We have all been there… That one freak athlete that doesn’t do a spring sport but won’t come out for track and field. How frustrating… Here are some tips for creating a long-lasting track and field program at your school.
1. Fun
a. You must make track and field fun. Let’s be honest, track and field workouts aren’t all that fun. They hurt, they push your body to the limit, similar to wrestling. The good thing is that most workouts do not take long and there is a lot of downtime during practice and meets. Those downtimes are your opportunity to have some fun. Be creative!
i. Tell jokes.
ii. Do a fun run for ice cream or bring ice cream.
iii. Hang out on the high jump mat and talk about life.
2. Relationships
a. This cannot be stressed enough. You never know the impact you can have on someone’s life. The time of life your athletes are in are some of the most influential years of their lives. Don’t underestimate your ability to help them become high caliber men and women. If you put this first, students will naturally flock to you which makes your track and field roster full very quickly.
3. Supplemental Training for Other Sports
a. Work with other coaches at your school and see if they can recommend track and field as supplemental training
to their athletes. Athletes fall in love with track and field all the time because they simply started doing it to train for another sport. Below are some events that other sports will excel in.
i. Football
- Throws, Short Sprints, Jumps
ii. Volleyball
- Short Sprints, Jumps
iii. Soccer
- Long Sprints, Jumps, Mid-Distance
iv. Basketball
- Short Sprints, Jumps
v. Swimming
- Throws, Jumps
vi. Gymnastics
- Short Sprints, Jumps (Pole Vault especially)
vii. Wrestling
- Mid-Distance, Long Sprints, Jumps (Pole Vault especially)
viii. Power Lifting
- Short Sprints, Throws