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

July 24, 2019

With Team Steve Speed & Hurdle Camp #6 being a little more than two months away, I wanted to write a post that explains my whole philosophy behind why I do these camps, and why I find them very gratifying.

As an English teacher, one thing I always tell my students who see themselves as different or weird is, “Hey, everybody’s weird in their own way. Be weird in your way.” One way in which I’m weird as a track coach is that I really, really don’t like hoarding “secrets” that are accessible only to the athletes whom I coach. Throughout my career, I’ve always been willing to help athletes from opposing schools or clubs, and have had them come and practice with kids that I coach regularly. My attitude has always been, if you have the sincere desire to get better and to do the necessary work required to get better, and you come to me seeking assistance on your quest, and I have the knowledge and wherewithal to help you, then I have an obligation to use my gifts in such a way that you are able to enhance yours. read more

July 17, 2019

When the school year ended this past May, I was planning on setting up a whole bunch of interviews and conducting them throughout June and July, so that I’d be in position to start the first draft of the book by August or September.  But I got a call from my brother during exam period informing me that my mom was in the hospital again, and that “it’s not looking good.” A week later, on June 3^rd, she was gone.

I drove to Delaware from my home in North Carolina, spent the week up there with my siblings. Since coming home, I’ve been writing a lot of poetry—most of it related to my mom—but haven’t been working on the biography very much at all. Indeed, I kind of checked out from my life for a while—stayed away from coaching for about a month as well. I loved my mom dearly, as did all three of my siblings, and the loss of her really tore us apart. I found the grief to be tremendous, almost unbearable. Even though I knew she had lived a full life, that she died knowing that all of us loved her, and that she had died peacefully, none of that could help me deal with the fact that I really, really missed her. read more