track and field system through Beynon Sports Surfaces can extend the life of your existing track by 10 to 15 years. Beynon Sports Surfaces has developed a formulated poly-urethane primer that can be used in conjunction with the new polyurethane resurfacing system to achieve adhesion levels of 400 psi, well in excess of the minimum required adhesion levels of 300 psi. Beynon Sports Surfaces • 410-771-9473 www.beynonsports.com Circle No. 505

against the winDThe Tuffy® Windscreen will last for years because it’s made of Aer-Flo’s exclusive Vipol® matrix mesh. This is the Official Windscreen of the U.S. Professional Tennis Association. Used by major col-leges and world-class clubs, Tuffy Windscreens are available in 17 standard colors, including purple, brown, burnt orange, and Vegas gold, and come with a four-year factory warranty. Durable Chromabond™ imprinting technology produces sharp multi-color logos that can match any team’s exact PMS colors. Tuffy windscreens represent a great value — a pre-mium product at a surprisingly reasonable price.Aer-Flo, Inc.• 800-823-7356www.aerflo.com Circle No. 503

heavy coverM-F Athletic suggests the heavyweight vinyl tarp with weights cleverly sewn into the hem to keep the cover in place. This is its heaviest cover—a thick, 18-ounce, vinyl-coated fabric to protect your long jump pit, baseball field’s pitcher’s mound, or home plate areas. Custom letters and logo imprints are offered in a wide range of colors, and tarps can be ordered by the foot in sizes as needed.M-F Athletic • 800-556-7464www.mfathletic.com Circle No. 519

Don’t lose equipmentAAE manufactures and sells numerous styles of BallStopper systems—high ones, low ones, offset posts, straight posts, small netting, large netting—but each serves the same function: to prevent balls from escaping the field of play.

They’re perfect for fields that are surrounded by parking lots, residential areas, or steep embankments. BallStopper systems are especially useful for adjoining fields because they prevent ball interference when multiple practices or games are being held in close proximity to one another. Aluminum Athletic Equipment • 800) 523-5471www.myaaeworld.com Circle No. 518

high-performance flooringMondo is a leader in rubber floor covering with over 75 years of experience. Mondo’s high-perfor-mance, durable flooring surfaces have been installed in schools and universities worldwide. Mondo flooring is designed to meet the

specific needs of gymnasiums, weight and cardio rooms, indoor and outdoor tracks, multipurpose rooms, class-rooms, lobby areas and locker rooms. Mondo’s vulcanized rubber surfaces are resilient, highly durable, easy to main-tain, and environmentally friendly.Mondo • 800-441-6645www.mondoworldwide.com Circle No. 502

automatic anD DurableCombining the durability of the UCS International Series Hurdles with the proven functionality of the UCS Ultimate Automatic Series, UCS has introduced the International Series Automatic Hurdle. As the height is changed, weights automatically adjust to the legal tip-over

position. This IAAF Certified hurdle meets NCAA rules for all levels of competition. At an additional charge, you can customize your polycarbonate boards with your school name and logo. UCS, Inc. • (800) 526-4856 www.ucsspirit.com Circle No. 532

get a gooD startThe UCS Grand Prix Starting Block is one of the best you can find. The rail is 0.5” thick extruded aluminum that is virtually indestructible. The surface is anodized to military specifications to prevent oxidation and corrosion. The pedals are cast aluminum with four fingertip control angle adjustments. The pedal face is 100% polyurethane track surface and is a full 5.5” wide to allow maximum variation in foot placement. The twelve spikes are of variable length for complete adhesion to the track.UCS, Inc. • (800) 526-4856 www.ucsspirit.com Circle No. 531


Team Equipment

By the NumBersRainbow Racing System specializes in the production and sale of competitor numbers and supplies designed specifically for track, cross country, road races, and all types of competitive and non-competitive events. While most noted for its quality custom-print race numbers, Rainbow produces and maintains a large inventory of generic numbers, tags, and related sup-plies, all available for immediate shipping. Rainbow Racing System • 800-962-1011www.rainbowracing.com Circle No. 507

help From BelowOmni-Lite’s ceramic spikes are one-third the weight of steel, and they’re designed to compress the track to allow for maximum performance. The Christmas Tree spikes are recommended for sprint

events. The spikes are available in three lengths: 1/8”, 3/16”, and 1/4”, plus 1/4” with extended threads. They’re available in seven colors: black, silver, fast blue, Olympic green, violet, fast red, and Olympic gold. Omni-Lite Industries, Inc. • 800-577-6664 www.omni-lite.com Circle No. 520

oN the CloCkRaceclock timing clocks are available with four-, six-, or nine-inch digits featuring super-bright LEDs or traditional “flip” digits. The single- and double-sided models are accurate to 1/100th of a second. Internal batteries provide more than 10 hours of operation with selectable timing modes set by a keypad. Accessories

include a tripod stand, carrying case, remote control, and remote display operation compatible with Finish Lynx.Electro-Numerics, Inc. • 800-227-9860www.raceclock.com Circle No. 522

to New heightsOmni-Lite’s lightweight jump spikes are designed to compress synthetic tracks, returning energy to the runner and minimizing damage to the track. The threads on these spikes are compatible with all major brands of track shoes. Omni-Lite’s spikes are made of ceramic composite, so they will never rust. The Jump spike and Pyramid spike are recommended for high jump and triple jump events. Omni-Lite Industries, Inc. • 800-577-6664 www.omni-lite.com Circle No. 524

VaryiNg the weightOn Track knows that modern training theory calls for incremental weight variation under and over competition weight for strength, speed, and technique development. With this theory in mind, Gillett Over-/Under-Weight Training Implements were created in both a discus and a shot series. An adjustable shot model

is also available. All dimensional measurements remain consistent with competition specs. These are the throwing trainers you’ve read about on coaching Web sites. On Track • 800-697-2999www.ontrackandfield.com Circle No. 528

Custom DesigN uNiFormsYou can make whatever design you want on VS Athletics sublimated uniforms, available in poly/mesh or poly/spandex fabrics. Show off your school, your mascot, your pride, your tradition. Create your identity. Get the whole set, top and bottom, or match a top with the company’s solid shorts. Call the

company or go online for other ideas. VS Athletics • 800-676-7463www.vsathletics.com Circle No. 529

FlyiNg FartherThe Challenger is one of the best values available in a high school/college discus. Very durable ABS plastic plates will take a beating and keep on flying. It features 75-percent rim weight and complies with IAAF rules. The Challenger is available in yellow, red, green, and blue. Visit the company’s Web site to see its complete line of throwing equipment. VS Athletics • 800-676-7463www.vsathletics.com Circle No. 521

saVe your FeetLooking to prevent ankle and foot injuries? Propriofoot® Foot Plates are a set of four colored plates—green, blue, red, and yellow—each 10 cm long with a distinctive base to vary the type and level of exercise performed. Used in pairs, Propriofoot Foot Plates can be worn to perform as many as 20 exercise combinations while maintaining an established progression in the difficulty of the exercises.OPTP • (800) 367-7393 www.optp.com Circle No. 526

lightiNg it upAX 740BL Pro Memory Series stopwatches are professional timing devices with significantly increased functionality going beyond Accusplit’s tremendously

successful Classic X (WOS) series. The AX 740BL comes with Super (continuously on) backlighting that stays on for 10 minutes with each push of the backlight button. The watch uses a rechargeable battery and comes with a recharging kit, including attachments for wall outlet, car, and USB charging. Accusplit • 800-935-1996www.accusplit.com Circle No. 530


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115. . . AAE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

103. . . Aer-Flo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

106. . . American Public University . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

108. . . Athlete Assessments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

113. . . Austin Plastics & Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

101. . . Beynon Sports Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

114. . . Blazer Athletic Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

122. . . Cho-Pat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

120. . . Coaches Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

116. . . Coaches Network (Online Books/DVD Store) . . 23

124. . . M-F Athletic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BC

102. . . MilkPEP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

100. . . Mondo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IFC

118. . . Omni-Lite Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

119. . . On Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

110. . . OPTP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

111. . . Power Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

109. . . Raceclock by Electro-Numerics . . . . . . . . . 12

112. . . Rainbow Racing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

117. . . TurfCordz/NZ Mfg. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

104. . . UCS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

107. . . VS Athletics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

123. . . ZAMST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .IBC

518. . . AAE (Ballstopper systems) . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

515. . . AAE (Portable Discus Cage/Throwing Platform) . . 31

530. . . Accusplit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

500. . . Aer-Flo (Cross-Over Zone®/Bench Zone®) . . . . . 31

503. . . Aer-Flo (Tuffy® Windscreen) . . . . . . . . . . . 32

512. . . American Public University . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

513. . . Athlete Assessments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

506. . . Austin Plastics & Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

501. . . Beynon Sports Surfaces (BSS 3000) . . . . . 31

505. . . Beynon Sports Surfaces (resurfacing) . . . . 32

523. . . Blazer (hurdle bases) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

516. . . Blazer (hurdles) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

511. . . Cho-Pat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

519. . . M-F Athletic (heavyweight tarp) . . . . . . . . 32

517. . . M-F Athletic (Pole Vault Pit) . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

514. . . MilkPEP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

502. . . Mondo (flooring) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

504. . . Mondo (track surface for Beijing Olympics) . . . . 31

520. . . Omni-Lite (Christmas Tree spikes) . . . . . . . 33

524. . . Omni-Lite (Jump spike/Pyramic spike) . . . 33

528. . . On Track (Gillett Weight Training Implements) . . 33

527. . . On Track (high jump/pole vault standards) . . . . 31

526. . . OPTP (Propriofoot® Foot Plates) . . . . . . . . . 33

525. . . OPTP (The Knead) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

510. . . Power Systems (Power-Stride Ladder™) . . . . . 35

508. . . Power Systems (Premium Speed Sled™) . . 35

522. . . Raceclock by Electro-Numerics . . . . . . . . . 33

507. . . Rainbow Racing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

509. . . TurfCordz/NZ Mfg. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

531. . . UCS, Inc. (Grand Prix Starting Block) . . . . . . 32

532. . . UCS, Inc. (International Seires Hurdles) . . . . . 32

521. . . VS Athletics (Challenger discus) . . . . . . . . 33

529. . . VS Athletics (uniforms) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33


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Strength & Conditioning

CoaChing BreakthroughsFor coaches who are serious about improving performance, Athlete Assessments provides the key tools to breakthrough performance. Identify your players’ individual strengths, limiting behaviors, and unique motivation strategies. Know how to push your players’ performance buttons, improve communication, and develop stronger team bonds. Coaches can be confident about how their team works and turn around performance issues before they result in a loss. Get your free Coach’s Pack today. Athlete Assessments • 760-742-5157 www.athleteassessments.com/cm Circle No. 513

Promoting healingThe Cho-Pat Dynamic Knee Compression Sleeve utilizes a dynamic approach to help reduce knee pain and promote healing. Latex- and neoprene-free, the sleeve uses four-way stretch material over the kneecap to lessen inward pressure, and a silicone-padded insert fits around the kneecap to help prevent drifting. Anatomically contoured for

maximum fit, comfort, and effectiveness, the sleeve fea-tures flexible stays that keep it from rolling down and spe-cial knitting at the rear to prevent bunching and pinching. Cho-Pat • 800-221-1601www.cho-pat.com Circle No. 511

nature’s Protein DrinkResearch suggests that low-fat chocolate milk, with its unique mix of nutrients, is a naturally nutrient-rich protein drink that can help you refuel and rehydrate within the critical two-hour recovery window after exercise. Drinking low-fat chocolate milk after exercise not only provides the carbohydrates and protein to refuel and repair muscles, it also helps replenish fluids and electrolytes that are lost in sweat such as calcium, magnesium, and potassium. Milk Processor Education Program • 202-737-0156www.milkdelivers.org/refuel Circle No. 514

imProving aCCelerationIncorporate the Premium Speed Sled™ into sprint training drills to improve acceleration and increase stride length. The S-shaped design generates less fric-

tion between sled and surface, and the angled tray directs the weight downward, keeping the sled stable. It holds up to three

45-pound plates and includes two leads that connect to the sled. Made of welded steel, the Premium Speed Sled™ can be used on a track or other outdoor surfaces. Power Systems, Inc. • 800-321-6975www.power-systems.com Circle No. 508

suPer training toolsThe TurfCordz Super Bungie Kit features interchangeable elements to help enhance performance through

resistance. Elements include the Super Bungie Belt for comfort and security and a Super Bungie Handle designed to maintain comfort during strength and stretching exer-cises. The kit also includes three 8-foot (2.4-meter) Super Bungie Cords with 75 pounds (34 kilograms), 150 pounds (68 kilograms), and 200 pounds (90 kilograms) of pull.NZ Manufacturing • 800-866-6621www.turfcordz.com Circle No. 509

uP the laDDerImprove speed and train your muscles for the optimum stride length and frequency pattern with the Power-Stride Ladder™. Space the eight moveable slats at specific intervals to reflect the desired stride pattern. High-impact plastic slats slide easily and lock into place for quick adjustments. Three color-coded pre-marked acceleration patterns accom-modate different levels of athletes. A stacking pin makes it easy to transport and store. The Power-Stride Ladder™ can be used indoors or outdoors, and comes with a carry bag. Power Systems, Inc. • 800-321-6975 www.power-systems.com Circle No. 510

neeD a massage?The Knead is a multi-adaptable soft tissue mobilization tool that provides myofascial release. It can be held using one or both hands, or using a palm or pistol grip.

The Knead is ideal for all leg and arm soft tissue, and can be used over clothing or directly on the skin with a massage lubricant. It cleans easily with soap and water, is UV-protected, and is extremely durable.OPTP • (800) 367-7393www.optp.com Circle No. 525

stuDy onlineAmerican Public University is a region-ally-accredited online university that is prepared to help coaches, educators, and working adults achieve their edu-

cational goals. All APU programs are delivered online, giving students the flexibility to pursue a degree while

simultaneously meeting the demands of family, career, and coaching. APU offers more than, including 140 degree and certificate programs, a BS in Sports and Health Sciences, an MS in Sports Management, and an MEd in Administration and Supervision.American Public University • 877-468-6268www.StudyatAPU.com/sports Circle No. 512

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Will Freeman offers two drills to help your high jumpers.

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