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Mission Statement The Womens' Running Coaches Collective exists to support, unite, inform, inspire, encourage, and empower women coaches at all levels of our sport This weeks article is about early specialization in sports by Melissa Hill and Charlotte Lettis Richardson. Both women have coached and collaborated together for over 12 years. They continue to inspire and support each other in coaching and life.
Coach Melissa Hill My running career began as a junior in high school when I saw my triplet brother run the mile. As a lifelong musician, I was thrilled to also join the track team my senior year of high school. I continued my running career at Texas Tech University running cross country and 400m hurdles in Track and Field. I believe that early introduction to running in a positive environment promotes a life long love of the sport. After moving to Portland, Oregon in 1997, I discovered that there were no youth running programs available in the schools. I started cross country, track and field and running teams (Runner2Runner) at the elementary and middle school level. I also coached high school, post collegiate women (being a co founder of the all women's running group, Team Athena), and Nike WHQ employees. My company, Runner2Runner has grown to 3 states and impacts thousands of runners each year. I’m absolutely thrilled to work with the Women’s Running Coaches Collective to encourage women of all ages to coach in their own communities. Let’s make a difference today! Coach Charlotte Lettis Richardson Charlotte Lettis Richardson has been a coach for over 45 years at the high school, college, and club level. As an athlete she ran at the national level in track, cross country, and road racing. Beginning her own running career in 1971 at the age of 20, she fought for equal opportunities for women runners to participate in longer distances. In her running career, she held every New England Title from the 880 to 30K. In 1972 she was the first woman to run in the Mt. Washington Road Race. In 1976 she qualified for the 1500m in the US Olympic Trials. She won both the RRCA National Cross Country Championships in 1974, and the L’eggs Mini Marathon 10K in 1975. She ran for Nike in the Athlete Assistance Program, and later headed up the Nike Women’s Track and Field Department. Her coaching career began in 1972 when she was still a competitor. She began coaching at the local high school in girls cross country. In addition she coached at the University of Massachusetts as a graduate student, and then went on to coach at the high school and club levels for the next 45 years. She recently retired as Head Track and Field Coach at Lincoln High School in Portland, Oregon. In 2007 the Lincoln HS team was the State 6A Track and Field Champion for both the boys and girls. She has had several State Champions in the 400, 800 and 4 X 400 meter Relay. She has coached post collegiate and adult athletes in cross country, track, and marathons. In the Portland area, she was the Co-Founder and Coach of the women’s running club, Team Athena from 2006 – 2012. She was Co-Founder, along with Sean Coster, of the Run Portland women’s distance team. Recipient of the 2015 Foot Traffic Hall of Fame Award Chapter in the First Ladies of Running by Amby Burfoot Producer and Director of the film “Run Like A Girl” The Big Lie about Specialization in Youth Sports Melissa Hill and Charlotte Lettis Richardson As running coaches we are often asked to work with young athletes who are involved in another sport, and are using running as a fitness tool. These athletes see themselves as specialist in their first sport and are focused on success from a very young age. They and their parents imagine they will be varsity in high school, will get a scholarship to college, and will eventually become a professional athlete with a high paying contract. What is our responsibility as coaches to insure the physical and mental safety of these athletes? What tools and policies can we implement to make sure these athletes are not being overtrained and stressed, especially competitively?
Here are some scenarios we often hear as coaches - "My daughter can’t make her school sport practice today as her lacrosse club coach won’t allow her to miss a practice." "If my child misses a soccer practice, she/he can’t play in their club games or competitions." "The only way to make a varsity high school sport team is to start specializing in grade school." "Missing a club sport practice means others will gain skills, and my child will fall behind." We all know that these beliefs by parents and athletes are very common. They have been told these “facts” by club coaches, and believe them. But the question still remains. Does an athlete need to begin at an early age to achieve success in a sport? Both anecdotal and scientific evidence show this not to be true. Often early specialization can lead to injury and burn out. How do we help athletes and families find the right balance between sports, fitness and fun? The Womens Running Coaches Collective wants to start a conversation. How do we, as coaches, deal with this myth of specialization and the younger athlete? After you read this article, please go to our Facebook page (and give us a like!) to add your comments on some or all of the questions below. In your experience, does early specialization in sports lead to success? Documentary films such as The Race to Nowhere, and academic studies (see below), often conclude that very few athletes benefit from early specialization (women’s gymnastics and figure skating). The Aspen Institute’s Project Play concludes that early specialization pathway fails to consider many of the physical, psychological, and social costs to young participants. In our experience there are runners who exhibit and maintain success throughout their running careers, but most of them do more than just run; they bike, swim, hike or do another activity that uses a different plane of movement. In fact, most of the stronger runners we have coached, have participated in a wide variety of activities. These other physical activities have helped to keep them strong, healthy and mostly injury free. In addition, athletes who are well rounded in academics, the arts, and have a positive social life seem to stay grounded and happy. They are less likely to burn out. How can we encourage our athletes to stay balanced? One suggestion is to meet each season with your athletes for goal setting. Ask them questions about their academics, clubs and groups they belong to, and about their social lives. Find out as much as you can about your athlete. This will help you in writing workouts, but also help to monitor their busy lives. Are they well balanced without being overly programmed? How sustainable is early specialization? Working as a coach of young athletes, we've only seen one runner who specialized as a youth, and then went on to run at a D1 school. She quit after her freshman year of college and has not run since. She had supportive and reasonable parents, but had a running career for as long as some professionals. She was ready for a change. Multiple soccer players (club and school), have joined our Cross Country program. Most of them would ask to be excused from xc practice if they had a club game or practice in the evening. They were very fit, and became solid 4th or 5th runners for our team. One soccer player went on to run in college, and none of them played soccer for their university! Sports are hard. Training and competing is hard. Many athletes, even at the high school and college level, become “burned out” by the stress and demands of training and competition. As a coach, you have the responsibility to make sure your athletes are training age appropriately. Encourage your athletes to have a well rounded life and to focus on all aspects of their physical and psychological development. This will save many athletes from losing interest or “burning out”. A coaching tip - At the beginning each season, meet with your multi sport athletes and find out what days they will be absent from your practice, and what are their game days. Allow only one or two days off from your practices. Make a contract with the agreed commitments, and have both the athlete AND parent sign it. To avoid injury, check in with multi-sport athletes frequently to make sure hard workouts and competition aren’t overlapping. And remember, it is your team and your decision to allow an athlete to do a second sport during the season. You set the rules and they must agree or not participate. What injuries do you see with athletes who have specialized? As a running coach, we typically see pounding injuries; shin splints, feet problems, etc. Specialized athletes often are strong in one area and weak in another. Example: A lot of soccer players have strong quads, hamstrings and cardiovascular strength, but they don’t have a strong upper body. They often do not use their arms when they run! Do specialized athletes gain psychological advantages in workouts and competition?Athletes who have specialized at an early age have had the opportunity to experience hard workouts and to learn to be a good competitors. Soccer athletes are not afraid of running in a large pack, or competing "head to head". They are tough. Some athletes who play two sports, but specialize in one, are often stressed with their secondary sport. They want to succeed in the second activity, but don’t have the confidence or time to put into workouts and competition. Many two sport athletes who have joined the XC team do not have the running experience to put themselves in a position to lead a race and they stay in their comfort zone among the pack. The psychological and physical demands on a multi sport athlete can outweigh their acquired competitive skills. One of the goals of youth sports is to expose the athlete to a sport, make it fun, and hope they will want to go on to higher competitive levels or be fit the rest of their lives. These youngsters have learned the competitive side of sport. But it is important coaches promote a lifelong discipline of healthy living; working out, importance of play and fellowship with friends and teammates. We have often had athletes come out for track in their senior year to have fun and end up becoming passionate about the sport! Often these athletes have played another varsity sport from an early age and have decided not to play in college, or know they wouldn’t make a college team. Oddly enough, several have been extremely successful in track and field and ended up being recruited to compete in college! So what do we as coaches do about early specialization? Stress the importance of a childhood filled with creative play. Children who lack imagination cannot envision strategies to compete and win in their lives. Multi sport play encourages physical movement on all planes, strengthening our young athletes and preparing them for future competition. Giving our youngsters a chance to play multiple sports at a more casual level allows them to develop different skills and time to choose which sport they will eventually play in high school/college or for the rest of their lives! When is it time for athletes to specialize? For some it is never. Some athletes come out for sports for the social and fitness aspects of being on a team. Encourage them to experience multiple sports to find the one they enjoy the most. For those lucky enough to have the chance to compete at the college level, high school is the time to start thinking about specialization. It is tempting with talented high school freshman to encourage them to train hard and compete at the varsity level. Just be careful with these special athletes and bring them along slowly. By their sophomore, junior and senior year they will be strong and experienced enough to run at the higher level. A good book about young runners is Training Young Distance Runners by Larry Greene and Russ Pate. Great age appropriate training and racing information. Additional articles to read - Adult driven, hyper competitive race to the top in both academics and athletics that serves the needs of the adults, but rarely the kids. http://changingthegameproject.com/the-race-to-nowhere-in-youth-sports/ Transforming education from the ground up - http://www.racetonowhere.com/ The myth of early specialization success - http://danielcoyle.com/2014/02/06/hey-parents-quit-raising-specialists-and-start-raising-omnivores/ Early Sport Specialization: Some Benefits, But Many Drawbacks - http://www.momsteam.com/early-sport-specialization-frequently-asked-questions-some-benefits-many-drawbacks-10000-hour-rule When should my child specialize in one sport? - http://changingthegameproject.com/is-it-wise-to-specialize/ The Aspen Institute’s Project Play: Reimagining Youth Sports in America - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gCQUvsLT5WmL_OpcEJMgnXvfzsoI9kVn/view?usp=sharing
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 Mission Statement The Womens' Running Coaches Collective exists to support, unite, inform, inspire, encourage, and empower women coaches at all levels of our sport The WRCC Newsletter hopes to come out weekly. There will be interviews with women coaches from the youth, high school, college, and professional levels. We hope to bring you articles about building a team, planning a season of workouts, strength and conditioning, coaching leadership and much more to help you as a running and field coach. We want to build this community and we need YOUR input to do that! PLEASE contact us at womensrunningcoachescollective@gmail.com Tell us what you think, what you know, and what you would like to learn. ALL perspectives are welcome and encouraged, and we will try and publish some of the emails. We are looking for good ideas and suggestions! This is your journey too! You ARE the Womens' Running Coaches Collective. Melissa Hill Nikki Rafie Helene Hutchinson Charlotte Lettis Richardson Coaching and Leadership Coach Nikki Rafie Distance Running Coach Portland, Oregon Nikki Rafie is a 2-time US Olympic Marathon Trials Qualifier (1996 and 2000), and the winner of the 1995 Portland Marathon. In her 30 years of running, she has run 20 sub three-hour marathons, and continues to be a competitive master’s athlete. She still loves a good race, and remains active in the local running community. Nikki started coaching in 2004, working with adult distance runners of all levels. Her passion for helping women develop and succeed has made hundreds of women achieve their goals. She was a founding member of the Portland running club, Team Red Lizard. She has captained winning women’s and co-ed teams in the famous Hood-to-Coast Relay. As the Head Coach of Team Athena from 2008 - 2014, she helped grow the team to one of largest all women running clubs in the region. Currently a senior manager at Nike, she continues to coach and mentor women runners on a selective basis.  "The strong women in my family have taught me that women’s instincts and emotional intelligence can be extraordinary. Women coaches should use their instincts in working with athletes. What you feel and observe in an athlete can truly direct how you work with them. Use your emotional intelligence to connect with your athletes, helping them to find the right approach to training and racing." Coaching and Leadership Words of Wisdom from Coach and Runner Nikki Rafie Coaching and Leadership go hand in hand. To be a good coach, you must be a good leader. Women leaders and coaches are seeking a chance to be significant as we see the world through a prism of opportunity. The opportunities for women coaches are happening now. It is our time to become the best coaches and leaders possible. Women already possess many of the qualities needed to be a great coach – Having been a women's running coach for years, and also holding leadership roles in the corporate world, I’ve grown to understand the decision-making processes, and the dynamics and subtleties of women’s personalities and styles. These are the very same qualities needed to be a skilled coach and leader of a team and of athletes. A family tradition of strong and independent women – In my family history, I grew up surrounded by strong-willed, hardworking and purpose-driven women. It is through their leadership that the traditions, values and legacy of my family have been upheld. It is these same qualities that make great women coaches. Strong willed, hardworking and purpose driven. Overseeing a team, managing athletes' training and racing, and unifying a team and staff, require all of the above characteristics. The strong women in my family have taught me that women’s instincts and emotional intelligence can be extraordinary. Women coaches should use their instincts in working with athletes. What you feel and observe in an athlete can truly direct how you work with them. Use your emotional intelligence to connect with your athletes, helping them to find the right approach to training and racing. Coaches as managers – The best women coaches/leaders seamlessly manage crisis and change. They are turnaround experts, sensing and neutralizing any signs of danger well before it disrupts the peace. As a coach, you will be faced with athletes that are challenging and distracting to the team dynamic. Lead by example and bring them into the fold, putting them in roles of teaching and leading. A Head Coach has the responsibility of leading her individual athletes, team, and staff. She must be a leader and manager of her assistant coaches. She helps to shape the goals and attitudes of an entire team and staff. This is one of the most important aspects of having a successful team. Working with male colleagues - Many men do not understand powerful women. It can be difficult for men to understand how independent, self-reliant women think, act, and innovate. There are some males who have been closely and positively influenced by the women in their lives. My experiences have taught me that great women make it a point to teach men about our strengths as women, and not compete with them. It is important to respect and recognize that both men and women, though different, have equally valid perspectives. Working with male coaches and athletic directors, requires patience, intelligence, and perseverance. Know who you are, and what you value. Be confident, yet humble. Maintain your strength and conviction, and yet be open-minded and collaborative. Seek to understand, and share your point of view positively, diplomatically, but firmly when needed. Great and successful coaches – Great coaches believe in what they stand for, and understand it is simply a matter of knowing how to strategically activate those around them. Successful women coaches don’t rely on favors and drama! They earn respect by truly believing they can influence their own advancement by developing others. Look for respect, more than recognition. The most successful coaches don’t seek to become the star of the show. They coach and support their athletes to create a great show.  "Working with male coaches and athletic directors requires patience, intelligence, and perseverance. Know who you are, and what you value. Be confident, yet humble. Maintain your strength and conviction, and yet be open-minded and collaborative. Seek to understand, and share your point of view positively, diplomatically, but firmly when needed." - Nikki Rafie Our goal is to provide women coaches and athletes positive support, recognition, education, and community. We believe in the "hands up" approach. Let's help each other become the best coaches we can be. Invite others to join us! womensrunningcoachescollective@gmail.com Sign up for our list!  Copyright © 2019 Women's Running Coaches Collective, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website. Our mailing address is: Women's Running Coaches Collective 11592 Grandview Dr Montgomery, TX 77356-4274 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.  Mission Statement The Womens' Running Coaches Collective exists to support, unite, inform, inspire, encourage, and empower women coaches at all levels of our sport The WRCC Newsletter hopes to come out weekly. There will be interviews with women coaches from the youth, high school, college, and professional levels. We hope to bring you articles about building a team, planning a season of workouts, strength and conditioning, coaching leadership and much more to help you as a running and field coach. We want to build this community and we need YOUR input to do that! PLEASE contact us at womensrunningcoachescollective@gmail.com Tell us what you think, what you know, and what you would like to learn. ALL perspectives are welcome and encouraged, and we will try and publish some of the emails. We are looking for good ideas and suggestions! This is your journey too! You ARE the Womens' Running Coaches Collective. Melissa Hill Nikki Rafie Helene Hutchinson Charlotte Lettis Richardson A Young Coach's Perspective COACH TIFFANY JACKSON-SPAIN Hurdle, Sprint, and Mid-Distance Cardinal Ritter College Preparatory High School, St. Louis "I had coaches believe in me, just like I believe in my athletes, which can make all the difference . It doesn’t matter where you come from, or your background, “YOU TOO CAN MAKE IT."  "I motivate my athletes by just being energetic, enthusiastic, loving, fan of the sport, and a mentor. I run with them, I jump with them, and even hurdle with them. I lead by example. I'm not just going to tell you, I'll show you as well." Tiffany Jackson-Spain Tiffany Jackson-Spain Where do you presently coach and how long have you been there? I coach for Cardinal Ritter College Prep. 2019 will be my second year. I coached at Ladue Horton Watkins High school before this, for 7 years. How did you start coaching? Past coaching jobs. Coaching was always a passion of mine. I started volunteer coaching for the AAU team, St. Louis Blues Track Club, where I began my running career. I then volunteered at my high school, Gateway Institute of Technology from 2009-2011. Then I was hired on at Ladue High School in (2012-2017) as the girl’s assistant coach. I coached Sprints and Hurdles. In fall of 2017 I got the opportunity to coach at Cardinal Ritter College Preparatory High School, where I also teach. Why did you decide to become a coach? It’s pretty simple, really. It was my passion. I love helping, and I love running. I knew I wanted to give back to my community and this was the way to do it. I wanted to set an example for children, to be a living witness and attest, “ If I can do it so can you”. I had coaches believe in me, just like I believe in my athletes, which can make all the difference . It doesn’t matter where you come from or your background, “YOU TOO CAN MAKE IT”. I wanted to set that foundation not only for my athletes, but for my own children as well. “Yes, there will be times you want to give up, but Coach Spain will be right there to help you along the way.” What events do you coach? I coach sprints, hurdles, and mid-distance, if needed. Were you a competitive athlete? If so, events and accomplishments. YES. I was so competitive that I treated practice like a meet. I always worked hard. I wasn’t the fastest (more like 3rd fastest, most definitely wasn’t the slowest) on the team, so I had no choice but to outwork those around me. I was very competitive, but humble. I wanted to prove myself on the track rather than by mouth. My high school won state my freshman year, and my junior year. In 2003, after coming 5th in the 300 hurdles my sophomore year at sectionals (they take top four to state), I was determined to give it all I had. I won state in the 300 hurdles the following years, 2004 and 2005, and I got 5th in the 100 hurdles in 2004, and 2nd in 2005. College was rough my first few years. I had just had my first born, Kyndall, and was trying to get back on track. But I came out on top, after having my baby and a hamstring injury. In 2011, I received “All American”. I got second at nationals in the 100 hurdles, running my PR, and 6th in the 100 meters, also running a PR. Who influenced you most in terms of your coaching style and philosophy? A lot of people influenced me. All my coaches from AAU to college. I took something from all of them, and put it into Coach Spain’s “Big Pot” and came up with my own coaching style. The work ethic, and workouts from my AAU coach, and a friend I coached with in the pass. The eagerness and energy from my high school coach, and the dedication and the will to never give up on an athlete, from my college coach. What is your biggest challenge as a female coach? I’ll have to say the challenge has been being a young female coach really. A lot of seasoned coaches and track parents second guess your ability. But the only thing I can think of as a female coach is that you get some backlash when coaching male athletes (that’s in any sport). That’s the only challenged I’ve faced as a female coach. How do you motivate your athletes? I motivate them by just being myself; energetic, enthusiastic, loving, fan of the sport, and a mentor. I run with them, I jump with them, and even hurdle with them. I lead by example. I’m not just going to tell you, I’ll show you as well. How do you set goals and plan workouts for your athletes? I evaluate what kind of athletes I have. I set a base, a foundation, and we build from there. We build from endurance to speed work to tempo, to speed endurance, and strength. All of that is built on the kind of program you wish to have, and the athletes you have as well. How do you prepare your athletes for race day? Race day is nerve wracking as it is. Coaches know you’re ready physically, but not what goes on in the head of an athlete. So I try to get to them mentally prepared. Imaginary and mental is key. Imagine yourself running your races in your head, breaking down every 100, every hurdle, and every approach. If you get to them mentally, that’s half the battle. Lead them to believe in their craft, and preparation of their races. “Trust the process”. What do you wish for your athletes? I wish for them to be athletically and academically sound. I wish for them to understand how significantly sports can impact their education. I wish for them to have the mental toughness, because the road gets tougher. I wish for them to succeed to the highest heights they can imagine, all the while being humble, and remembering where they came from, and how they got there. What is the philosophy of your HS program? "Athletes don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care." This is one of the quotes I live by. Building relationships is the most important thing to me. I believe showing an athlete how much you care about their success will allow that athlete to perform at their best, and give you their all. Everyone is different, and being able to identify and relate to everyone will make you a more successful coach. I believe giving an athlete a lifetime experience. I want to expose runners to a competitive environment that will be remembered through life as a positive and rewarding experience. How does your HS program become a unified team? “All for one and one for ALL.” I establish that we are a “sisterhood” at the beginning of every season. If one fails, we ALL fail. Do you work with both men and women? Yes, mostly girls, but I help out with the boys from time to time. For the most part it works out well. Sometime I have to use my workout as punishment for the guys (LOL). How have you changed as a coach over the years? Do you coach differently today than you have in the past? Yes, I have changed. When I first started out I was just going off experience, and even though that’s a big part of coaching, fundamentals are a key component as well. I learned what days and weeks to do what, such as tempo, speed work, endurance work, and so on. Even though I’ve learned more, I still coach somewhat of the same (maybe a little calmer, some might think over wise!). Just different approaches for different athletes. What resources would you like to have as a female coach? Number one is better facilities, but I believe that’s for everyone in this area. (St Louis) What would you like to add to your coaching expertise? More workshops geared for women by woman athletes. I would like to add more all-around full body training, something like crossfit training. Tell me a story about a coaching experience that has made a huge impact on you? Just recently, a few weeks ago, I received a card in the mail from an older athlete and her family. And it read “Coach Spain, We can’t tell you how grateful our family is for you. You helped push our kids to be great, all while loving them at the same time. Now that they both have graduated, we just wanted to say thank you for all you do”. All this time I just thought I was doing my job as a coach, but in reality it was way more than that. What impacts me the most is knowing that I touched the lives of others. You never know what impact you may leave on an athlete, and/or their family. This is the reason why I coach. What advice would you give women who want to coach? I would say to them, keep striving to be the best. It’s O.K to be the underdog. Never stop learning, always be compassionate but tough, knowledgeable but understanding, fun but determined. Most of all lead by example. What else would you like us to know about you? I just graduated with my Masters in Education from Lindenwood University. All the while working full time, coaching indoor and outdoor track, being a full time mom, wife, being active in church, and personal training. Never give up on your dreams even when times get tough. It’s in those tough times that make the strongest people.  Our goal is to provide women coaches and athletes positive support, recognition, education, and community. We believe in the "hands up" approach. Let's help each other become the best coaches we can be. Invite others to join us! womensrunningcoachescollective@gmail.com Sign up for our list!  Copyright © 2019 Women's Running Coaches Collective, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website. Our mailing address is: Women's Running Coaches Collective 11592 Grandview Dr Montgomery, TX 77356-4274 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.  |
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