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.