It is encouraged for the coach and athlete to begin with a video review session. The coach should prepare video clips featuring performances of a variety of elite athletes. The coach should help the athlete identify commonalities between elite performers within events and between performers in different events. Discussions should feature mechanics of the approach run, penultimate step, takeoff, flight and landing. The coach athlete should be disciplined to look for common features versus stylistic differences.

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Most coaches spend hours painstakingly planning every detail of the training program, and periodize their training with great detail. Often, not nearly as much time and effort is devoted to the periodization of the technical plan. Planning the teaching of necessary technical skills is as critical to success as fitness levels, and should be considered just as closely.

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The training process for developing young field event athletes is a rather complex bending of logical, biological, physiological, biomechanical and educational principles. As scientific knowledge continues to grow, so must the coach’s systematic and methodical approach towards training.

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A few problems can develop when planning a training program. While working with more than one coach, and in most cases, more than one athlete, the general terminology and concepts of periodization can become confused. Sometimes it is just a problem of semantics, but other times it is a basic understanding of the underlying principles of periodization.

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If you want to build an atmosphere in which everybody pulls together to win, then you as a leader have to recognize that it all starts with you, it starts with your attitude, your commitment, your caring, your passion for excellence, your dedication to winning, It starts with the example you set. It starts with the way you treat and relate to your athletes.

- Pat Williams, Senior Executive Vice President, Orlando Magic
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Traditional jumps-specific strength training has long been centered on weight lifting and plyometrics. Clearly, much success has been achieved through the use of these two mainstays of training. But a specific look at the demands of the jumping events creates the question, “Is there a more specific way to strength train for jumps?”

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Munich Olympics double gold medalists, Valeri Borzov, discusses the principles employed by his coach, Valentin Petrovski, in sprint training. The article is based on translated extracts from Borzov’s recent book, titled “10 Seconds – a lifetime”.

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The main task for any level coach is to construct a training program that will ensure continual progression of an athlete whilst avoiding injury. This is a particularly challenging task with athletes who have had several training years behind them. According to the principles of training, to ensure adaption, overload in the form of manipulating frequency, volume and intensity must be applied. Furthermore, training exercises must be specific to the target task to ensure a carry over effect.

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