Is there really a difference is style of collegiate track coaches???

In my opinion, you are already making the biggest mistake of all.....not yet on campus and already questioning training. You are a long time off from competing and realistically, your coach knows that most sprinters will not do much in the summer because the "track season is a long way off." The fall at most collegiate programs is about general fitness, developing strength and top end speed (ie the all out 30's). Just enjoy the downtime, allow yourself to be coached, and know that once you get to school, the intensity will be heightened.

just relax and best of luck to you.

I totally agree. Don't be uncoachable, you'll get plenty of work in the fall and spring.

Since you're new to college and sprinting, you should probably just do pretty much everything your coach says. Just make sure you stay in relatively good shape (don't gain a bunch of weight and sit on your ass all day). As long as you do that and have a good attitude, you'll probably be okay.

If the coach is new, looking at the team isn't going to indicate much about whether or not he's good.

Good luck.

All sprint coaches obviously are not the same, nor do they all share the exact same training philosophy. If he had several women make it to regionals and had one at the Olympic Trials, I would assume he had talent to work with and did a good job with them. As for the men, maybe he just didn't have the talent to be as competitive. If he is level II in the sprints he knows the basis of training for sprints and the do's and don’ts, as taught by USATF very well.

Most older accomplished coaches with great resumes' never attended the USATF coaching education and just continue to do it as they always have done and do it with the most talented sprinters coming out of high school.

The old school or Western (USA) training for sprinters was; first to condition the sprinters with longer aerobic runs and tempo runs and strength endurance, gradually introducing special endurance, speed endurance and then speed. This method has produced the world’s greatest sprinters in the last 100 years.

The new school or Eastern method is to train the sprinter as a sprinter from day one with short sprints, using the energy system used the most, the anaerobic ATP-CP & anaerobic glycolysis. In this method they start short and build up as the training and season progresses.

A lot of today's successful coaches’ combine both methods during the conditioning phase and then during the outdoor season concentrate on speed and speed endurance.

The summer workouts he has given you is O.K. The intensity level and distance of the sprints will pick up as the conditioning and season progresses. Remember the collegiate season is so much longer and intense than what you went through in high school.

You say that you picked your DI institution because of academics and that if you do run well and are not satisfied you would walk-on to Northern Iowa or Minnesota. Why would you not be satisfied if you are running well and you like the school's academics? FYI......Northern Iowa and Minnesota will both have new sprint coaches this upcoming season.

I assume you are from and are attending a university in the upper Midwest if you want to walk on at UNI or Minnesota and both of these programs have had very good sprint teams in the last 7 years or so. Will this continue? I do not know.

If you are concerned about his workouts, ask him what he plans to do in the fall, winter and spring. Since you are new to sprints, initially you will probably not understand all the cause and effect of the workouts. Trust in your coach and give it 100%.

Level II means basically zero (usually less), especially for a collegiate coach. Yes, some coaches are better than others, and you can tell the good ones because 1) the athletes are happy 2) the athletes progress and 3) not all the athletes run the same exact sessions. Instead you will be treated as a unique individual.

If you run 21.9, your best event is 800m (possibly 600m indoors), so you are correct to question the summer schedule.

You should be doing enough to show up in 1' 450m shape minimum, and probably < 5 mile shape.

Talk to your coach about adding in basketball, ultimate, cycling, stairs, water running and some longer reps on the track.

Trackfan19 wrote:

The old school or Western (USA) training for sprinters was; first to condition the sprinters with longer aerobic runs and tempo runs and strength endurance, gradually introducing special endurance, speed endurance and then speed. This method has produced the world’s greatest sprinters in the last 100 years.

No qualified sprint coach would have their sprinters doing long aerobic runs and tempo runs. This is definitely not in the training plan of the world's top 25 sprinters.

Here's some advice. Pray that your coach doesn't read the letsrun.com message boards. You've pretty well identified yourself and spoken volumes about your attitude. Next time, try expressing your concerns to the coach before you go to the boards.