Preparing and Guiding the High School Female Athlete. A description of the training methodology & coaching principles for the La Cueva Bears Distance Running program.

1. FAST, FIT, & STRONG GIRLS:
PREPARING & GUIDING THE
HIGH SCHOOL FEMALE ATHLETE
Nicholas Martinez
La Cueva HS
XC / Track & Field

2. PRESENTATION GOALS
 Identify successful
habits
 Understand limits
 Develop Action Plans
 Reinforce & Trust the
Process
 Promote Confidence
 Test the Limits
 Empowered Athletes
 Mentor & Teach
Share our methods, explain the
“how” and “why” to our plans. What We Aim to Foster:

3. COACHING INFLUENCES – LESSONS
IN MENTORSHIP
 Successful & frustrating
HS career
 Interesting Highs &
Lows
 Always Self-Inflicted
 Collegiate career
 National scene
 Post Collegiate Running
 Marathons
 Mountain Racing
 Love of the Sport
 HS Coach Allan Lockridge
 Pojoaque XC
 College Coach Matt Henry
 UNM Lobos
 Coach Jim Ciccarello
 La Cueva T&F
 Great Coaching Staff
 Coaching Community
Athletic Lessons Mentorship & Coaching

4. SUCCESS STORIES
 2006 – 3rd
 2007 – 2nd
 2008 – 2nd
 2009 – 3rd
 2010 – 3rd
 2011 – 3rd
 2012 – 3rd
 2013 – 1st
 2006 – Laura Lavezo (12th
)
 2007 – Laura Lavezo (1st
)
 2008 – Erika Firebaugh
(3rd
), Megan Quimby (9th
)
 2009 – Rebecca Jenks (2nd
)
 2010 – Jordan Grace (3rd
)
 2011 – Abigail Napier (12th
)
 2012 – Mason Swanson
(2nd
)
 2013 – Mackenzie Everett
(3rd
), Abigail Napier (4th
),
Tiziana DeHorney (5th
)
XC Team Success, Class 5A XC Individual All State

5. HOW DID WE GET HERE?
 Teach Running & Training Basics
 What I Believe Works - Consistency
 Goal Setting
 Develop Athletic Potential
 Teach Nutrition & Love for the Sport
 Sustainable & Life Long Pursuit
 Develop Strategies and Action Plans
 Modify & Adjust when necessary
 Explain, Teach, Walk the Walk
 Emotional Intelligence & Communication
 Not Afraid to Fail – Empowered & Fierce

6. COACHING COMMITMENT –
COMBINING THE SCIENCE WITH
THE ART
 Running Acumen
 Consistent Expectations
 Plan Season/Workouts
 Explain Workouts
 Monitor Workouts
 Race Strategies
 Modify & Adjust
 Fast & Fierce
 Speed Endurance
 Peaking
 Taking Them To The Top
 Keep It Going
 Speed Wins
 Relationship Building
 Partnering Goals with
Workout Habits
 Fairness
 Teammates & Coaches
 Communication
 Appeal to Style
 Look Good, Feel Good
 Confidence
 Roadmap to Success &
Guidance
 Adding Value
 Acknowledgment
 Appreciations
 Shared Experiences

7. OUR RULES OF TRAINING

8. KEYSTONE WORKOUTS
 Long Run (60–80min)
 Tempo Runs
 Fartlek Runs (hilly)
 Hill Sprints
 Specific Workouts
 Mile/300m repeats
 1200 repeats
 800/400 repeats
 Progressions
 Long Run (50-70min)
 Whistle Fartlek
 600/300 repeats
 Hill Sprints
 Specificity Workouts
 400m repeats
 800m repeats
 3x (3x300m)
 Combo pace/gears
Cross Country Track & Field

9. TEACHING SUCCESSFUL HABITS
 What I’m Looking For
Everyday:
 Attendance & Attitude
 Consistent Commitment
 Goals in Mind
 Team & Individual
 Ownership &
Accountability
 Communication
 Working Hard, Having
Fun
 “Help Me Help You”
 Athlete/Coach Feedback

10. SHARED EXPERIENCES
 What is the next logical
step?
 How can we get there?
 Is there relevant
experience among
teammates?
 Can I reach out to alums?
 Can Coach explain those
lessons to me?
 How can impact future
teams?
 Am I the example?

11. PERSONAL GOAL SHEET

12. GOAL ALIGNMENT & TIMELINE:
“HELP ME HELP YOU”
 Coaching Goals:
 Uphold Fundamentals
 Communicate
Expectations
 Consistency
 Fairness
 Break Comfort Zone
 Take them where they
want to go!
 Modify and Adjust
 Athlete Goals:
 Improvement
 Train Hard
 Have Fun
 New Bear Wear
 Socialize
 Success relative to
peers
 Impress Coaches
 Achieve Goals
 Test Limits

13. DEVELOPING ACTION PLANS -
BLUEPRINT

14. FUNCTIONAL STRENGTH & SPEED
 Goal: Increase Power
to Weight Ratio
 Hill Sprints
 “Float” Form
 Relaxed Speed
 Transition to Goal
Pace
 Max Pace
Maintenance
 Nutritional Info &
Awareness
 Supplemental Aid
 Core Strength
 Jump Rope
 Fast Strides
 Injury Prevention
 Box Jumps
 Grass Drills
 Speed & Agility Drills

15. ATHLETE NUTRITION

16. TRUSTING THE PROCESS
 Recognizing Effort  Bears of the Week

17. EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
 Integrity
 Head Held High
 Grace Under Fire
 Grit and Trust
 “True Blue” Attitude
 Maturity
 Leadership
 Guidance & Support
 Compassion
 Togetherness
 Working Partnership

18. APPEAL TO THEIR CONFIDENCE
“Look Good, Feel Good”

19. THE LONG RUN – CONSISTENCY
COUNTS
 We never stray from the long run (50-80 minutes)
 Always on dirt – Foothills or Bosque
 Helps with injury prevention
 Beautiful scenery, connection to nature
 Tech not allowed, must engage with teammates/nature
 Progression runs, Loops, & Timed runs
 AVG pace isn’t concern, neither is mileage
 Indicators are sensory data & effort-based runs
 Once per week, every week we train
 3 week rotating cycle of runs (never same run week
to week)
 Usually finish fast, always conclude with 60m sprints

20. DEBUNKING MYTHS – ATHLETE
MATURATION & PERFORMANCE
 8th Graders are not
allowed via APS
 Young talented/gifted
runners continue to
improve with great
work ethic
 Do not let them rest
on laurels
 Eliminate idea from
your training
 “El Camino is long”
 -Coach Kedge

21. DEBUNKING MYTHS – BOOGEYMAN
 These ideas have been ingrained
by someone else:
 Burnout
 Peaking Early
 Not as good as they get older
 How We Combat these Ideas:
 Ease pressure early
 Construct a plan
 Experiment with puzzle pieces
 Gradual buildup
 No State Medals until November
 Race your best when it counts the
most!

22. PSYCHOLOGY OF MENTAL
TOUGHNESS
 Willpower
 Understanding difficult
situations
 Self Motivation and the power to
improve
 Self Control
 Understanding Snap Shot vs.
Big Picture
 What is our course of action?
 How does it affect the
training/performance trend?
 Decision Making
 Embracing uncomfortable and
long term goals
 Achieve “Buy In”
 Embracing the Process