Coach Education Resources
Why the Standout Junior Often Isn't
The junior who dominates is often just older or bigger, not more talented. How relative age and maturity fool us, and what to do instead.
Lactate isn't the Problem
Blood lactate is gone within an hour of easing off. The soreness doesn't peak until a day or two later. They're two different things on two different clocks, and lactate causes neither, so here's what the burn and the ache actually are, and what genuinely helps.
Periodised to Peak Peformance
At the 2026 Commonwealth Games, athletes who reached 99% of their season best won a medal 57% of the time. Below that line, only 32% did. Here's what separated the medallists, and the target any coach can aim for, at any level or event.
Coaching Female Athletes Webinar with Dr. Rachel Harris
Catch up on the August 2026 Performance Townhall, hosted by Dr. Rachel Harris exploring the health and performance considerations unique to coaching female athletes.
The Reserve Behind the Kick
Two milers can run the same time off completely different engines, one built on a big base, the other on a fast finish. Anaerobic speed reserve is the number that tells them apart, and it flips the training depending on which one you've got.
Same Engine, Different Miler
VO2max gets the attention, but it's rarely what separates milers. The engine, how economically you run, and how much you've got left at the bell each pull their weight, and knowing which one is holding an athlete back is the difference between guessing and coaching.
What Your Tendon Actually Goes Through
Eccentrics for the Achilles, isometrics for the pain: the clinic argues about contraction type as if the tendon can read the label. It can't. A look at what tendons actually respond to, and how to load them.
Eight Hours Is the Floor: Sleep and the Athlete
You can periodise the training, weigh the food and ice the joints, and still leave the biggest recovery tool of the week switched off. What the research says a bad night actually costs an athlete.
From Carbon to Track
Everyone knows a stiffer running blade returns more energy. It has never actually been established. What the evidence can and can't tell a coach.
Mental Adjustment After In-Race Crisis Events
High-performance racing is often decided not only by physiology or tactics, but by how athletes respond to unexpected disruption. In middle- and long-distance track events, in-race crisis moments such as tripping, contact, falls, or sudden loss of rhythm can occur without warning. These incidents create an immediate psychological challenge: the athlete must assess physical status, regulate emotion, restore focus, and make tactical decisions within seconds while the race continues.
Fast Isn’t Enough: Rethinking Pole Vault
Neither step length nor step velocity differed significantly between successful and failed attempts. What did differ was step frequency on the pole-carrying leg, which was significantly higher on the failures.
The athletes were not slower on their unsuccessful attempts. They were travelling at equivalent velocity. What had changed was the manner in which that velocity was produced.
Perimenopause, Menopause, and Performance
Sport and exercise physician Dr Louise Tulloh explores how perimenopause and menopause can affect training, recovery, health and performance in athletics. Coaches will gain a clearer understanding of hormonal transition, common symptoms, musculoskeletal considerations, fatigue, recovery needs and when to encourage athletes, coaches or officials to seek medical support.
Mindset of a Champion
Watch this special coaching resource with Nicola Olyslagers as she shares how athletes can build confidence, manage pressure, reframe setbacks and stay connected to the process. A valuable session for coaches and athletes looking to develop the mental skills that support long term performance in track and field.
Physique in Athletes
Recovery is not separate from training, it is what allows training to work. The Four R’s of Recovery provide a simple framework for athletes to support adaptation and performance: Refuel, Repair, Rehydrate and Rest. Before chasing extra recovery tools, athletes should first focus on the basics they can repeat consistently.
Four R’s for Recovery Framework
Recovery is not separate from training, it is what allows training to work. The Four R’s of Recovery provide a simple framework for athletes to support adaptation and performance: Refuel, Repair, Rehydrate and Rest. Before chasing extra recovery tools, athletes should first focus on the basics they can repeat consistently.
Beyond Mental Toughness: Understanding Mental Health in Elite Athletes
Elite athletes can perform well while quietly struggling. This resource outlines the coach’s role in recognising signs of mental health concern, creating safer environments, and connecting athletes with appropriate support.
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.