September 28, 2020

I wrote the thoughts below back on January 30, 2019. I came upon the document this morning as I was looking for another document in my Microsoft Word files, and felt it would be worth sharing here:

I always tell my hurdlers that a breakthrough will occur, but you can never predict when it will happen; you just have to trust that if you stay diligent, the breakthrough will occur. Training for a race that lasts less than 20 seconds means that 99.9% of your time is spent training while only .1% of your time is spent competing. So of course there’s going to be some anxiety on the day of a race, because of fear of all the training going to waste. In practice my hurdlers do multiple reps of drills, work on the various phases of the race, and do all kinds of workouts and exercises to keep their bodies healthy and ready for competition. So the hope is always that the things we worked on in practice will shine through for us on race day. But the reality is that it takes a high level of calm focus to be able to duplicate in a race what you were able to do in practice. That level of focus is developed through repetition. In a race, you have one chance when the gun goes off to either do it or not, whereas in practice you can keep going back and trying again every time you make a mistake. So it takes many races to get to a point where you can execute the movements you practice while training without the need for the mind to tell the body what to do. In races there is no time for thinking, so the body has to do it on its own. To get to a point where the body is that in tune with what it needs to do doesn’t happen overnight. That’s why when athletes say, in reference to executing certain movements, “I can do it practice, but in meets it just doesn’t work,” I respond by saying, be patient, be persistent. My experience has been that the breakthrough always does come eventually, and when it does, that changes the athlete’s entire outlook on hurdling, and validates all the hard work and frustration. read more

In Defense of Scottie Pippen
August 23, 2020

Like many sports fans, I spent ten hours of the early days of quarantine life watching “The Last Dance” documentary on ESPN, which documented the last year of the Chicago Bulls’ championship run, with plenty of backstory regarding the years that led up to it. One of the episodes highlights the 1993-94 season, when the Bulls played their first season without superstar Michael Jordan, who had retired after three straight title runs to play minor league baseball. That season, the Bulls were led by all-star forward Scottie Pippen, who had been the second-best player on the team behind Jordan, but then stepped up to the status of best player while also stepping into the role of undisputed team leader. Experts and fans expected the Bulls to bottom out and become a lottery team without Jordan, but instead they won 55 games—only two less than they had the previous year—and made it to the Eastern Conference finals against the New York Knicks, whom they had beaten in the playoffs on an annual basis during their championship runs in the early part of the decade.  read more

Just Chillin
August 16, 2020

So what have I been up to the past few months since the coronavirus smacked us all in the face? In the words of Brotherman from the Martin TV show, “just chillin.” The small private school where I teach high school English went virtual last March, and stayed virtual through the end of the year. So I was home pretty much all day after that, and stayed home all day throughout the summer. 

When I wasn’t playing Solitaire on my phone, I was either napping, working on a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle, or working on the biography I’m writing on Renaldo Nehemiah. (If I have to explain to you who he is, then you don’t belong on this site). 

I found a website that lets you upload a photo that they convert into a puzzle, then they ship you the puzzle so you can put it together. Over the summer I finished ten 1,000-piece puzzles. The first one was of a photo of my dad and a friend of his from when they were in their twenties. In the photo, taken in 1953, Dad’s friend is holding a 78 rpm record as they both are looking at it and smiling. Dad was who I got my love of jazz from, so that one means a lot to me. The second puzzle was of a photo of my mom taken just a few years before she passed in June 2019. In the photo, she is wearing her winter coat and stylish hat, looking upwards and smiling. That puzzle and the puzzle of my dad are side by side on my bedroom wall. It’s a way of keeping them with me. I also did puzzles of a few of my favorite sports heroes, like Dr. J, Randall Cunningham, and Nehemiah. And of course, I had to do one of the one and only John Coltrane.  read more

February 6, 2020

In my book, The Art of Hurdling: A Manual for Coaches, I explain how I approach hurdling, and coaching hurdlers, from a 1-2-3 perspective. The seeds of this approach began, unbeknownst even to myself, when I was diagnosed with aplastic anemia during my teen years. My doctor informed me that this blood disease is characterized by bone marrow failure—the bone marrow ceases to produce new blood cells, so the victim slowly runs out of blood. Blood, my doctor explained, is comprised of three types of cells: red blood cells, which carry oxygen to all parts of the body; white blood cells, which serve to fight off infections; and platelet cells, which prevent bleeding and bruises. His brief hematology lesson gave me insight as to why I had been feeling tired all the time (low red cell count), why I’d been getting a weird whirring sound in my ears (low white cell count), and why random bruises would sometimes appear on my arms and feet (low platelet cell count).

It wasn’t until years later—after I had made a full recovery, graduated from college and then grad school, and then began working full-time—that I found myself contemplating the wonder of it all. These three types of cells work together to create a harmonious balance, a marvelous tapestry of rhythm in motion to protect the body from internal and external threats. If there is an imbalance in any of the three, there is an imbalance in the entire system, and therefore in the entire body, which can lead to a myriad of possible catastrophes. And yet, until we get sick, we don’t even think about how fragile our health is, and all the things that could possibly go wrong. read more

February 5, 2020

One of the topics I discuss in my book, The Art of Hurdling, is how to build a conditioning base for the 400m hurdles. I’ve always felt that conditioning for hurdlers should involve hurdling, even in the very beginning of the off-season. That philosophy somewhat contrasts the approach of many coaches, who prefer to build a base before putting any hurdles up. But my logic is simple: jumpers jump, throwers throw, vaulters vault, sprinters sprint, and hurdlers hurdle. So, while I’m definitely not saying that hurdlers should hurdle every day, I am saying that hurdling work should be incorporated into the training plan at least once a week throughout the year. The thinking is, the only way a hurdler can get used to the rigors of hurdling is by hurdling. The only way a hurdler can refine technique is by hurdling. For the 400m hurdler, I’m cool with plenty of non-hurdling workouts in the off-season to develop strength and speed-endurance. But I feel that if hurdling isn’t included in the mix from the giddy up, then we may not have enough time to get to the type of super-demanding race-prep workouts that are so essential to optimizing success in the championship part of the season. read more

February 4, 2020

So, I wrote a book. A book that has been a long time coming. It’s called The Art of Hurdling: A Manual for Hurdle Coaches. It’s available on Amazon as an eBook now, and a print version will be available soon. In this book, I explain the methods and approach I have used over the past 25 years to develop hurdlers. The title of the book lets you know what the book is about—the importance of emphasizing hurdling as art form, and of teaching hurdling in such a way that allows for fluid, rhythmic motion. My philosophy is, if you focus on mastering the art form, fast times will happen naturally, and progress will be continual. But if you focus on chasing fast times and racing against the competition, you’ll never master the art form, and you’ll therefore never discover your true potential.

Although I am artistic and love to pursue artistic endeavors, and although I take an artistic approach to everything I do, I’m also a very practical person, and I value practicality very highly. So, when it comes to drills and workouts and training strategies, whatever it is we’re doing has to work. And it has to work for us. In this book, I hone in on the methods I’ve used over the years that have worked for my hurdlers time and time again. I know that an athlete who is willing to put in the work is going to progress significantly by following the progression of sprinting and hurdling drills that I use, by sticking with the workout plans that I design, and by thinking outside the box of victory and defeat. The hurdler who approaches hurdling as a quest to master the art form will always discover new ways to improve. And, for such a hurdler, the greatest gratification comes not from defeating opponents or setting personal bests, but from the feeling that comes with running over hurdles free of doubts and inhibitions. read more

January 28, 2020

Been trying to wrap my head around this Kobe tragedy and I haven’t had any success. Like everybody else who has been affected by this tremendously catastrophic event, I am grief-stricken, bewildered, and finding everyday life a whole lot more difficult to deal with than it was before Sunday. I heard the news while I was out on the track coaching hurdlers. One of the kids’ parents was talking to another parent, and I overheard him say something about an accident. I assumed it was a local accident, and that it would affect traffic on the way home. I asked, “There was an accident?” The parent, whose eyes were down looking at his phone, said, “Kobe died in a helicopter crash.” 

At that moment, my initial reaction was the same as everyone else’s when they first heard the news: Kobe? Not Kobe! No way! Kobe Bryant? Are you sure? Must be fake news. This is the era of fake news. Gotta be fake news. I checked my own phone and saw the report from TMZ. There was still hope. Until I see it on ESPN or CNN or somewhere like that, I’m holding out hope. And of course, a few minutes later, it was the top story on ESPN’s website. read more

September 16, 2019

In the video below, a 400 hurdler I’m working with is learning how to alternate lead legs for the first time in his life. We started off with some easy three-stepping drills, followed by some two-stepping alternating drills, followed by four-stepping alternating drills. By the end of the session, as you’ll see, he was really getting the hang of it. The hurdles were well below race height, but we’ll work our way up to race height gradually.

I feel that the ability to alternate is a very useful tool for the 400 hurdler to have in his or her toolbox. Many hurdlers who learn how to hurdle by running the sprint hurdles (100/110m) don’t develop the ability to alternate lead legs because it isn’t a relevant skill in that event. But for hurdlers who specialize in the long hurdles, or for whom the long hurdles is the better of their two hurdling events, learning how to alternate is worth the time it takes. And if done correctly– taking the necessary steps to gradually build confidence in the weaker lead leg–then it can be learned fairly easily–more easily than you might think. The hard part is getting to a point where you trust the leg when moving at full speed in a race. Ideally, you want to get to a point where the outside observer can’t even tell which leg is your stronger lead leg. Here are the steps I take, drill-wise, to get a hurdler to that point: read more

August 10, 2019

I had a chance yesterday to catch up with my former athlete Keni Harrison, who had a rare day off from training in Austin, TX, where she trains under coach Eldrick Floreal. We talked on the phone for about 45 minutes, and I was able to embed an interview within our conversation. Keni answered questions about her 2019 season, her thoughts on the upcoming World Championships, her past disappointments on the track, her emotional growth as a person and as an athlete, and her thoughts on Sally Pearson’s recent retirement announcement. The interview portion of the conversation is transcribed below:

Steve McGill: When we talked in 2016, you were telling me about how you felt your growth as an athlete had exceeded your growth mentally–that you weren’t ready for the pressure that came with being a celebrity athlete. In what ways, would you say, have you grown from then to now?

Keni Harrison: The experiences that I’ve had have allowed me to grow; I had no choice but to grow. Whether that’s negative or positive, I don’t know. But I try to push aside the negative. And when something works, I just keep doing it. I’m continuing to mature, to take the good with the bad. Knowing that the things I struggle with are mental for the most part, I focus on that aspect of things. I now I see a sports psychologist. I know I’ve had my struggles, but it’s about finding a solution. In that sense, seeing a psych has made an impact on my life. read more

August 3, 2019

Very rarely do I see hurdling videos on Instagram that really grab my attention, but it happened when I saw this post of Aries Merritt doing a quick-feet drill. I’ve watched it over and over again, and I really love it, to the point where I’m sure I will be incorporating into my cadre of drills starting in the fall.

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Quick feet!! 👣 Aries Merritt 🇺🇸 hurdling over mini hurdles. 🚧 🔥👍 💯 @amhurdlestar . . . . . #athletics #trackandfieldlife #trackandfield #nike #teamusa #runnation #usatf #sprinting #sport #olympics #nikerunning #sprinter #olympian #followme #diamondleague #instagood #hurdlelife #hurdle #hurdles #theathleticsclub #nikeathlete #110m #throwbackthursday #trackandfieldnation #worldrecordholder #instamood #runnerslife #runnersofinstagram #runnerscommunity

A post shared by You Are Your Only Limit 💯 (@theathleticsclub) on Jul 31, 2019 at 5:19pm PDT

Here are the things I like about it:

1. The three-step rhythm. As I’ve stated before, I almost exclusively use drills that are done to a three-step rhythm, because I love how such drills incorporate race rhythm and teach the body to ingrain that cadence from the very beginning of the season.
2. It requires a high level of concentration, which again, mimics the type of focus required in a race. The hands and feet have to adapt to the spacing.
3. It shows that between the hurdles and over the hurdles is one continuous motion, with no pauses. I don’t like drills in which pauses are part of the design of the drill. At no point in the hurdling action do you want to pause. At no point in the hurdling action do you want to have the front leg clearing the barrier while the back leg remains on the ground. I see a lot of drills like that, and just about everybody seems to use them, but I prefer drills like this one here. Keep it moving!
4. Because the hurdles are very low, the drill doesn’t put a lot of pounding on the legs. 

My impression is that this drill is designed for elite-level hurdlers who are compelled to “shuffle” between the hurdles because they don’t have the space to sprint. So it teaches the body to react! react! react! So, even though I don’t coach anybody who runs sub-13, I can see how I can use this drill to my own benefit for my hurdlers, just by making the necessary adjustments.  read more