What Makes a Great Hurdles Coach

In one of my English classes we recently completed studying a novel called The Remains of the Day, about an English butler between World Wars I and II. In one part of the novel, the butler spends a lot of time explaining what it means to be a “great” butler, and what the criteria for greatness are. Reading that section got me to thinking about “greatness” as it applies to aspects of my life, including being a coach of hurdlers. And though I’m aware that there are certain qualities needed depending on the level being coached (a youth coach and a professional coach won’t have the same skill sets, for example), I do feel that a great coach embodies certain qualities, regardless of level.

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While this is by no means a definitive list, below are the six qualities that I feel that all great hurdle coaches possess and demonstrate on a regular basis:

Knowledge about Past and Current Theories Regarding Technique and Training

In any sport, and in any event in track and field, knowledge of your discipline is the first and most important criterium to being successful. You can’t impart knowledge if you don’t have it. You have to know what works for you, and what has worked for you in the past. In addition, you have to make yourself aware of what other coaches are doing, and what other coaches have done in the past. Knowledge about current training methods comes from attending clinics and picking other coaches’ brains, and even from watching athletes from other teams warm up. Over the years, I have borrowed plenty of drills and warm-up ideas that I have seen kids from other schools doing in their race preparation.

Knowledge about past theories comes from reading old-school books, watching old-school videos, and picking the brains of old-school coaches. One of my favorite phrases to repeat to my athletes is “old school still works.” In other words, just because a workout or technical style may seem outdated doesn’t mean it won’t be effective for a particular athlete. That’s why I always put my old-school workouts in the closet, but I never throw them out. For example, though I long ago stopped using side drills as a staple for hurdle warm-ups, I still may use them on occasion for an athlete who is struggling with a particular aspect of technique.

The longer a coach coaches, the more clearer an idea he or she has of what works and what doesn’t. The key is to stay humble and keep learning, no matter how much success you have had doing what you do.

A Willingness to Go outside the Box for Solutions

While knowledge is the foundation, often is the case that a coach must “forget” everything he or she knows in order to troubleshoot a problem that a particular athlete is having. I call this being creative in the moment. Because hurdling is an art form, solutions that work for one athlete may not work for another. A solution that worked yesterday may not work today. So a coach must always be willing to explore the unknown, to try things that may or may not work. Of course, you don’t want to make major changes to an athlete’s technique prior to an important competition, but the process of finding the ideal style to fit the athlete is forever an ongoing one, and that process must be honored.

Back in the day when I was coaching Wayne Davis II, it was almost always the case that he would enter the starting blocks a bit confused about what he was focusing on for that particular race. New-school ideas quickly became old-school within a week or so, as we constantly experimented with ways to hurdle more efficiently, considering his small frame (5-9 at the time). If I had just kept going with the textbook rules of hurdling mechanics he would’ve been smacking hurdles right and left in every race.

A Willingness to Listen to His or Her Athletes

This one ties into the previous one. Many times, the best workouts and the best technical innovations come from suggestions from the athletes themselves. Being a my-way-or-the-highway kind of coach can get in the way of progress, even if it does prevent discipline coaches that “nicer” coaches (such as myself) may encounter. For me, the more mature the athlete, the more input I will ask from him or her. Even with immature athletes (by immature I’m talking about athletes who will slack off when given the chance, and athletes who don’t know how to “think” the event), I will constantly ask them how a rep “felt,” as I want them to learn to listen to their bodies, not just to me. Because when they learn to listen to their bodies, they can learn to make the subtle adaptations that a hurdler must be able to make in the heat of the moment during a competition.

With the more mature athletes, it’s almost more of a partnership. I might come to practice with two or three ideas of what workout I want to do that day, knowing what it is I want to accomplish. Instead of saying, “This is what we’re doing,” I’ll present the options and let the athlete decide which one he or she wants to do. This only works with mature athletes because I know they won’t just pick the one that they think is easiest, but the one that can actually benefit them the most. The same goes for sharing ideas about technique. If, for example, I think an athlete’s take-off distance is perfect but he or she feels it’s too close, then I’ll have to see about making adjustments. With a mature hurdler, I trust what he or she feels more than I trust what I see.

In such a relationship between coach and athlete, a bond forms that opens up endless possibility for growth. The athlete doesn’t get bored and the coach doesn’t grow complacent.

Adapts Workouts and Drills to the Needs of Each Individual Athlete

While this one is similar to the above trait, it’s not quite the same thing. Here, what I’m saying is, while it’s important to have an overall plan for all hurdlers, tweaking that plan for one hurdler may need to differ from how it is tweaked for another. For example, let’s say I have a hurdler who is really quick between the hurdles but needs to open up her stride more in order to consistently three-step a full race with ease. And my plan for that day is to have the hurdlers work on their first five hurdles out of the blocks. So while I might stick with that plan for my other hurdlers, I will have this particular hurdler run 200’s with the sprinters, as doing so will enable her to focus on opening up her stride, which will translate directly to her hurdling the next time she hurdles. Athletes will quickly understand that they’re not being demoted and that I’m not disappointed with them as long as I clearly communicate why I’m switching things up.

In a drill, it can often be that the height of the hurdles for one athlete might not be the best for a different athlete. I might want to have one athlete do the one-step drill, for example, at 36”, whereas another athlete makes too many mistakes at that height, and will be better off doing it at 33”. If such is the case, then it’s up to me to adapt accordingly. Sometimes that might mean adding an additional lane. If space doesn’t allow for that, then it might mean switching the height of the hurdles continuously throughout the drill. Yes, that’s a pain in the butt, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

Seeks Help for Things He or She Doesn’t Know Well

This one comes back to the point about humility. Often as coaches we feel like we should know everything. But the truth of the matter is that is impossible. At the very least, there are things that others know better than we do. In my private coaching, for example, I have often worked with sprint coaches who have athletes who both sprint and hurdle. When we work together, I always defer to the sprint coach when it comes to the details of the start – block placement, set positioning, pushing out off the pedals, driving. I’ve learned a lot about the start just by working with sprint coaches, to the point where I feel much more confident teaching it on my own. Still, on those days when a sprint coach and I work together, I watch and learn. The athletes appreciate the setup, and we as coaches don’t worry about who gets credit for the athletes’ success. With our egos out of the way, we can maximize the amount of help we are able to provide to the athletes.

Takes No Credit for Athletes’ Success

This one is big for me. I feel that taking credit for athletes’ success takes away from a coach’s overall character as a person, regardless of how many champions he or she has produced. I’ve always felt a resentment toward the fact that my success as a coach is measured by my athletes’ success. I’ve always felt more than a bit guilty about the fact mentioning the names of well-known athletes that I’ve coached somehow proves that I know what I’m doing. All the coaches that I’ve respected and/or looked up to over the years have been coaches who emphasize coaching the total person, who shun the spotlight. Much of what makes coaching rewarding and fulfilling has nothing to do with championships, but everything to do with relationships. The real measure of success lies in how many former athletes come back to visit, how many keep in touch, how many pay forward lessons that they learned during their time with me, how many go on to become coaches themselves.

Final Thoughts

Of course, this list is not an exhaustive one. It reflects my values and my experiences. I do not need you to agree with all the points I made in this article, but I do think it’s important that you consider the qualities that you, if  you are an athlete, are looking for in a hurdle coach, and if  you are a coach, what kind of coach you want to be.

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