Building a Championship
Program from the Ground Up
Denver Stone
Kaufman High School
Email: dstone@kaufmanisd.net
My Coaching Background
• 2000-Began coaching at Eustace Junior High (started JH
program)
• 2002-First Year Head Cross Country, Eustace High School
• 2002-2007-Head Cross Country, Eustace High School
• 2007-Present-Head Cross Country, Kaufman High School
• 11 years-Head Cross Country Coaching Experience
Coaching Results
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District Championships: 19 out of 22 possible(boys and girls)
Regional Championships: 5
Top 10 Regional Individuals: 20
State Qualifying Teams: 14 (7 at each school)
Top 10 State Individuals: 6
State Championships: 1
Every Coaches Dream
Two of the Four seniors on this team started running with me in the
junior high, my first year at Kaufman in 2007. They were eighth graders
with talent, but zero clue about running.
Keys to Building Your Program
I. Develop your program’s philosophy
II. Recruit
III. Create a competitive environment
IV. Staple workouts
V. Summer training
VI. Promote your program
VII. Strength training
VIII. Educate your athletes and parents about
running
Develop Your Program’s Philosophy
• You have to decide what type of program you
want
– Coach-centered, athlete-centered, or a mixture
– High-mileage (41-up), mid-mileage (25-40) or low-mileage
(25 or less)
– Build a network with other coaches to discuss training and
philosophical ideas (coaches clinic)
– Set your program’s goals
– Have a code of conduct in place
– You are the CEO of the program
Recruit
• Find kids who have some running ability
• Look at the state picture
– Where?
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School employees’ kids
Pre-junior high
Junior high
High school
– How?
• Build rapport with other coaches on staff
• Get your current athletes to bring a buddy to practice
Create A Competitive Environment
• Team
– Time trial averages
– 200m relays on the track (teams of 3)
– Meet (total time of top five runners)
• Individual
– Burnout sets in the weight room
– Gut check 400m after weight room
– Get athletes fighting for those top seven spots
Workout Cycles
• Three-four week cycles
• The first 4 weeks are basically gathering data, with the four
time trials, and letting the kids get used to the different
types of workouts described below. Adding mileage at 10%
per week depending on time in the program.
• The second four weeks are fun, because the kids are looking
forward to bettering themselves on each time trial.
• The third cycle is where you start honing in on the
championship season heading into district. These time trials
are blistering.
• The last 3 weeks (post district) are all about priming and
reducing mileage and increasing race pace specific training.
Staple Workouts(Speed)
– Quarters
• Implementation: 8x400 1-4 seconds faster than current mile time trial with 1 minute recovery
• Objective: Increase lactate threshold/tolerance
• Frequency: Every other week
– 200s
• Implementation: 12x200s with a jog diagonally across the field.
– Pace is at mile pace for 400m minus 6 seconds
• Objective: Speed development, increase lactate tolerance, and mental toughness
• Frequency: Every other week
– Time Trials
• Implementation: Mile, 2-Mile, 3-Mile, 4-Mile
– After the first cycle is when the fun begins, because you get to watch the kids make
huge improvements and then they are sold.
• Objective: Our “constant” during XC to show improvement. Individual and team goals
– Every meet is different: hilly, measurement, muddy, etc.
• Frequency: Every Monday we time
Staple Workouts (Distance)
– Progressive Runs
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Implementation: 4-10 miles at 2:00 slower (first mile) than current mile time trial
– 1-2:00, 2-1:55, 3-1:50, 4-1:45, 5-1:40, 6-1:35, 7-1:30, 8-1:25, 9-1:20, 10-1:15
– 7-10 mile range I keep the pace the same. 4-6 mile range I will drop the pace per mile 10 seconds
Objective: Building aerobic capacity
Frequency: Weekly adding a mile every two weeks
– Fartlek
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Implementation: On the turf football field. Shoes off.
– 1 minute on/ 1 minute off for 20 to 30 minutes
– 5,4,3,2,1 on with 5,4,3,2,1 off
Objective: Speed play, aerobic/lactate threshold, strengthening lower leg and foot muscles
Frequency: Every other week
– Negative Runs
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Implementation: Usually, four miles on the track.
– The first two miles are capped at a moderate pace, then it is a race on the last two miles.
Objective: I keep the first two mile cap the same all season long and chart their difference.
Every other week
– Tempo Runs
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Implementation: four-seven miles at 1:30 slower than current mile time trial
Objective: Increase lactate threshold
Frequency: Weekly adding a mile every two weeks up to seven miles
Summer Training
• First Ever THSCA Clinic
– Steve Telaneus said: “The summer is where you become great.”
• 5Ks and 10Ks
– I set up four or five races that I suggest the kids go run.
– Every race you compete in you learn something.
• Summer Workout Calendar
– I give my athletes a calendar for them to log every mile
– Mile Club T-Shirt incentive
• 100 Mile Club 150 Mile Club 200 Mile Club
• Base work
– Going longer
• The summer is about extending the athlete to new distances
• You have 12 weeks starting August 5th to get their speed up
Promote Your Program
• CEO
– Chief Executive Officer
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In our profession it means we do everything!!!!
• Know and embrace your program’s history
– If you know the history of your program, you are showing the kids you aren’t just about you.
– It can be motivational for them to achieve things that haven't been achieved before.
• Email the entire school district about meet accomplishments
– You’d be surprised how many actually like to hear about success.
– If you don’t get the information out about your athletes, it may not get out
• Get to know your local newspaper’s sports reporter/editor
– Email all results to the paper
– Email pictures
– Always make it easy for the media outlet
• Host a meet
– You can make $$$ for your program.
– It is a local meet that family, locals, and classmates can attend.
Strength Training
• The Advantages
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Improves muscular strength
Improves muscular endurance
Improves mental toughness
Creates confidence
Improves muscle tone
Results can be seen every day in the mirror
Improves flexibility
Aids in injury prevention
Improves body composition
Gives you a great coaching point
Strength Training
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Weights
– Bench press, traditional squats, single leg squats, dumbbell curls, military press, calf raises,
straight leg dead lift, dumbbell lunges, power cling
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I put together a rotation and we use 3-5 different exercises from the above list.
Three sets of ten reps during the first cycle, 8, 6, 4 during the second cycle and 2 sets of 10 during the
3rd cycle
No leg weights during the championship weeks (Post district)
Core
– Ab Nation is what we call it in Kaufman
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5-10 minutes of all different kinds of abdominal work
Every day except for Friday, we do some sort of ab workout
Bleachers
– Once a week
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Sprints and hops
Bungees
– Once a week
– Partner resistance sprints
– Good for form running and simulates hill work
Educate Your Athletes and
Parents on Running
• Running is the sport with the most participation in America and so few
know about it
• Nutrition
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Cut out sodas
Lay off the fried foods
Drink water (pass a water fountain, take a drink)
Eat fruits and vegetables
Choose a salad or a wrap over the hamburger or chicken strips
Drink milk or take a calcium/potassium supplement
• Pacing
– Make sure they understand how you want them to run a race, time trial,
practice.
– I tell them the first 25% of the race may not win it for you, but it sure can lose
it.
• First 25%: controlled speed (fast but not working to be fast, relaxed fast)
• Next 50%: work to maintain your first 25% pace
• Last 25%: the competitor in you will show itself in this phase of the race
Educate Your Athletes and
Parents on Running
• Proper mileage increase
– The golden rule is 10% a week
• You don’t have to increase every week.
• The key is starting out each runner at the proper mileage to his/her level of fitness not
fastness.
• The hows and whys for your workouts
– Give them an anatomy lesson as to how and why you’re doing each workout
– The athletes who get what each workout is doing for them (not to them) are
the ones that take advantage of every workout.
• Proper running shoes/socks/clothes
– Proper shoes are the first line of defense for injury prevention.
– Moisture wicking socks will cut down on blisters and callouses from forming
• A blister can linger for weeks and really hamper training
• Mole Skin
– Dri-fit clothing will cut down on skin chafing