Track & Field

Do you believe in the maxim 'hard work beats talent, unless talent works hard, and if so, what's your secret to motivating the talented?

Unlocking talent: Coaching with credibility & motivation

Do you believe in the maximum hard work? In the maximum hard, work beats talent and less Talent works hard. And if so what's your secret to motivating The Talented. That's a good one. I've been fortunate enough to work with a lot of professional athletes, and, oh, all games from basketball, baseball and football. And for me, it is showing up and being able to show them examples of things as a coach and I believe this 100%, if you can't do the these things that you're asking these athletes to do, they're not owing to. Well, I'm not going to listen to you. You need to show me what it takes to do the drills, and to do certain things and show me how, how to be better. I don't want you to tell me about what you read in a book somewhere. I don't want you to tell me about what somebody told you or what you dreamt last night. If you haven't experienced it yourself, then it's going to make it very difficult for you to reach to reach towards people who are talented already. But if you have the abilities that you've already done it before or you can reach out to somebody that is done it before, that can explain it a little bit easier and and the the group will be able to provide the information to be able to help someone be better. That's what I found to be the best. But for myself, personally, for me to be able to jump in the blocks or, you know, jump in there and show them the drill execute, the drill, and then allow them to step up to the game. Then they give a list that gives a little bit more credibility, to the people who are talented, that will be willing to work once they show. Once you show them that you are all in. And you understand, What they are trying to accomplish and what levels, you're trying to get to.

My secret to motivating the talented is to show them that I'm invested in their success by jumping in and doing the same drills or activities they are doing, and then allowing them to take it to the next level. This shows them that I understand what they are trying to accomplish and builds their confidence in my ability to help them reach their goals.

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Do I believe in the maxim hard work beats talent, unless talent works hard? Absolutely. I've had the privilege of working with many talented athletes in various sports, including basketball, baseball, and football. In my experience, it's crucial to show up and lead by example as a coach. If you can't demonstrate the skills and drills you're asking athletes to do, they won't listen to you. They want to see firsthand what it takes to improve.

I don't want to hear about theories from books or secondhand information. If you haven't experienced it yourself or learned from someone who has, it becomes challenging to connect with talented individuals. However, if you have the knowledge and experience, or can bring in someone who does, it becomes easier to provide valuable guidance and help them improve.

Personally, I believe in jumping in and participating in drills, showing athletes how to execute them effectively. This approach adds credibility and shows that I'm fully invested in their success. Once you demonstrate your commitment and understanding of their goals and aspirations, talented individuals are more likely to be motivated and willing to put in the work.

Ultimately, the key to motivating the talented lies in earning their trust and showing them that you are dedicated to helping them reach their full potential.

If you could only choose one style of coaching - would it be structure or creativity?

Choose Structure: The Foundation for Winning and Improvement

If I could choose only one style of coaching, what would it be structure or creativity being self? Coached for most of my career? I believe in structure and creativity. But if I had to choose one, I would definitely go with structure because the foundational things that are necessary to be, not only am I event, but with any event, or any sport or any game that you play structure, really? Gives you the foundational things that will help you be more creative down the road. So, I will take the structural over anything and providing me with the best opportunity to win and to improve. So, creativity, will talk to you down the road.

If I had to choose one style of coaching, I would go with structure because it provides the foundational things needed for any event or sport. The structure will give me the best opportunity to win and improve.

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If I had to choose only one style of coaching between structure and creativity, I would go with structure. Throughout my career, I have believed in the importance of both structure and creativity. However, if I had to prioritize one, structure would be my choice. It provides the necessary foundation for success, not only in my own endeavors but in any sport or game. Structure lays the groundwork that allows for creativity to flourish later on. By prioritizing structure, I am provided with the best opportunity to win and improve. While creativity is valuable, it can be explored and developed further down the road.

How do you motivate your athletes when they don't think things are going well in training leading up to races, but really, they are?

Don't Overthink Practice: Track Meets Are the Real Test

Well, my athletes. Don't think things are going well in practice. Yet? I know that they're prepared. Pretty much is why I tell my athletes. That every track meet is a quiz. It's not the final test. So I'm not really concerned whether they think that their things are going well in practice, all we're going to do is quiz each other. See what's going to happen? Make sure that they're in the place that I need for them to be in and then personally, as we Going down the road then we will make the adjustments and that's all track. Meets our to me, whether if unless it's the Olympics or the World Championships or NCAA championships or state championships, none of that stuff really matters during regular track meets as long as we are working towards getting better. So I will never tell them anything to try to motivate them to be better in a regular track meet. If it's a major championship then. Then that would be a different story, but on a daily basis, track meets are made to learn from and then major championships are meant to gain metals.

Track meets are a quiz and should be used to learn from. Major championships are meant to gain metals.

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When my athletes don't think things are going well in practice, but I know they are prepared, I remind them that every track meet is like a quiz, not the final test. I reassure them that their performance in practice doesn't necessarily reflect their performance in races. The focus is on quizzing each other and seeing what happens.

I don't worry too much about their perception of practice because regular track meets are opportunities for us to work towards improvement. Unless it's a significant championship like the Olympics or World Championships, the outcome of regular track meets doesn't hold much weight. We use them as learning experiences and make adjustments as we go along.

My approach to motivation differs for major championships, where the stakes are higher. But for daily track meets, the goal is to learn and grow. I don't try to artificially motivate them for these events. Instead, we use them as stepping stones towards progress.

Do you have any pointers or advice on how to help an athlete that’s a better performer in practice than in competition settings?

Unleashing the Athlete: Overcoming Performance Gap in Competition

Do I have any pointers or advice on how to help an athlete? That's a better performing practice. Then in competition setting I think that comes from the coaches because I don't want my athletes waiting practice. You can never win practice. And I'm not sure if I'm if this is actually going to answer the question. But I've seen athletes all competing in practice and get scared when I get to the regular competitions. So in practice scenarios, I think we need to just chime down practice sessions for the athletes, so they're not competing. Being in practice again see one another or guess themselves. So that when they get to attract mate, that adrenaline that comes into play, they have a better understanding of how to compete during the competitions as opposed to having to compete in practice every day and winning those practices and making themselves feel good in practice as opposed to feeling good when it comes. When push comes to shove and a track meet or or major competition.

Coach athletes in practice by keeping the sessions light and easy to help them develop better competition skills for when it comes to a major event.

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To help an athlete who performs better in practice than in competition settings, I believe it's important for coaches to play a role. It's not ideal for athletes to only excel in practice because you can't win practice. Sometimes athletes may feel confident and perform well in practice, but struggle with fear or nerves during actual competitions.

To address this, coaches can create a practice environment where athletes are not constantly competing against each other or putting excessive pressure on themselves. By dialing down the competitive nature of practice sessions, athletes can focus on honing their skills and gaining a better understanding of how to perform during competitions.

This approach allows athletes to become more familiar with the adrenaline and pressure that comes with real competitions. It helps them develop the ability to compete effectively when it truly matters, rather than solely relying on winning practice sessions to feel good about their performance.

Overall, coaches can help athletes bridge the gap between practice and competition by creating a supportive and focused training environment that prepares them mentally and emotionally for the challenges of real competitions.

Athlete coachability: The key is desire and openness

What makes an athlete coachable? I think it's desire, that the athlete shows desire. And it really doesn't matter what their athleticism is, if they have the desire to do that and the willingness to learn. I think some of the other athletes said, you know, be a student of your event. Me being self coached, I never had the trust in coaches to take me to that level because I didn't think they understood what it took for me to wake up in the morning and be prepared at the highest level already. But for me as a coach now looking at kids, it's very tough to have a kid that has so much talent and is not coachable. They just want to come out and do it their way, but their way is not conducive to being better. So for me, a coachable athlete is somebody who's going to come out raw with open arms and says, let's see how great we're going to be. And that makes things very simple. It's rare to have that athlete to come out and be humble and be passionate and want to wake up in the morning on their own and to call you as the coach and say, coach, you ready to go? Those are the kids that are very coachable and ready to go to show the world how amazing they're going to be.

To be coachable, an athlete should have a desire to learn and put in the effort to improve. They should be humble and passionate, open to trying new things, and willing to reach out to their coach with questions or ideas.

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What makes an athlete coachable? In my opinion, it's all about desire. Regardless of their natural athleticism, if an athlete has the desire and willingness to learn, they become coachable. Being a student of their event is also important, as it shows a commitment to continuous improvement.

As a self-coached athlete, I didn't trust coaches to take me to the highest level because I believed they didn't understand the level of dedication and preparation required for me to excel. However, as a coach now, I find it challenging to work with talented athletes who are not open to coaching. They may want to do things their own way, but that approach doesn't lead to improvement.

A coachable athlete is someone who approaches training with open arms, ready to see how great they can become. They are humble, passionate, and motivated to wake up in the morning and reach out to their coach, eager to start the day. These are the athletes who are truly coachable and ready to showcase their incredible potential to the world.

Other than talent, if you could choose 1 trait for all your athletes to have, what would it be?

Unleashing Athletes: The Power of Being Student of the Sport

Other than Talent. If you could choose one trait for all of your athletes to have, what would it be? It would be for me, it would be the fact that they would be better students to study what their event actually is, where it came from, you know, what it takes to actually do the event, understand of the people who have come before them of who've done it, understand some of their work ethics and some of the things that they were able to accomplish and why I think that takes a lot of the dynamic away, I hate to say this. Away from the coach and puts more honest on the athlete themselves to be a more better participate in the event itself. And then also helping their coach to be able to be even more coachable. If they are a better student to understand the gravity of what it takes to do, each individual of it first. And then when they bring that kind of information and being and becoming more informative, they bring that that that information to the table. Table and training sessions, every day, every night, and then going home and Reese being a better student of what it's going to take to get better everyday.

The trait I would choose for my athletes to have is the ability to be better students of their event, understanding its history and how to get better every day.

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If I could choose one trait for all of my athletes to have, other than talent, it would be the dedication to being better students of their respective events. This means studying and understanding the history of their event, the requirements to excel in it, and learning from the achievements and work ethics of those who came before them. By having this knowledge, athletes can take more ownership of their training and performance, relieving some of the reliance on the coach. It also allows them to be more coachable, as they bring valuable insights and information to training sessions. Being better students of their events and continuously seeking to improve will contribute to their growth and progress as athletes.

Kenny Harrison answers your Track & Field questions. See all the advice Kenny Harrison has and get answers to your own Track & Field questions.

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Kenny Harrison is a retired triple jumper, winning gold at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and 1991 World Championships, and setting two American records at the Atlanta Olympics. He was a three-time NCAA Champion at Kansas State University, where he was All-American 11 times and the first track & field athlete to enter the school's Athletic Hall of Fame. He was a four-time USA Champion (1990-91, 1996-97) and won the triple jump at the 1990 Goodwill Games and a silver medal at the 1987 World University Games. He was inducted into the USATF Hall of Fame in 2013 and later formed Signature Athletics, which helps elite athletes with speed and agility training. His 18.09m jump in Atlanta is still an Olympic record and third best all-time.