Cross Country season is over and it’s now time to prepare for the upcoming track and field season. After taking a complete break from running we slowly build the duration and intensity of our workouts. Athletes begin to get excited about competing again and running personal records on the track. I feel goal setting is very important in keeping our athletes focused and motivated for the duration of the track and field season. I send out a google form to our team and ask them to fill out three type of goals 1: Individual Goals– Individual goals are focused on times they want to run that season ..read more

Each winter, I have my athletes fill out a goal sheet on Google Forms. I love meeting with the kids and discussing their goals and what they want to achieve in the new year. The goal-setting form includes a question about how many hours of sleep they average each night. I was pleased to see that over 60% of our team gets 8 hours or more of sleep. These are active teenagers, and I know they will be able to recover faster and feel better for their workouts and classes. However, I am concerned about the kids who get 7 hours of sleep or less. We start practice at 7:30 AM each morning, and they mus ..read more

Juma Ikangaa is a marathon runner from Tanzania who won the New York City Marathon and placed second overall at the Boston Marathon. After he won the NYC marathon he said “The will to win means nothing without the will to prepare.” I have always liked this quote because it stresses the importance of training/having a good work ethic. Many athletes want to win on race day, but only the athletes who put in the work have a chance to be successful.  Around ten years ago, I came up with the idea of wristbands for the team. I wanted us to have a motto to focus on, to give us motivation when w ..read more

I’m currently working on our cross country schedule for the 2023 season. It seems like I have been falling behind other coaches on getting this done! As I put together our schedule I usually think about the following things before committing to a meet. 2019 Flower Mound Invitational at Lake Park in Lewisville Meet Management: When our team goes to a meet I hope it is well run. The meet starts on time, results are posted, course is accurate in distance, and there are enough bathrooms for the runners. Extra bonus if a meet has starting boxes! Course Quality: Course is well maintained, wide sta ..read more

We just started our summer training with the team, and we have many new faces. I’m currently trying my best to learn all their names. Each year, my goal is to help freshmen have a smooth transition from middle school to high school, considering they had only one month dedicated to cross country in middle school compared to joining a team that trains year round. Here are some of the things we focus on to support our freshmen runners in our program. Training To ensure the safety and prevent any athletes from getting hurt or quitting due to intense training, we take a slow approach with new team ..read more

The track and field season has come to an end, and now it’s time to turn our attention to cross country. Summer training is when athletes put in those early morning miles to reach their team and individual goals. I have always enjoyed summer training and see it as an opportunity for our team to bond and reach new levels of fitness together. Below are four types of runs that we focus on during the summer. Long Run: 20% of an athletes weekly mileage. During the season the pace of the long run is faster, but during the summer we relax more and focus on getting the distance in for the day. With th ..read more

Texas has an interesting qualifying process for the UIL State Track and Field Meet. We have six classifications that are based upon school population. Flower Mound High School where I coach is in the largest classification called 6A. We have 3700 students and to most people from smaller towns we look more like a college campus instead of a high school. The Flower Mound Jaguar Athletic Center Athletes who advance to state must go though the following qualification process District- Top 4 athletes and Top 4 Relays advance to the Area Meet Area- Top 4 athletes and Top 4 Relays advance to the Reg ..read more

The 2016 cross country season was historic for Texas High School Boys. Reed Brown of Southlake TX was the Footlocker National Champion surging away from the lead pack in the final half mile of the race. His victory was the first for any Texas athlete since Reuben Reina in 1985. Reed Brown 2016 Footlocker National Champion Reed was not the only Texas athlete at the front of the national championship races. Sophomore sensation Alex Maier of Flower Mound coached by myself placed fifth overall at Nike Cross Nationals and at Footlocker Nationals. Daniel Bernal of El Paso Eastwood finished not too f ..read more

A few weeks ago, marathoner Cam Levins achieved a breakthrough performance at the Tokyo Marathon, setting a North American record with a time of 2:05:37. Despite coming in fifth place, it was still an impressive feat. Levins is known for running more than his competitors, and he attributed his success to running three times a day and covering over 170 miles each week, along with strength training and daily mobility exercises. As a high school coach, I often wonder how much to push my athletes. How many miles should they run per week to qualify for state championships? I obviously don’t want th ..read more

When I first started running, the watch of choice was the Timex Ironman Watch. Even though we weren’t Ironman triathletes, we appreciated the simplicity and durability of this watch. The watch had a chrono mode, took splits, was water-proof, and even had a special Indiglo feature that allowed you to see it in the dark. For high school athletes, we also found that it was pretty much indestructible. I know the battery had some sort of lifespan, but we never saw one that died. What a watch, and it was fairly inexpensive! Timex Ironman Classic 30, AKA The best running watch ever still available o ..read more