The Track and Field Performance Podcast

Rolf Ohman is a coach and innovator with over 35 years of experience in global sports such as Track and Field; he was a high level decathlete before beginning his coaching career. Between 2016 and 2017, he served as Head Coach for the Dalian Olympic Sports Center before becoming the Assistant Head Coach under Randy Huntington for the Chinese National Team in Sprints and Jumps, he then moved to a  Head Coach role at the Hong Kong Sports Institute until the summer 2023. Now, Rolf is coaching athletes like Jacob Despard - one of Australia's hottest prospect in 100m. He is also the renowned creator of the 1080 Technology, including the revolutionary 1080 sprint device and 1080 quantum.  In this episode, he explained some of the key pillars of his training philosophy such as periodization, weight room, and plyometric exercises -- particularly for elite/highly trained athletes. Thanks Rolf for such a thorough insight into your years of hard work.Follow Rolf: https://www.instagram.com/tailwindsquadSupport the show

Jim VanHootegem has over 20+ years of experience as a collegiate coach working at schools like Texas A&M, The University of Oklahoma, and Arkansas. He has achieved great success with athletes like Fabrice Lapierre and Julian Reid -- both who have achieved medals at World and European championships. In his career so far, he has guided his programs to 12 NCAA team championships and 27 conference team titles as well as 72 All-Americans as an event coach, and another 55 honorees as a head coach. He currently serves as the sprints and jumps coach at South Plains Community College in Texas.In this episode, Jim spoke about the foundations of his coaching philosophy, essential technical elements in the horizontal jumps, setting expectations for athletes, and much more. Support the show

Very few coaches can say they've had five athletes run 1.44 or faster in the 800m. Joseph Deng and Peter Bol (among several others) have risen to the top of the event -- thanks to the guidance of Justin Rinaldi.His group named 'Fast8TrackClub' not only highlights their aim, but it matches how they get there -- they run fast, all year round, but the devil is in the details, so in this episode, Justin unpacked his coaching philosophy which was born out of his own experience as an athlete, and the mistakes he made along the way. Follow Justin and the Fast8TrackClub-https://www.instagram.com/fast8trackclub/-https://www.instagram.com/jrinaldi800-https://twitter.com/jrinaldi800Support the show

Sports and Exercise physiotherapist, to many of Australia's top track and field athletes, Sam Leslie, discusses his multi-layered approach to rehabilitating and reducing injuries as well as improving event specific performance. Sam, who works out of MyPhysio Evolution, in Melbourne Australia, takes an evidence based approach to help establish timelines for the returning to full health and selecting methods that match the athletes characteristics and the current stage of the injury among other variables. He explains the contents and application of direction-based programming which is a focal point of his practice throughout this episode.Lifestyle and stress management was also a feature of the discussion, Sam is currently developing an educational resource and application called 'Peak' to empower athletes in managing their health and performance. High Performance athletes Sam works with: Kathryn Mitchell (Javelin), Chris Mitrevski (LJ), Jake Penny (100m and relay), Jacob Despard (10mm and relay), Tess Kirsopp Cole (800m), Tori West (Heptathlon), Tayleb Willis (110mH), Mackenzie Mielczarek (Javelin)You can find more about Sam and his work through his Instagram (below) and his articles on Simpli Faster: -@samleslie_sportsphysio-https://simplifaster.com/articles/author/samleslie/Support the show

Daniel Davey is the Founder of DaveyNutrition and has over 15 years experience as a Performance Nutritionist, 9 of which were spent in elite sport environments with Dublin GAA and Leinster Rugby. We sat down to discuss topics like fueling and recovery based on individual demands like event groups in Athletics as well as creating processes to make nutrition feel like a fun and sustainable experience. Daniel has been around several players who have been in the conversation of 'best in the world' at what they do. In this episode, we spent a lot of time talking about the behaviors and routines of elite athletes.Find more Daniels content and services via: https://www.daveynutrition.com/ and his Instagram: @daveynutritionSupport the show

Coach to Olympic, Paralympic, World, European and Commonwealth Medalists, Steve Fudge has not just harnessed the talent of elite level prospects, but over the years he has developed a system that is building  world class sprinters from a very earl stage in their career.In this episode, Steve spoke about how the initial movements at the start can impact the acceleration, the transition and max velocity 'phases'. When executed well there is fluid continuity from one step to another instead of erratic or disjointed movement.Steve carefully explains his methods for developing the technical and physical qualities for the short sprint events alongside managing the factors that come with individual athletes that govern their application. Thank you Steve for sharing such valuable information to all the listeners!Streaming on all major podcasting platforms. Support the show

John is a well-known coach, content creator, and writer on all things athletics, but perhaps most pertinently, he has a massive aptitude for horizontal jumps training. In his first few years of coaching he guided two men under the age 20 jump over 7.70m in the long jump -- one became European Junior Champion. Since that time, he has guided several more athletes to jump 7.70+, 6.30+ (for women) and16.20m in the mens triple jump. John believes that specificity can be achieved early in the winter and over training is often a major hinderance to long term development. Designing winter training that is both progressive and specific is what our conversation revolved around. Topics:-Specific fitness in the winter training plan-Using undulating periodization-Speed development-Over reaching and peaking-Developing the long jump takeoff (physiologically and technically)Follow John on Social Media:-Instagram: instagram.com/johnshepherdwritertrackcoachYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@JohnshepherdtrackcoachSupport the show

Boo is one of the worlds leading track and field coaches, educators, and rehab consultants. He's coached world champions, he's delivered coaching education  workshops around the world, and now he primarily helps world class athletes return to their best. Boo coached 17 NCAA champions in his initial 11 year stint at Louisiana State University. During that time he led Walter Davis to becoming a world indoor and outdoor champion in the triple jump. In 2018, he returned to assist the program as a Strength and Conditioning coach; shortly after both Rayvon Grey and Juvaughn Harrison won individual NCAA titles in the long jump followed by an NCAA team title in 2021.Topics of discussion:-Improving pelvic oscillation and undulation in sprinting and the vertical component of each stride in the approach-Accessing and coordinating necessary rotation at the long jump-Key Performance Inhibitors: 'driving' knee during the long jump takeoff, high heel recovery in the hop phase, improper yielding mechanics-Rotation of the shin during the triple jump takeoff-Heuristics for phase distribution in the triple jump-Task complexity and its impact on intensity: selection of technical work, weightroom exercises, plyometrics-Athlete readiness: Methods monitoring recovery/readiness (particularly with developed athletes) e.g. standing triple jump-Common traits among successful coaches and educatorsSupport the show

Texas Techs Jumps and Multi's Coach, Keith Herston, is quickly becoming one of the worlds top jumps coaches having had success with various national and international athletes across different event disciplines. Keith has coached , 3 Olympians, 4 World Championship Finalists, 1 NCAA Champion, 63 NCAA All Americans , and 6 Top-10 NCAA All-Time Performers (WTJ, WLJ, MLJ).Affiliated w/Output Sport - get 10% off by using the promocode, 'COLMBOURKE10'Support the show

Head Coach, History Teacher, and Author of the Sprinters Compendium (among many other things), Coach Ryan Banta has been at Parkway High School for 20 years. During that time, he has successfully coached everything from cross country to the short sprints. In 2022, Coach Banta was named the Missouri TFCCCA girls coach of the year. In this episode, we talked about how he uses his background in Positive Psychology with his athletes, the Critical Mass Training Philosophy, the Development of his coaching and the Sprinters Compendium. This one is loaded. Thank you to Coach Banta for sharing so much wisdom for the audience to enjoy.Affiliated w/Output Sports - Promocode: COLMBOURKE10Support the show

Coach Carrie Lane works with Under Armours Elite group of distance runners based in Baltimore Maryland. Prior to that, she spent several years as the Throws coach at the University of Wyoming and regularly lectures at the USTFCCCA coaches convention and other seminars on this particular topic. This episode provides insights into her current role as well as some of the key principles she uses to guide her training philosophy. Affiliated with Output Sports - Promo code: COLMBOURKE10Support the show

From former collegiate triple jumper at Cornell University turned Olympic-level coach; Aaron Gadson shows his passion and knowledge for the event across a multitude of subjects. His breakdowns of training and coaching are detailed and thoughtful making for a rich episode that both athletes and coaches can enjoy. Be sure to follow Aarons's Instagram page for much more content: @youngjumpsAffiliated with Output Sports - use Promo code: COLMBOURKE10 for 10% off. Support the show

Coach of 2x World Champion Kelsey-Lee Barber, Mike Barber (her husband), has a diverse coaching and sports performance background. Before becoming a Javelin coach he was a Decathlete turned Biomechanist working for the Australian Institute of Sport.Exploration captures many points of this discussion because Mike's coaching journey and the one with Kelsey-Lee comprised many moments of exploration, from technical sessions to liaising with experts in sports performance; this process continues year after year to create the synthesis they need to throw far and be successful at the major competitions - both of which they are very good at. Affiliated with Output Sports - promo code: COLMBOURKE10Support the show

Sprints and Throws Coach, Statistician, Researcher, and so much more; PJ Vazel has made some major contributions to the sport of Track and Field and in this episode, PJ provided a little glimpse into the internal workings of his great mind. Topics:-Journey to becoming a Hammer Coach-Coaching Philosophy & Influences-Learning from Failure-The Unpredictability of Sports Performance -Coaching the Hammer ThrowAffiliated w/Output Sports - Promo code: COLMBOURKE10Support the show

In this episode, Sprint Hurdles coach at Altis, Andreas Behm provides an overview of the physical and technical characteristics he looks for in elite sprint hurdling. Andreas talks about the nuances of in-practice coaching; cueing, session modifications, technical refinements and, complete revamps. Moreover, Andreas highlighted how he's remained inspired through the years -- even after guiding Aries Merritt to a world record in 2012. Thanks for your time and wisdom Andreas.Affiliated with Output Sports - promocode: COLMBOURKE10 Support the show

Whilst severing as the National Coach of the Dutch Federation, Laurent Meuwly has taken several sprint athletes and relay teams to international stardom. Prior to arriving at Papendal, Coach Meuwly worked with the Swiss Athletics federation, there he coached European champions like Lena Sprunger and Ajla Del Pointe (who he still works with today).  In this episode, Coach Meuwly shared some of his non-negotiables when it comes to training and recovery - particularly for the longer sprint events. Follow Laurent: -https://www.instagram.com/laurentmeuwly -https://twitter.com/LaurentMeuwlyThis podcast is supported by Output Sports, use the promo code COLMBOURKE10 for 10% off: https://buy.stripe.com/6oE3ck2Ex7BB1UcdR7Support the show

The Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Centre is home to some of the best athletes in the world. Coach Kris Mack leads a group of world-class multi-event athletes at the center as well as several Paralympians. In this episode, Kris talks about his progression as a coach and how he applies a high degree of event-specific knowledge with other variables like the anthropometric of the athlete, training age, time of the season, body language, asymmetries, etc. This podcast is supported by Output Sports, use the promo code COLMBOURKE10 for 10% off: https://buy.stripe.com/6oE3ck2Ex7BB1UcdR7Support the show

Luis is the owner of 'The Peak' a sports performance facility in Porto, Portugal where mainly works as a Strength & Conditioning coach and Physiotherapist. He boasts an extremely well-rounded resume working with elite jumpers and throwers in Track & Field as well as Soccer and Volleyball teams. Our discussion comprised of multiple topics surrounding the principles of training specificity -- on and off the track.  Follow Luis: -LUÍS MESQUITA (@luismmesquita) Affiliated w/Output Sports:-https://buy.stripe.com/6oE3ck2Ex7BB1UcdR7-Promo Code 'COLMBOURKE10' for 10% offSupport the show

Harvey Maguire is a Performance Physiotherapist who operates out of the UK's leading university for Track & Field in Loughborough. He works with the track and field team to provide comprehensive treatment and rehabilitation strategies to facilitate the advancement of their health and performance. Harvey recently interned at Altis to advance his expertise and adopt a more integrative approach involving all stakeholders.Support the show

Since joining Coastal Carolina in 2019, coach Karl Goodman has accumulated 12 All-American honors -- 11 of which were this season -- leading him to being promoted to Associate Head Coach this summer. That's not all, Melissa Jefferson, (one of the many All-Americans) won the US National Title in the 100m running 10.68 in the process. There is ton a value in this one, I hope you enjoy and thank you Coach Goodman.Topics:-Journey to becoming a coach-Training philosophy, influences, and structure-Coaching this generation: personality types, interests, social norms-Managing Melissa's transition to becoming a professional athlete -Personal lessons from this seasonSupport the show