Motivation, what does it for you guys? ...

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14 Replies Last post: May 12, 2002 3:06 AM by Guest

CoachB008

777 posts since
Apr 27, 2000

Apr 23, 2002 10:15 PM

Motivation, what does it for you guys?

My boys and girls cross country teams could be very strong next year. We have the potential to win the league title for both varsity boys and varsity girls. We should also have the individual winner in both races. Here is the problem. I don't know if that will happen, because so many of my athletes seem down in the dumps lately. I don't even know if my #1 girl will come out next year.

I want to know from all of you kicksters out there a couple of things:

1. What motivates you to run?

2. What are some tactics your coach has used to get you motivated?

3. What kind of summer programs do you have?

The answers for me are thus:

1. I run because I can. I try to run fast because I enjoy pushing myself. In high school, I wanted to be the best that I could be.

2. My high school coach was not a great motivator, when he tried to motivate us, it kind of backfired. Mostly, I got motivated by seeing all of the good athletes on my team. I wanted to try to live up to what those guys and girls were doing.

3. We had a 500 mile club. We met once a week for a run and to turn in our workout sheets. I have a similar program with my team now, but we meet 2-3 times per week during the summer with one time per week being a trip to run in the hills and have a picnic and swim party afterward. Currently, students are encouraged to gradually increase their mileage from one week to the next, but I think that I will try to just set some standard goals that everyone should shoot for.

I really value your responses. Especially those of you who run in successful programs. I want to know what you folks are doing to be successful.

mlbfan24

251 posts since
Nov 1, 2006

1. Apr 23, 2002 10:42 PM

in response to: CoachB008

Re: Motivation, what does it for you guys?

what motivates me is the goals i set for myself. i want to reach them so bad, and also i enjoy working hard in running. it's just something that i love to do.

my coach didn't really motivate us at all. so i can't really answer that. every guy on the team besides me was in cross country just for a "social hour". and we only had one girl and she didn't care either.

for a summer plan we'd run 3 days a week and be expected to run on our own the other 2 days of the week, and take the weekend off. so i blew that off and did my own thing, running 7 days a week most of the time.

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Guest

2. Apr 23, 2002 10:48 PM

in response to: CoachB008

Re: Motivation, what does it for you guys?

I'm motivated by my goals mostly. I want to be as good as possible. To make a name for myself in the area sort of.

One of the reasons that I am so focused on my training is becuase I spend a good deal of time thinking about running, (hence posting on message boards.)

I've never run consistently over an entire summer. (I have big plans for this one though.) I'd say the biggest motivator to run over the summer is to provide examples to your athletes of the tremendous improvement possible through lots of summer base mileage.

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Guest

3. Apr 24, 2002 5:51 AM

in response to: CoachB008

Re: Motivation, what does it for you guys?

quote:<HR>Originally posted by mhscc:
I'm motivated by my goals mostly. I want to be as good as possible. To make a name for myself in the area sort of.

One of the reasons that I am so focused on my training is becuase I spend a good deal of time thinking about running, (hence posting on message boards.)

I've never run consistently over an entire summer. (I have big plans for this one though.) I'd say the biggest motivator to run over the summer is to provide examples to your athletes of the tremendous improvement possible through lots of summer base mileage.

<HR>

Ditto!! Those are EXACTLY my thoughts!!! By the way, some motivational examples here wouldn't hurt either

Kypie24

195 posts since
Mar 23, 2001

4. Apr 24, 2002 6:42 AM

in response to: CoachB008

Re: Motivation, what does it for you guys?

What motivates me is my desire to be the best. I'm tired of being a step behind all the runners in my area, and I want to beat them. I don't want to blend in with all the runners before me. I want to be one of the best ever seen.

My coach got us to get together for a few runs over the summer, but he didn't motivate us beyond that over the summer. During the fall, he just helped us enjoy ourselves while we were out there. He was a great guy to be around us, and since he was 21 anyway, he was just like one big kid in the fact that he mentality and personality is much like ours. as if any of us were mature anyway, lol He also kept the atmosphere light, so that way we maintain a happy and positive attitude. So for each of us, besides having a great coach, we had a good friend in him as well which we looked forward to seeing.

Over the summer we just had runs twice a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays. He also gave us an 8 week running schedule to follow, but of course, we could change it a little if needed. That's really all for over the summer.

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Guest

5. Apr 24, 2002 8:28 AM

in response to: CoachB008

Re: Motivation, what does it for you guys?

Oh, and to answer your questions...

1. I train because I want to be the best (or at least near there)...how original lol

2. Running isn't a big thing here, before the XC season we had practice twice a week (for around 4 weeks), but hardly anyone would run beyond that.

3. No summer training programs at all. Thus I need all the motivation I can get to run by myself over the long summer!

Um...looking over it, I'm not really sure that helped. Let me see...some tips for motivating youngsters. Keep in fun, going out for a meal afterwards is a great idea. Personally I would love it if my school organised a summer running program where we meet with fellow runners, it beats running alone big time...so organise more summer training runs? Try to make clear what an 'easy' run and a 'moderate run' is though...sometimes we get carried away and race each other.

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Guest

6. Apr 24, 2002 5:25 PM

in response to: CoachB008

Re: Motivation, what does it for you guys?

1. I run because I enjoy it and I strive to get better.

2. Not much of anything. My coach just tries talking with us, but it isn't much use most of the time. There aren't really any incentives to train beyond having a mindset such as in #1.

3. We have weekly "fun runs" starting in July. It's just a group of cross country runners meeting at the school, usually with our coach, and running several miles together. Not mandatory and usually not very successful (4 guys, no girls ave.). My coach also gives us a small packet at the end of the school year for over the summer which tells us roughly how people should start building their base from nothing since few people run besides xc.

We had a guy state qualifier last year and a girl state qualifier/medalist. Overall, we had a pretty lousy season though- 3-9 guys record, 0-12 girls (only 4 came out for the team). Sorry my response probably won't help much with suggestions.

cougarcanyon runner

132 posts since
Nov 13, 2001

7. Apr 24, 2002 10:58 PM

in response to: CoachB008

Re: Motivation, what does it for you guys?

Hey Coach B; Try to make it fun for the kids.
Mix up the training a bit. One fun thing we used to do was ice cream runs"Coach's treat".
Long runs or track sessions followed by ice cream after. Really get to know your kids, find out what makes them tick, why they like to run. Promote the team thing. The really
important thing is to make it fun for them.
They are going to have ups and downs.Help them with there goals both running and other Just be there for them. There are going to be kids that are really motivated and those that aren't. Try to work with each on an individual basis. I was lucky to be able to coach one Nat'l champ, but the other kids were just as much fun to work with. Coaching is a rewarding experience enjoy it and have fun working with your athletes. Hope that helps. Cheers

Guest

8. Apr 24, 2002 11:05 PM

in response to: CoachB008

Re: Motivation, what does it for you guys?

1. I run because I like to. I enjoy just the general feeling of being outdoors with a couple of my best buddies as much as I enjoy the competition part. This is something that your athletes need- with the love of a sport comes the desire to not only do the sport but to succeed in it.

2. My coach is the BEST coach in the world. She is more of friend or aunt than coach. She makes the workouts fun, but at the same times makes us want to work till we collapse to impress her. At the beginning of each season (and periodically throughout the season) she has us discuss our goals with eachother. By putting these out there on the table and talking about them it really makes you want to go after them with all you've got. Let's see, what else....there are so many little things. One thing that I think is important is that she really makes us feel like a great team. Our team has a reputation of being a great program. When we go to meets she makes sure that we are a class act. We're tough competitors on the course but off the course we're to act like ladies (it's an all girl's team- as my coach says "boys are distractions" - sorry guys). It really makes you feel like a part of something great when other coaches and teams awe at your professional manner.

3. Prior to summer my coach contacts all of the people who have signed up for cross-country for the next year. She hands out special running log booklets that she collects at the end of the summer to see what you have been doing. We meet three days a week to run together and are expected to run at least 6 days a week. Many of our varsity runners run twice a day during the summer. The workout are totally up to us to decide what we want to do but most of the runners are dedicated enough to follow a program with tempo, fartlek, hill and long runs etc..
We have four captains that keep in touch with people during the summer. Everyone of the team members is best friends with eachother so we pretty much know if someone is or isn't running. Peer presure is a great thing. Also we go to a running camp in July, which is always really fun, and do road races.

Guest

9. Dec 20, 2007 11:03 PM

in response to: CoachB008

Re: Motivation, what does it for you guys?

1. What motivates you to run?

myself...

2. What are some tactics your coach has used to get you motivated?

The first coach I started out with, we were motivated by fear. It wasn't anything he said, but the fact that we were afraid of what would be said or done if we "disapointed" his expectations... Usually we were ignored and looked with a glare... I have to say that i ran my best with him though...

The next xc coach to take over my junior year and senior years, was very unmotivational... I think one of the reasons was having our first coach quit on the guys and that was just a big let down... A lot of rumors circulating on why he quit the guys which just left us without much punch... I found it was my teammates who gave me motivation.. Although I ran one race, we all wanted to run to prove the first coach wrong... that was the motivation from the outset... that his choice of letting us down, was the wrong one.... we probably didn't impress him much, but they impressed me... the heart and fire my teammates showed was amazing... The spirit they showed could not be compared by any team the 4 years I ended up running....

The 3rd coach I had for distance track... The motivation there was that he was a great coach... knew what he was doing... and he went over everything we did with us, never giving us an unkind word... Even when I was frustrated at being injured and not running up to what I thought myself should be doing, he was there to bring my spirits back up... something no one else had ever been able to do... I usually go over my race and analyze it in my head, at least a 100 times.. trying to figure out what I could've done different... Roman on the other hand pointed out the good and not the bad... He told me(and everyone else) what they could do different to improve their times but never giving criticism... i found that highly helpful

3. What kind of summer programs do you have?

The first 2 years... after middle of july... we'd have practice 6 times a week... I found this worked best, since you have no excuse for not running... 3rd and fourth years, we had practice 2-3 times a week due to the coaches schedule... 3rd year I went off and trained how I liked, going to practices however, but adjusting everything... adding a second run a day, etc... as for the fourth year... there wasn't much motivation when practices started becoming sporadic... What I thought we needed was stability in the training... I thought 5 times a week would've been best in getting the guys together and running... Since I knew most of the guys weren't running on our off days.. me included... That pretty much hurt us...

http://This message has been edited by icas (edited 04-25-2002).

Guest

10. Apr 25, 2002 6:46 AM

in response to: CoachB008

Re: Motivation, what does it for you guys?

1) Does your #1 girl know she could win the races, and the team could win too? Are they all aware of this?

2) Do you have any idea why they are all down in the dumps?

Answers:

1 - I am motivated by setting goals, and seeing my times improve. Also all the health benefits. Times motivate me more than anything. I find my training diary quite motivational.

2 - None, really. I guess in the past, goal-setting, creating great cameraderie in the team, telling us what we were capable of, having faith

3 - Over the Summer when I was in high school, training was 5 or 6 times a week. However the system is different over here. All the runners go back to their respective clubs. After the school track meets running up until about June, we didn't see each other after school broke up until we started back in September. Everyone trains with a club over the Summer. (The track season runs until September).

Maybe you could schedule it so everyone meets up about 3 times a week, or however much people are able to get to in terms of commitments, and have them do some other sessions or runs on their own. I don't know how serious they are - whether there are some people who are extremely competitive, and some who are not - if it's a mixed group it may be more difficult (mixed in terms of seriousness). The booklet idea sounds good, but it might possibly put some people off if it's their first season and they are not so 'into' it.

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swedechick

1,230 posts since
Dec 14, 2007

11. Apr 25, 2002 10:13 PM

in response to: CoachB008

Re: Motivation, what does it for you guys?

quote:<HR>Originally posted by CoachB:

I want to know from all of you kicksters out there a couple of things:

1. What motivates you to run?

2. What are some tactics your coach has used to get you motivated?

3. What kind of summer programs do you have?

<HR>

i run basically b/c i like to run. i try not to think of it as "training" but more as running b/c i don't feel like "training" or "working out" but i want to be in good shape for competion.

2. my coach has used every tactic in teh book to get my team to run but they just don't want to. teh only reason whyi work hard is b/c i'm part of a team and i am so used to being in the front from elementary school track,it carried over to high school and that is why i hate "getting left". i train so that i can leave people in races instead of "getting left".

3. i just run during the summer. some of my teamates and competitors do summer track but i do roadraces instead to get my endurance up for xc at teh end of teh summer. i am working on a summer training schedule for xc from the time track season gets out to the time the school year starts and i'm back to doing my coach's workouts. i am trying to fit in a short running break into that schedule to let me body rest before training again. i already have a list of roadraces i want to do this summer. there are 3 coming up right after track ends. then i have a month until the next one. the distances range from a 3k to an 8k or possibly a 10k(there is one race that has a marathon, a 10k, and a 5k). i might do the 10k jsut to get an official 10k time b/c the longest i've done roadraces is an 8k.

MadXC

112 posts since
Jun 4, 2000

12. Apr 28, 2002 10:02 PM

in response to: CoachB008

Re: Motivation, what does it for you guys?

1. What motivates you to run? I don't know, but it feels so good when I stop, so I keep doing it. I kinda started running to improve for soccer, bicycling, and to get in shape, then running sort of took over. I like the struggle, the rush, the turmoil, the thrill of the race. I like fighting through the pain and bringing my body to the edge of it's capacity. I like testing myself against other people. I like the solitude. I like the individualism. I like the pride. I like the sense of acheivment. I like observing my body changing from stocky and lazy (about 5 years ago i was one of those dorks who stayed inside and played video games) into a hard working athlete.

2. What are some tactics your coach has used to get you motivated? It's the team, we're all kinda friends and we don't want to let each other down. The coach provides a good structure for that to happen.

3. What kind of summer programs do you have?
I never went through a real summer training program. Last summer I worked at a lake which kept me in shape. This is my first year of college. The coaches are talking about putting together and evening training program.
This summer I'm gonna do two miles in the morning before work(4am) lift after work (4pm) eat, take a nap, go to college and do some base training with the team, then go home and go to bed and start the whole thing over.
Good luck with the rest of your season everyone. Can't wait two take two weeks off after it's over.

jacinth

10 posts since
May 30, 2007

13. May 6, 2002 9:18 PM

in response to: CoachB008

Re: Motivation, what does it for you guys?

I run to improve. I also run because its my thing, what I'm known for.

My XC coach is great b/c he's like one of us. He's deeply interested in everyone and if he was injury-free, he'd run with us.

My track coach is the kind of guy everyone loves. He knows everyone's name and loves to joke. When I finish a bad race he doesn't yell or criticize. When I want to talk he'll ask me about it and give me an honest opinion of what he thinks the problem is.

Coach B, it already sounds like you do this sort of thing and more. I'd love to have you for a coach!

Guest

14. May 12, 2002 3:06 AM

in response to: CoachB008

Re: Motivation, what does it for you guys?

for practice my motivation would be the girls x-country team. for races i always forget what my motivation was gonna be.

over summer we run twice a day once early and once in the evening when its not too hot, and most of us are going to a 4-day distance running camp in montana.

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Apr 23, 2002 10:15 PM

Motivation, what does it for you guys?

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