A trip to ALTIS

In March this year, I visited my close friend, Greg Rutherford in Scottsdale, Arizona, and got the opportunity to witness him and others training at the ALTIS set up at Paradise Valley Community College. What better way to reflect on my experiences than writing a post to relay them onto the readers of my blog (both of them-that might be funnier if it wasn’t so close to the truth). I intentionally kept the account short, as when I read articles, I find it easier to digest information, the more succinctly they are written.

The first morning I arrived at ALTIS, I was struck by how busy the facility was, but how well everybody worked together. There must have been the best part of one hundred people there, divided into several groups, but there were no issues of people getting in the way of one another. It was a pleasant contrast to being at Sports City’s track in Dubai. There were no groups that were spread out over seven lanes, no one set up half way down the home straight, no cyclists on the track (yes, this happens) and no toddlers sitting in lane four (which also happens). It was a well-oiled machine, and everybody respected each other’s right to be there. The three coaches I spent the most time with were Dan Pfaff, Chidi Enyia and Stu McMillan.

Stu McMillan and I.

The first couple of days were spent with Dan watching the jumpers, and I felt a little better about hanging around by raking the pit and earning my presence at the facility. Dan’s sessions were very relaxed affairs, that appeared to be quite athlete led. He did little by the way of ordering athletes to jump, and left it up to them to decide when they were ready, whilst sitting and observing quietly. When feedback was required, he would offer it, often in the form of a cue to be used in the following jump. There was certainly no over-coaching taking place, which may have happened if Dan was a less secure coach, without his vast experience.

ALTIS and Canadian World 100 metre bronze medallist, Andre De Grasse and I.

The latter part of my stay at ALTIS was spent observing the sprinters, and largely Stu McMillan. Stu’s coaching has had a large influence from Dan, and it was clear to see by the way he also allowed the athletes to take responsibility. Athletes would ask Stu how their run was, and Stu would reply, ‘how did it feel?’ A strategy I had not seen used before was where Stu gave his group thirty minutes to complete as few or as many one hundred metre runs off the bend as they felt appropriate, allowing for the individual differences in psychology and physiology. Some athletes ran maybe four runs, others did up to six or seven. Another occasion that stood out to me was Carlos Herrera, the Mexican record holder, asking Stu if he could skip the lifting part of the session as his back had felt a bit tight, and Stu immediately said that was fine, without appearing to be fussed by it at all. That led me to believe (perhaps I am jumping to conclusions) how secondary weight training is viewed to sprint performance, by one of the leading authorities in speed training. In a similar scenario, Greg was not feeling too well one morning, and when I arrived at the track without him, Dan asked me if he was training, to which I responded that he was at home resting, and again Dan did not appear fussed. He trusted Greg’s judgement. I left Arizona feeling like I a lot of my thoughts had been reinforced, and I learnt the value of trusting the athlete and their instincts.

Chidi Enyia and I.

The key take way from the trip was the reinforcement that there is no magic bullet when it comes to training, and those that tell you there is are probably trying to sell you something. On a different note, the staff were extremely helpful and friendly, and invited me to contact them should I have any questions. It has been great to keep the lines of communication open with members of the team. If you have the opportunity to visit ALTIS, I strongly recommend it. You may not leave blown away by fancy training techniques, but you will leave with an appreciation of the consistency and attention to detail required to train at the highest level.

Factors to consider when thinking about a coaching change.

We are now into the latter half of the track and field season in Europe, and if you are in the US, the season is done and dusted, except for the elite few who are off to Rio and remain on the European grand prix circuit. At this point, the majority of athletes already know whether or not they are happy with their season and some are looking towards their winter preparation for the 2017 season.

I think it is essential to reflect on a completed season. ALTIS refer to this as a debrief. What went well? What could have been improved? What will be taken forward to next season? What will be deleted from the training programme? These are some of the questions that need to be asked post season. Discussing this with a coach is important, so both parties are on the same wavelength, and a sense of teamwork is fostered leading into the off season.

It is this time of year where an athlete-coach relationship is most likely to come to an end. But how do you know if this is the right decision? It is impossible to forecast exactly how any programme will work out, let alone one that is new to you as an athlete. I wanted to offer my advice on some of the issues that an athlete may want to consider when deciding if a new coach is an option.

Progression

It sounds simple, but if you are improving and producing personal best performances, then you really need to ask yourself whether leaving a coach is a good idea. As an athlete, it is easy to be greedy and want more rapid progression and think that the grass is greener elsewhere. This is something I have been extremely guilty of and I have learnt the hard way that jumping from one training idea to another causes inconsistency and stagnation of progress. Slow progression is still progression, and once you are out of your teenage years improvements occur by increasingly less significant margins.

Injury

If you are struggling with injury issues, then it is important to try and identify the root cause as best as possible. As are performances, injuries are the results of many factors, which are likely interrelated, so it isn’t always possible to isolate them. However, if you honestly believe that your lifestyle is set up as well as it possibly can be, to allow you perform optimally, then it is likely that something in the training set up is contributing to your injury woes. I don’t believe there are many things that are wrong in training (there are definitely some!), but individuals can react differently to the same stimulus, and therefore some training programmes are better suited to certain athletes. Are you suited to your current programme?

Happiness

This is something I used to overlook, but I think the mental and emotional wellbeing of an athlete can have a huge impact upon their performance. Do you enjoy going to training? Do you enjoy spending time with your coach? David Oliver's letter to Brooks Johnson perhaps highlights some issues that can occur in the relationship between an athlete and a coach. Depending on your level as an athlete, this could be somebody you are spending a few hours a day with, six days per week. Do you like the environment? Are you happy in the company of your training partners? Boredom can be an issue, but keep in mind that training for excellence in any endeavor can be monotonous, because it has to be repetitive. Factor that into track and field, which consists of closed skills, and the repetitiveness becomes magnified. If this is a problem for you, then it could well be that track and field isn’t for you-or you may want to try multi events to add a bit of variety and spice!

Andy Murray and Amelie Mauresmo ended their coach-athlete relationship earlier this year.

Logistics

This is perhaps more of a consideration when you have decided that you are going to make a coaching change and are now deciding who to approach and ask to coach you. It is very likely that if you trained last season with a particular group, with the exception of any major life change, logistically it is possible for you to remain in that group. However, when choosing a new group, the following questions need to be asked. Do they train at a time that you are able to train? Is the location close enough to where you live? If not, are you able to relocate there? Is it affordable to do so? If you need a job to support yourself, are you able to find one in the location of your training set up?

To sum up...

It is very easy to make a snap decision in the midst of a potential coaching change, but it needs careful consideration, otherwise you risk finding yourself in twelve months, having completed a[nother?] subpar season. If you are in a situation where you are considering a coaching switch, hopefully the above points will help you focus on some of the issues that need to be considered.