Head track coach at Plainfield North High School. 43 years experience coaching football, basketball, and track. Member of Illinois Track & Field Hall of Fame and Co-director of Track Football Consortium with Chris Korfist
- Head Boy's Track & Field at Plainfield North High School (IL) - Creator and Owner of "Feed the Cats" - Co-Owner of Track Football Consortium - Public Speaker - Writer for FreelapUSA, SimpliFaster, & ITCCCA - Certified Teacher of Reflexive Performance Reset - Retired Chemistry Teacher
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I’ve been training my youth athletes (7-8th grade) the longest and they are on the cusp of being faster and more agile than the hs (10-11th) athletes I’ve just started training. The main difference, we train speed and power output movements with LOTS of rest. I’m totally sold on less is better and building performance is key.
When I was in high school, my coach (who specialized in shot put) made me run 3 miles as fast as I can even though I ran the 200 and 400m. I was so confused because I thought I was a sprinter. I eventually got a sprint coach and began sprinting. From my 10th grade year to 12th grade, I went from 54 to 48.75 in the 400m.
Interesting perspective with some good points Tapering is CRITICAL If you taper correctly according to the athlete’s needs for sure that is optimum to be at the best they can be Balance is key Work hard when it’s needed Rest hard when it’s needed Eat Drink & Sleep well when it’s needed Empty the tank in practice than refill that tank with appropriate rest and refueling with good food Train for preventative injury maintenance 60/4-70/30-80/20 High Intensity High Rest Low Intensity Low Rest
Watching our football teams lineman (while we had a practice on the side) running windsprints “to get tougher” before they went into the weight room hurt my soul.
Would you do other training on the same day? Like some easy run before or anything? I'm very new to this and have built up some fitness over the past 6 months with easy runs, LT2 runs and 4x4 hard VO2 intervals and just warmed up and did my first 8 x 15s sprints with 90s rests. I didn't push 100% as it was my first time. I probably went about 95% effort, but my HR only went up to 80% HRM because of the nice long rests, and I now feel like I haven't done anything 2hrs later! What else can be done on these short speed days? MT.
I own a gym in CT I have been watching your methods and applying this to myself, adult clients, and youth athletes with great results and enjoyment. Is there a program or guide you offer to help work on progressions, volume etc. I worry about some of my (40-70) yrs old clients hamstrings and Achilles although I have not had any problems yet. I feel I was very gradual and safe in how I introduced it (lots of skip, prime time, fast March, a skip, shuffle, jump practice ect)but I would like to hear or see your opinion.
I simply undertrain everyone. Err on side of less. Only train fresh. Never burn the steak. Most older people have such diminished outputs that they are not capable of hurting themselves.
@@coachtonyholler thanks so much for responding! Yes. Undertrain. When doing this do you ever feel you are leaving progress on the table for your young athletes specifically? It would be cool to see what work you are doing in the gym. I have herd you talk about concentric focus to keep soreness out. Also how do you feel about older athletes that are primarily strength trained transitioning to sprinting. How do you feel about them “sprint” at 70-80 percent for awhile until form looks sharp and their bodies are more used to the demands of running/ sprinting. I see what your saying about not being able to produce enough force to injure themselves but some people are pretty strong and I worry
Sub Saharan Africans who never left Africa are still much more genetically inclined with sports even more than Americans… I think you need to revisit the topic… I think it’s more to do with bone structure and malaria.
Been loving this channel lately. I'm going into my freshman year of football and I was always under the idea that more is better. Hearing about the legends of Walter Payton running the hill, Kobe Bryant waking up at 3 and working out all day inspired me to be a quote on quote "grinder". Ever since I discovered your channel I've been feeding the cats (Ironic because of my profile picture) and my goodness has it been working! My speed is showing significant improvement, alongside everything else (Strength, skills, agility). Thanks coach!
Hey Tony, I’m a 400/400H who went to UW-La Crosse my freshman year and got lactic/aerobic shoved down my throat. I’m transferring to UW-Oshkosh with Coach K in the fall and I have to say I love your stuff and I’ve realized even as a long sprinter/hurdler max velocity should always be the priority and I’ve implemented that in my summer workouts!
You have made a huge difference for coaches, athletes, and track. I mostly love that you make track fun and keep athletes healthy. So many kids get burnt out and injured from coaches who overwork them. I coach my kids and always assessing where their mental state is at and if theyre feeling burnt out...thanks
I’ve started doing Feed the Cats for my track and field workouts. I can already notice a difference. I’m moving up this year to high school, and the hurdles obviously raise 9”. I’ve been practicing to get ahead of the game, and I really love how helpful your insight is. Thank you 🫶
The anchor leg was moving. What I was watching was his form. Nice and clean shoulders and hips in line and driving forward not down. Great job to his coach
Eccentric is just as important as concentric. I’m pretty sure hamstring strains happens often in sprinting when the hamstring is at lengthen phase of the running gait cycle. So it’s not just concentric thats important. How you gonna mitigate the risk of hamstring strain when you don’t have strength at the lengthened position at a rapid pace then? By doing eccentric lifting on the hamstring. Biomechanics disagrees with you. Just ask any top biomechanist that works with elite level athletes
@@coachtonyholler how is the motion? You throw your arms straight down? Putting a lot of power? I always thought you should relax your arms but if i do so they are locked in 90°
@@coachtonyholler Thank you so much, i tried today to film myself and i saw this detail, then i tried to stretch my arm downwards but still it was in a kinda 90° position, a little bit better, but i already felt like i was able to strike the ground harder cause i really try to extend and strike my arms downward (dont know if its a benefit or doing this type of motion) still have to fix this tho
I realise that masters M65 sprint training might not be your forte but I had a bizarre result during a recent Garmin lactate threshold test. My notes: "Is Garmin's Lactate Threshold test a waste of time for sprint athletes? LTHR: 151bpm - seemed ridiculously easy compared to previous tests - to the point of being boringly slow. Previous test October 2023, after months of trail running (mostly 3k - 5k), was 153bpm. But today, LTHR of 151bpm calculated max HR as 172bpm which is (2bpm) higher than previously. Not sure of the accuracy of today's test even though it was conducted over nearly 4km. I haven't done any trail running in the past 8 months - track sprint training only, longest session being 2 sets: (2x 150m + 1x 300m). Today's LT test was so easy that, after a 10 minute rest, I did something I'd never normally do: a 6x 100m (60-80%) session - I wanted to check Garmin's reported stamina levels. VO2 Max has increased from 47 to 50 during sprint training. Based on impact of LT test, I would conclude that sprint training has conferred a massive cardiovascular advantage... that I didn't get when running longer distances." #DGTX #TotalHealthMatrix
Jesus loves you!! Repent and believe in the gospel, for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Jesus died for you so that you can live for Him. Just trust in Him, He can give you true love, hope, and peace! God bless you guys!! 🫶✝️
@@coachtonyholler Thanks! Seems very relaxing to start the day with in weeks when I have little time for long runs, and I have allways thought "a couple of sprints every other day keeps the fysiotherapist away!"
Where were you 20 years ago when I was in HS? My track times peaked as a junior right before I got a new coach who was a devout believer in Clyde Hart. My times got slower but I was a CHAMPION at running 10x 200s in practice. Haha.
Hello coach sir I have question about short events 100 to 400 m events How much is role of upper body and lower body in sprint mechanics ? please tell me in percentage
Dude runs a 5.0 forty. He tests his condition by running say 10 forties within a 3 minute period. He averages 5.4 per. He continues this workout several times a week for an extended period and tests again. He still runs a 5.0 forty but his average time is now 5.2. I do not understand how this is not a positive thing. He has trained himself to slow down less with these extended sprint reps. So he is no "faster" but can maybe start beating the 4.9 guy after 2 or 3 sprints. Tony does not seem to address this.
