Coach Education Resources
Justin Rinaldi’s 800M Coaching Philosophy, Principles, and Practices for Middle-Distance Success
What does it take to coach world class 800 metre runners? Justin Rinaldi shares a clear philosophy built around speed, endurance, race modelling, individualisation and continuous learning. We’ve pulled out five key messages from his presentation for coaches looking to better understand the demands of the 800 metres.
Plyometrics Without Junk Contacts
Plyometric training can be powerful, but more contacts are not always better. This article challenges track and field coaches to move from simply counting contacts to accounting for their purpose, quality and timing. With practical session examples, it shows how to program enough plyometric exposure to drive adaptation while avoiding wasted volume across the week, session and season.
Is Your Attitude Worth Catching? A Coach Self Assessment After National Championships
This post invites coaches to reflect on the environment they create around athletes before, during and after major competitions. Using a simple self assessment, it challenges coaches to look beyond results and consider how their presence, communication and reactions may help athletes feel prepared, supported and ready to compete when the pressure rises.
Talking 400m with Peter Fortune and Nik Hagicostas
In this coaching conversation, Peter Fortune and Nik Hagicostas share their insights on one of athletics’ most demanding events: the 400m. Drawing on decades of experience with elite and developing athletes, they explore speed reserve, race modelling, youth development, recovery, and the patience required to build robust 400m runners.
How Much Energy/Time Do You Save By Following Another Runner?
Watching Cameron Myers lead from the front in the 1500 m at the 2026 Australian Athletics Championships raised an important question for coaches and runners alike: how much harder is it to lead than to sit in behind the pack? This article explores what the research says about drafting, air resistance, perceived effort, pacing, and race tactics, with clear takeaways for athletics and endurance coaches.
RED-S in Athletics: What Coaches Need to Know About Fuel, Health and Performance
In this coach education presentation, Bryce Anderson and Mel Mustapic explore RED-S and what it means for athletics coaches. The session highlights how coaches can better recognise warning signs, normalise fuelling as part of training, and support athletes by connecting them with appropriate professional help.
Relationships and Circles of Influence in Coaching
Tudor Bidder shares practical reflections on the role relationships, trust, boundaries, and influence play in shaping effective coaching environments. Watch the full presentation below for a thoughtful and experience rich discussion on managing the people around high performance athletics.
Disordered Eating, Eating Disorders, and Body Composition - Coach Guidelines
This webinar unpacks how to handle conversations about physique, body image, and disordered eating in athletics with care, clarity, and athlete health as the non negotiable priority. It outlines what good practice looks like for body composition assessment, why it is rarely appropriate for under 18 athletes, and the referral pathways and policy expectations that protect both athletes and coaches.
The Stretch Shortening Cycle in Practice: A Five Stage Guide for Track and Field Coaches
This article explains the stretch shortening cycle and why it matters for sprinting, jumping, and throwing, then we outline a simple five stage progression from capacity and isometrics through to event specific speed and high intensity reactive work, with practical exercise examples for athletics coaches.
Warm-Up Tool For Athletics
A practical warm up can make or break a sprint session. This resource gives coaches a simple, session ready sprint warm up that moves from general to specific, with clear phases, coaching cues, and time budget options.
Para-Athletics High Performance Overview
Explore our new feature on para athletics and the road to Brisbane 2032, with practical case studies from sprint, throws and wheelchair racing from Para Performance Coaching Manager, Andrew Dawes. Coaches will learn how to apply familiar principles to para athletes, solve performance problems in creative ways, and open new pathways for their squad.
Coaching Long Jump
Rewatch Coach Keith Herston’s presentation on coaching the Long Jump here. This page brings together the key ideas, drills and example training structures from our recent long jump coaching webinar. It is designed as a practical reference so you can quickly revisit the big rocks, choose a few drills that fit your group, and adjust your own plans. Use it alongside your existing coaching, not as the only answer, and keep tailoring the ideas to the needs and level of your athletes.
Energy Availability: Fueling Athletes for Health and Performance
Low energy availability happens when an athlete is not eating enough to support both daily life and training. Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport, often called REDS, is the wider set of health and performance problems that can develop when low energy availability continues over time. Understanding the difference helps coaches spot early signs and support athletes before issues become more serious.
Weight Loss Drugs and Coaching
Weight-loss medications such as Ozempic and Mounjaro are becoming increasingly common among runners, from recreational participants to masters athletes. This article helps coaches understand how these drugs work, their potential impact on training and competition, and what to monitor when supporting athletes who use them.
Coaching Athletes with Autism
This week’s presentation with Aspect Australia challenged coaches to rethink inclusion, moving beyond the idea that athletes must adapt to sport, toward the belief that sport must adapt to the athlete. Presenters unpacked the social model of disability, explored the “Just-Right Zone” of performance regulation, and shared practical strategies such as quiet spaces, sensory-aware coaching, and predictable session structures.
Blood Flow Restriction Training for Athletics
What if your athletes could get the benefits of heavy lifting without the heavy loads? Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) training is fast becoming a smart tool for track and field coaches — from sprinters and throwers chasing power, to distance runners managing fatigue, to injured athletes on the comeback trail.
The Coach as Architect and Performer: 12 Behaviours for Success Under Pressure
Cliff Mallett distils a four year AIS study that interviewed 12 elite coaches and eight athletes to reveal what great coaching looks like under pressure. Hear how coaches act as Architects and Sculptors of the training environment and as Performers in competition, with 12 clear behaviours that lift your performance.
Review of Literature: The Use of Weight Training in Long-Term Athlete Development
Weight training is more than just lifting heavy, it plays a vital role in the long-term development of young athletes. This review examined 20 studies published between 2010 and 2023, exploring how structured weight training influences strength, power, performance, and injury prevention in children and adolescents. The evidence is clear: when delivered with proper technique, progressive overload, age-appropriate exercises, and professional supervision, weight training not only builds stronger athletes but also protects them from injury.
Long-Term Development of Sprinters: Part 2
Sprint technique depends not only on correct movement patterns, but also on whether the athlete has the strength and coordination to execute them effectively.
Physical preparation gives athletes the foundation to express speed. It underpins technique, protects against injury, and unlocks sprinting potential. For teenage sprinters, a long-term, well-structured strength and conditioning plan is essential, beginning with general athleticism and becoming more specific as the athlete matures.
Triple Jump Development
Australian Athletics is proud to share the replay of our Development of Triple Jumpers masterclass, held on 13 August 2025 with NCAA coach Keith Herston. This session delivers clear, practical insights for coaches on building long-term pathways for female triple jumpers, with lessons you can apply directly in training.