High School XC/Track warm up routines?

We start with prayer (Catholic school) and then whatever messages about meets/practice/etc have to be passed. Then we jog 10 minutes (12 athletes, 6 boys, 6 girls) and follow that up with a 10 minute stretching routine and then five to ten minutes of flexibility drills. The stretching is a combination of static and dynamic, alternating between the two types (or at least trying too). We do butt kickers, bounding up, bounding out, high knees, everyday and add some others on meets. We also finish every practice with a cool down and stretching. I do it with them for the first month of the season, and then let the captain lead them, but I keep an eye on them to make sure that they are doing them. And then we end with prayer.

warm up - 10 minutes stretching legs and arms mainly

1 mile steady jog on track if rest of session is on track, or country/road if continuing on this terrain

pep talk at start to keep them focused, motivated and keen to start session

briefing session at end- how they performed and improvements for next time

drills to include track reps(12-16 400m, 30 sec recovery)

tempo interval runs approx 6 miles road.

fartlek over counrty 8 miles

10 miles staedy road runs

gym circuit training sessions

1 x long run per week(sunday 15-20 miles)

one day off per week to rest.

This works with my pack of 8 men.

thney say its tough and demanding but stick at it as they can see their results improving.

athleticsfreak wrote:

warm up - 10 minutes stretching legs and arms mainly

Good Choices!

We used to do 3 lap warmup, team stretching, 2 more laps then plyos. The whole team. Then jumpers went to the jump coach, sprinters to the sprint coach and distance to the distance coach.

alum wrote:

We used to do 3 lap warmup, team stretching, 2 more laps then plyos. The whole team. Then jumpers went to the jump coach, sprinters to the sprint coach and distance to the distance coach.

You had that many coaches? Where I'm at now there are 3, which seems like a lot. Where I was last year has 1 guy this year for 70+ girls and boys combined.

Yeah, I think the jump coach also coached throws, not really sure because I was a distance guy. The head coach was the sprint guy and assistant coach(who was also the Girls XC head coach) was the distance guy. The head coach did a lot of the workouts for the distance guys too, though.

Do the prayers work?

Mtn Dew

This is your friend from Bama. Thanks for this question about warmups. I am a big believer in longish pre-race and pre-workout warmup runs (up to 2 miles for mid- and distance runners). But I wonder if its a personal preference of my own and not really necessary for high schoolers (or anyone else for that matter).

Our current head coach has his sprinters do one lap, no stretching, then right into their workout. Is that common for a sprinter workout? I want to tell him he's ignorant, but maybe I'm the one. My specialty is distance.

Hope you get that team. Looks more and more like I might also this fall. Let us know how it turns out so I can keep up.

As you well know I was one of the more popular guys around the track team, or really the university in general while at Bama, so forgive me if I'm not 100% sure who I'm talking with. Any hint?

Bump.

Mtn Dew

What? You don't remember me? I'm crushed the BMOC doesn't know who I am. I always knew you were an arrogant snob!

Just kidding. We don't know each other personally. Maybe my post mentioning "Bama" threw you off. I meant Bama as in the state, not the Capstone. I ran D2 XC on a puny team in the minor leagues. Sorry to disappoint.

But I did get beat out for the 6th and final All-State spot in the mile my Sr. year in HS by a guy who got a scholly to Bama. They never sniffed at me. That's what a measly 4:39 will do for you.

Anyway, we discussed coaching high school here a few weeks back and you asked what part of Alabama I was from. I mentioned seeing Ben Hubers race and you said he was near you in Georgia.

Gotcha. I was lucky enough this year to have a kid make it to state this year in GA although I really can't claim him as my own, he did most of his training under his mom which may explain why he didn't get any faster this year while those around him improved. If I could just take over the boys XC team where I am I would think about sticking around, but oh well. Hopefully I'll get something for next year.

Congrats on the qualifier. Our 5A sectional is tomorrow. I should really be in bed. We have a couple of throwers and jumpers who should make it to Gulf Shores, but my best runners are on the bubble, best I can tell.

I have a soph. girl in the 400 that is close, has run 1:02 this year. Hoping a fast race can pull her along to maybe 1:00 and squeak in to qualify. My best 1600 and 800 girl (also soph.) gained nearly 10 pounds in 6 months and she's fighting to maintain speed. Her first love is basketball anyway. She will likely struggle to get under 2:30. Best so far is 2:33. Crossing my fingers for her race of the year. Girls 4x800 has a slim chance. The guys are way off in everything. No chance.

Sorry, is this even slightly relevant to your OP?

Girls are tricky. Where I'm at the boys and girls are segregated. The girls team is pretty good, although they don't have any depth in anything but the sprints. They have a girl that attends the school that's in about 53 shape but doesn't run for the school for whatever reason. Our guys have someone going to state in several events from the 100 up to the 800 and a couple field eventers too. The 4x100 could go under 41 if everything goes perfect at state. It's been a bit of a shock. I came from a smallish private school without many athletes to a big public school with athletes EVERYWHERE.