Phillips Running

Vol. 3 — For High School Coaches

So far we have discussed recruiting to build your roster and developing the team culture, keeping it simple, and now today…STICKING TO YOUR GUNS!!!

A couple of years ago I had the pleasure of listening to several coaches at a coaching symposium and this one coach on his last slide of the day said, “Stick to your guns!”

So, what does that mean?

Obviously, it means DO WHAT YOU DO. But you’ve got to make sure you know what it is you do, in order to do it, right?

For that, you should re-read Vol. 2…but in all seriousness, every ‘good’ coach that I know of and respect, they seem to do what they do and they seem to do it well. And they seem to keep calm and revert back to what they do, even when things aren’t going so well.

This morning, 75% of my women’s team struggled in a workout. The truth is, the weather is going to be bad in a couple of days and this was an opportunity to get it in…and in pushing it up a couple of days we didn’t have the kind of recovery I would have liked from their racing on Saturday, or from the hilly long run on Saturday (if they did not race).

And my gut reaction was, “Scrap the plan, let’s start over and have a new plan…”

But that’s not sticking to my guns; and sticking to my guns is a cue that I carry with me throughout the season. I’ve got an outline for this season. And it’s an outline that should get us to May feeling better than we do in January. And it’s an outline (plan) that I believe in. So, I am going to stick to my guns.

Now, that doesn’t mean do something just because it’s on paper…but the plan, not the details, is what I’m talking about here and I know that if we are able to stay healthy, adjust the details as needed, and stick to the plan, that we’ll be better in May than we were today.

This season will have several ups and downs for you…STICK TO YOUR GUNS and don’t panic!

I’d love to answer any questions you might have. Feel free to email me at thedailyrun@gmail.com.