For distance runners, summer is a time for foundation work. During these lazy months, runners can train with no interruptions. Summer is also a great time for coaches to reevaluate and plan for the upcoming year.
Rest and Recharge
The first and most important thing runners and coaches must do is take some time away from each other. During this time, I believe (strongly) that a coach can still work on their craft in the form of evaluating what has happened and planning what will happen. However, coaches and athletes need a couple weeks away from each other. This two week period is a great time for athletes to explore some easy running on their own or with people they may not see during the school year. During this time, coaches should spend time away from their team. Coaches and athletes are together almost a full 52 weeks. Removing one's self from that group for a couple weeks will give anyone a healthy perspective.
Plan, Plan, Plan
A coach that has planned out the season of meets and workouts will have more success. Coaches should start with a plan to help their athletes grow as young men and women. Every practice, camp, social media post, meet, etc. needs to fit in with this plan. When a team has a group mission, a desire to improve is palpable every day. Once a coach has this plan set, they can use their time in June to plan out your summer workouts and even fall workouts for more experienced teams. Workouts and meets should be a loose plan and coaches should be ready to change and adapt constantly. The plan helps a coach and their team stay on task each day.
Be Present
After a sufficient amount of time away from the team, be present. Very few high school teams will function well without regular practice. Make sure you (or assistants) are available throughout the summer. If a team cannot physically be together, find a way to communicate with them often. Running logs, Zoom/Google Meet, etc. can be a great way to keep things moving.
Go to Camp
Go away with your team for a bit. A few days to a week is sufficient. There are many camps the kids can attend and quite a few of them would bring in a coach as extra help for the camp. Camp offers a way for athletes to bond, train and become a team. If camp is difficult for some to afford, raise money. This week long event will change your team.
Build Leadership
Leadership is important. Once seniors graduate, there is often a void. As a coach, part of your job is filling that void with new leaders. For some teams, leadership happens quickly; for most teams, a period of adjustment is necessary. Check out this article for some ideas.
Have Fun
The summer is a time for fun. Do not make practice overly serious and allow your team to be kids from time to time. Build in fun events or have a few practices in different locations. Once a summer, we run practice on the boardwalk in Spring Lake.
Train for the 5k
Keep in my mind that your athletes are preparing to race a 5k. Train them in the right ways. Aerobic fitness takes time. Work on it. Athletes need to be fast. Work on it. Athletes need to run a 5k over hills. Run on hills. Plan training for the race they are going to run. They are not racing the mile nor are they racing a marathon. Think about what that means.
You have 5 months once July begins.
Train...Train a lot
The summer is for training. The real fun is training hard as a team. These hot months are challenging for athletes. Their ability to train and suffer together is crucial to the success of the team. Set training to build slowly while still building fitness. Workouts should happen but should be appropriate for the time period.
My rules for summer training:
Build mileage properly
Work on aerobic running constantly and at varying paces
Work on some speed with strides and 200s
Run on hills over and over and over again
Love it!