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Day 5 was amazing! I was given my first opportunity to work with athletes interested in jumping this season. It was extremely fun getting back into the swing of things with with the team. The numbers are a little down from years past, but I think the athletes that I worked/spoke with are going to have a very successful season!
It was a "recovery" day today. I generally don't work with jumpers on recovery days, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to work with my triple jumpers. So before practice even started I rolled out the mats, put down the banana hurdles, and split the jumpers into two groups (veterans and "newbies"). The inexperienced athletes worked on rotating their non-jump leg properly during the hop phase, and the veterans worked on the proper rotation of the non-takeoff leg AND the takeoff leg. Everyone did a wonderful job!
After that was done, we cleaned up and headed back upstairs to reconvene with the rest of the track team. They were just beginning their recovery practice for the day. There were two stations to split all explosion athletes into - rolling out with foam rollers and tennis balls, and specialized stretching movements. Once every athlete had gone through the two stations we did RPR as a whole group.
RPR is truly amazing. Things that shouldn't happen do. When athletes first hear of this program they are extremely skeptical. Once we do a few activation movements and "tests" of range of motion the athletes are truly turned into believers. The wide-eyed surprise and excitement is truly something to behold when showing athletes RPR for the first time!
Once all recovery movements/exercises were completed my jumps coaching staff and I had an opportunity to connect with the entire jumps team (long and triple). We went over expectations, program beliefs, goals, etc. The athletes responded perfectly and look more motivated than ever!
All in all, this recovery day was the BEST we've ever had as a program before, and one I feel was extremely beneficial for our athletes!
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Day 6 was an optional lactic acid workout day. The athletes were given the option to come, but were not told to since it was on Saturday. Our numbers were small, but the ones that did show up were determined and gave their all.
They performed the "whistle drill". Athletes were split into groups and given instructions on how much time they'd run around our indoor track. When the whistle blew to signal the end of their time, their partners (whom were watching) put down a piece of tape that marked their distance traveled. They were then given a rest period (while watching their partner run) and were told to do everything they could to run farther than the piece of tape the next time they ran. The athletes were spent at the end of this drill!
They built up their lactic acid tolerance. This will be something that will greatly benefit them as the season progresses!
TOMORROW:
Speed focus. The jumpers will work on approaches. Really looking forward to this with our first meet coming up next weekend!