Annotated Bibliography

Morgan Leopold

Ad Hoc Committee on Status of NAIA Track and Field Coaches Association, Russell Smelley

(Westmont College), Chair. (2016). 2016-2017 Track & Field Coaches Manual. Retrieved

from naia.org/fls/27900/1NAIA/Championships/CoachesCorner/

TrackField/TF_Manual.pdf?DB_OEM_ID=27900

The Track and Field Coaches' Manual, otherwise known as the Track and Field
Constitution is an extremely useful and necessary resource to use when coaching the
sport. Like any other sport, there are many rules and regulations a coach must be aware of
to prevent penalties and disqualifications of athletes. Any coach in the United States, for
any level, would be required to read the Constitution fully before coaching a team. It is
also a great resource because the NAIA updates or "amends" its rules annually, regulating
current discrepancies about certain procedures and coaching boundaries. Another
advantage is that it addresses all events, sprinting, distance, jumping, etc.

Benz, A., Winkelman, N., Porter, J., & Nimphius, S. (2016). Coaching Instructions and Cues for

Enhancing Sprint Performance. Strength & Conditioning Journal, 38(1), 1-11.

Though the article exclusively focuses on sprinting, it does a great job linking
sociological cues (also addressed in Porter 3*) with physical technique. Not only does it
link the two main aspects of training - verbal and physical - it also addresses trends
among genders, ages, physical characteristics, etc. As a coach, understanding the long-
term effects of different strategies on different types of people. There is one section that
includes a chart of focusing internally versus externally and what a coach should say to
influence them. Another section lays out neuromuscular outcomes of workouts. This
article specifically designates each category of coaching. However, it will be necessary to
consider that all the enclosed information is centered around sprinting. It does not
necessarily fit for longer distance running or field events.

Canning, Kristen (2015, May 7). 4 Types of Running Workouts (And Why You Should Be

Doing Them All. Retrieved from http://www.menshealth.com/fitness/breakaway-speed-

training-plan

Different types of running workouts have different benefits on the body. This article
offers a great introduction to 4 main categories which a lot of subcategories. For example,
the "Threshold Session" may consist of a tempo run, fartlek, pyramid, progressive run,
etc. This article lays out how to do the 4 different types of workouts, while also
explaining both the benefits and negative effects on the body. For example, speed work
 improves fast-twitch muscles while also exerting a lot of force that could lead to injury if
overworked. It gives examples specific workouts within each category such as 8x500m
intervals.

Conger, J., & Kanugo, R. (1988). The Empowerment Process: Integrating Theory and Practice.

The Academy of Management Review, 13(3), 471-482. Retrieved from

jstor.org/stable/258093

This article is great for learning the researched techniques involved with empowering
runners to perform with top effort. A coach's job is to form a relationship with their team,
while maintaining elements of control over them. There is a very big distinction between
holding power and empowerment. Being able to motivate runners to work hard and feel
emotionally involved in the sport comes in different stages; 1 being the most unmotivated
and un-involved state, 5 being personally responsible for work ethic. There a lot of
different aspects to initializing self-efficacy and self-management practices, including the
types of things coaches should say to their athletes and the types of workouts they assign.

Feldman, M. (2017, Mar 1.) Email interview.

This interview is different from the others because it comes from the director of the
Virginia Track and Field Coaches Association. In order to be in such a high position, this
man must really know what he's talking about in terms of overall coaching for the sport.
One interpretation of his responses is that the social aspects are extremely important to
build trust and respect among athletes. In fact, Coach Feldman advises joining the
USATF and gain a mentor. Even though this interview doesn't offer as much solidified
research about coaching itself, it does offer some priceless advice to get a future coach
started. Because the interviewee is the head of a major coaching association, it can be
assumed he speaks on behalf of a LOT of coaches in the area, making the information he
gives hard to ignore.

Jackson, S. (2017, Mar 2.) Email interview.

Coach Jackson volunteered at Blue Ridge Running Camp in the summer of 2015 by
coaching jumping sessions. In 2016 though, he brought along his Olympic qualifying
jumper, Olu Olamigoke Jr. to help coach campers. Anyway, Coach Jackson is the first
interview response that coincides with real training actions seen by many of his athletes.
A lot of his training techniques can be used for jumping to coach the younger girls on
Glen Allen's team. Many of the things he talks about in his interview, like individualizing
training schedules, is similar to other interviewed coaches responses. Besides just his
strategies, he offers some good advice in regards to the differences between high school
and professional coaching, a perspective no one is able to offer.

McMillan, Greg (2013, Mar 11.) The Champion's Workout. Retrieved

 from runnersworld.com/workouts/the-champions-workout.

The Champion's Workout is a rare battle in one's training season, such as a triathlete's
Ironman Marathon. This article touches on the body's physical limits and the ability to
expand them through certain training techniques. Challenging the body to break
boundaries every once at an intensity that puts it at a full-fatigue setting will give the
muscles an opportunity to fully regrow and develop. However, because these types of
workouts are so hard on the body, it is important that an athlete does not reach this level
of intensity more than one or twice per running season, as doing more will almost
certainly result in stress-related fractures and injuries. The benefits of implementing a
Champion's Workout though is the muscle development as well as sudden maximum gain
of endurance or speed, in which would usually take place over the course of an entire
week. It is also important to note this type of workout should never be administered early
in the season as the body's accumulation to workout schedules is a gradual increase to
become more intense over sufficient time.

Molz, J. (2017, Feb 27.) Email interview.

This response comes from a seasoned college coach, compares strategies between high
school and college coaching. He offered some extremely valuable information regarding
both social and physical strategies. For example, one thing he said was, "I could give 100
athletes the same workouts, but not all 100 would be successful," implying that there is
no perfect formula or workout regimen that works for everyone. It is a coachs job to pay
attention and make adjustments to individual workouts based on a lot of different things.
His metaphorical comparison of the different levels was pretty great: in high school, you
see a more developmental style of coaching for a mix of talents. In college, there is a
greater drive to perform well because the coach can recruit, but also a higher stress level.
He said coaching professionally is like being "given the keys to a Ferrari and you just try
not to crash it!"

Porter, J., Wu, W., & Partridge, J. (2010). Focus of attention and verbal instructions: Strategies

of elite track and field coaches and athletes. Sport Science Review, 19(3-4), 77-89.

This source is unique because it includes both sociological research as well as statistical
evidence, something that is hard to come by in regard to sports. A study was conducted,
and it was observed that approximately 84% of coaches provided verbal cues throughout
training, and 69% of those cues helped runners focus internally - a skill necessary for
success in the sport. These types of surveys are not commonly conducted through sports,
but when they are, they are extremely useful to coaches trying to improve. The article
advises certain verbal cues rather than others to enhance athletic performance. For
example, instead of critiquing a runner's form (an external focus), critique the mindset
and push them to increase leg speed (an internal focus). There are plenty of examples
enclosed in this article on sculpting championship athletes through means of verbal cues.

Spicer, D. (2017, Feb 16.) Email interview.

 This interview will be very useful going forward because it offers firsthand experiences.
Especially because the interviewee answered all questions, which touched on a wide
variety of details associated with coaching track and field, his response can be referenced
for social, physical, and cognitive methods. It will be interesting to compare Coach
Spicer's coaching methods, like initial strictness to eventual leniency, to other coaches
should they respond. It will be necessary to look into was the fairness in instruction
between experienced and new runners, and one of Coach Spicer's answers touched on the
idea that he offers more guiding instruction to the latter. It will be fascinating to see the
positive or negative implications of this strategy, as well as many others.

Walton, M. (2017, March 9.) Personal communication.

Coach Walton laid out a more unique coaching style than some of the other coaches,
describing how he chooses to start with high volume and work toward high intensity later
in the season. In fact, it was interesting to note that he often disagrees with his father,
who is also a track coach, proving that a lot of different things work for different people.
However, one thing remains common, and that is that each coach individualizes workout
routines for an athlete's goals and skill levels. Interviewing Coach Walton was simple
because of the face-to-face method. One of the resources he provided and uses often, the
magazine Techniques, will be extremely useful going forward.