Coach ,

As sprint coaches, what should be in our sprint training inventory? Do you have a defined list of items you can refer to for each athlete to maximize their ability to perform? Having the right ingredients for each athlete can be a challenge. 

The ingredients for sprinters to improve are much like the ingredients needed to bake a cake. Imagine not having flour or sugar and needing to construct a cake. Sprint training ingredients, much like a perfect cake, must all be present to design an effective training program.

Kebba Tolbert of Harvard University recently sat down to discuss the topic of building a sprint training inventory and what he had to say may surprise you. He outlined 4 main categories in greater detail and I want to share those with you. 

Effective sprint inventory starts with an intentional warm-up period and a variety of tools to help teach efficiency, position, and skills for sprinting. Warm-up routines are often neglected. The warm-up period must include aspects of static flexibility, dynamic flexibility, sprint drills, and hurdle mobility. 

Link: Warm-Up Overview

The next piece of an effective sprint training inventory is identifying important speed development components. These include but are not limited to acceleration, max-velocity, and speed endurance work. Acceleration is a fundamental skill and a key component of the speed development program at Harvard. 

Link: Speed Development - Acceleration

Work capacity components are often misunderstood by coaches. Circuits, general strength, medicine ball routines, jumps, bodybuilding, and running all are ways to train work capacity. The aerobic capacity needed for work capacity is developed based on the time spent during the entire session. It’s important to look at how you’re trying to develop your sprinter's capacity and reflect on those methods. 

Link: Work Capacity Overview

The final category necessary to build for a successful sprint training inventory involves the strength and power components. Multi-jumps, Olympic lifts, static lifts, and ballistics all are used to maximize strength and power. Speed and power development is not better due to volume. The quality of effort needed to maintain adequate outputs will be crushed by excessive repetitions. 

Link: Speed and Power Overview

Building a sprint training inventory is all about assembling the right ingredients. Coach Tolbert goes into further detail about the specific drills that fit into each category throughout the rest of his talk. If you’ve never created an inventory there's never a better time to start than now!

Always be growing,

Coach Rathke and the T&F Community of Coaches helping Coaches