Final Blogs
On Monday, December 10th, I attended a PSAL Coaches Clinic at the Armory. This time the clinic incorporated the some students from five high schools and seven coaches to teach the specific areas of the clinic. There was a high jump, 55 meter sprint, hurdles, long distance, race walk, pole volt and long jump, with two rotations. During the clinic I sat and listened to Coach Pedilla, on the 55 meter sprint. He started off with some warm ups to get them ready for the activities he was going to teach. The warm up drills were related to the techniques needed to compete effectively for the 55m race. They were high knees, scissors, an A-skip and a B-skip. He then went into teaching them a down start, he stated that in the first 30 meters of the race is very important. This is the part of the race where they have to push themselves in order to build the momentum for the remainder of the race. Before going into the details with the down start, he taught them the 'fall starts" this is where the athlete has to lead from the ankles. He then went back to the down start by teaching them the technique to find their footing, in addition when they are in the position it should feel very uncomfortable. If they are by markings for female hurdles, the third hurdle is the mark where they should bring up their head. If there is no marking, they will have to learn and judge where 30 meters are on the track. He then concluded with Banana steps which is a drill that teaches athletes running with high knees.
The second section I went to was hurdles, the objective of going over hurdles is when you the athlete is in a L shaped stretch is the position you want to be in. Coach Adkins, stated that the leg that leads should be the same leg for the entire race. In addition, when stretching they should feel the position, even before practicing the hurdles. He taught them to practice going over hurdles from the high knees until they were able to feel comfortable from a running position. During the session he was correcting them on their form and how to improve with confidence. By the end of the session, some of the athletes were able to feel more comfortable with the process of going over the hurdles. The remainder of the session was the athletes practicing.
On Tuesday, December 11th, I was at the Armory. I spent my time assisting the front desk with the processing of the schools ability to use the facility. I was also on the track floor watching the different coaching styles with their athletes. Although, there are many schools and athletes doing this all at one time, may seem chaotic. It was actually very organized and busy. When I was watching the athletes and the coaches, I was able to see the hard work and dedication from the athletes.
The second section I went to was hurdles, the objective of going over hurdles is when you the athlete is in a L shaped stretch is the position you want to be in. Coach Adkins, stated that the leg that leads should be the same leg for the entire race. In addition, when stretching they should feel the position, even before practicing the hurdles. He taught them to practice going over hurdles from the high knees until they were able to feel comfortable from a running position. During the session he was correcting them on their form and how to improve with confidence. By the end of the session, some of the athletes were able to feel more comfortable with the process of going over the hurdles. The remainder of the session was the athletes practicing.
On Tuesday, December 11th, I was at the Armory. I spent my time assisting the front desk with the processing of the schools ability to use the facility. I was also on the track floor watching the different coaching styles with their athletes. Although, there are many schools and athletes doing this all at one time, may seem chaotic. It was actually very organized and busy. When I was watching the athletes and the coaches, I was able to see the hard work and dedication from the athletes.