Athletes,
We are now 3 weeks into
the season and I
couldn't be happier with
how it has been going.
As a new coach for you
guys I came in with
nervousness of wondering
how you would respond to
my style of coaching. I
have to say that it has
been great working with
all of you. As I said
the first time I
introduced myself to
you, working with kids
is one of the greatest
joys of my life. To be
able to help you guys
become better athletes
and citizens is a
privilege and a great
honor.
Just to recap the first
2 weeks, my goal was to
slowly work everybody
into the swing of
practice. Most of you
had not been running
consistently over the
summer so jumping into a
4 day a week program is
very taxing. I want
every one of you to be
hooked on running for
life. So we started off
slow for a reason, so
you aren't in so much
pain you'll never come
back. Hopefully by now
all of you are feeling
more comfortable with
the distances and we
will look to build with
each week a combination
of intensity and
distance.
Thanks to all of you who
came to last Saturday's
workout. The
participation was
incredible and coach
Kirk's instruction went
better than I could have
imagined. I hope by now
you can realize the
benefit of proper
running form. We will
continue to practice
some of the drills Kirk
shared with us and I
will continue to monitor
each of you as I can and
provide quick tips as we
are running. Please
take a minute to visit
his website
http://www.trikirk.com
and check out his
schedule, sponsors, and
learn a little more
about him. He had a
great time with us and I
hope to bring him back
again in the future.
This week will bring
some new challenges.
Now in our 3rd week, we
will build a little in
distance and intensity
from the previous 2
weeks. I was asked on
Saturday what a typical
week will bring for us
and I have added that
below: Monday: longer
distance, slower speed,
really working on form,
Tuesday: faster workout,
speed, repeats.
Definitely more intense
but not speed like a
track workout. More of
tempo running.
Wednesday which will
become Thursday after
this week: speed, hills,
really working to
increase power.
Saturday: relaxed mixed
with tempo running a
little shorter than
Monday's workouts. In
addition to the running
workouts, we will be
continuing with dynamic
warm-ups, stretching,
and this week we will be
adding in strength
workouts at the end of
Tuesday and Saturdays
workouts.
Running is an incredibly
fun sport. What makes
it most enjoyable is
staying healthy.
Something I want to
encourage each of you is
to take the days off as
an opportunity to
cross-train. That means
to do something athletic
that gets your heart
rate up, other than
running. Swimming,
bicycling, roller-blading,
and walking are a few
great examples of
cross-training. You
basically want to use
some similar muscles
working out as running
while not taking the
same pounding.
Thanks for working hard,
all of you are doing
great, and I'll see you
this week,
Coach Jeremy
Parents,
Working with your kids
is honestly one of the
greatest joys of my
life. Believe me when I
say, in a nice way,
parents can sometimes
work against that joy.
Up to this point, I have
been amazed by both the
parent involvement and
the quality each of you
brings to the team.
Coming into an
established, successful,
program as your rookie
coach definitely came
with some hesitation for
me. As a coach, you
never know when the next
"expert" parent is going
to pop up and challenge
everything you do.
Whenever I am leading, I
believe 100% in keeping
the line of
communication open. To
this point I have
received very positive
feedback on how we could
modify what we are doing
and that is welcome.
Having 3 completely
separate age groups you
can imagine creates
somewhat of a logistics
nightmare. I believe we
have a solid working
plan for the practices
and it seems we are
getting each group
through the targeted
workouts. One thing I
will be asking is that
if each night we could
have a parent leader in
each group that is
willing to make sure the
kids get the stretching
finished up properly.
Having the younger kids
wait for the older kids
to finish creates a
challenge especially as
the older kids begin to
run further. My plan is
for me to alternate with
each group so I can have
time with all the kids.
I'll let you know each
night who I'll be with
and if I'm not with your
group I'll appoint
someone during the
warm-up part of
practice.
Thanks to all of you who
came to last Saturdays
practice with Kirk. It
was great to have him
there to help your kids
and some of you. I'm
looking to bring some
more specific athletes
and coaches to speak
with us in the future so
stay tuned and I'll give
plenty of notice so you
can make sure and be
there with your kids.
Well, that's it for
now. We are off to a
great start and I am
confident it is only
going to get better.
Thanks again for your
support and
participation,
Coach Jeremy
