Latest / The Gill Athletics Track and Field Connections Podcast / #8: Gill1918 presents Gary Koehring "Bridging the Gap Between Coaching Football & Track"

Transcript

#8: Gill1918 presents Gary Koehring "Bridging the Gap Between Coaching Football & Track" · The Gill Athletics Track and Field Connections Podcast

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  Welcome to the Gill 1918 Project, a podcast series by
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  coaches, for coaches powered by Gill Athletics.
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  Think of this as the Ted Talks of track and field coaching.
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  Short, insightful, and packed with valuable strategies to help
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  you grow as a coach. We'll bring in the once a year
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  track clinic straight to your ears daily.
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  Interested in creating your own episode?
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  Everyone's welcome to participate.
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  Check out the show notes below For more information.
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  Now let's get into today's topic.
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  Hi everyone, my name is Gary Coring and I am here today to
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  talk to you about track to play, bridging the gap between
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  football and track and field coaching.
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  So a little bit about myself. I'm the head boys track and
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  field coach at Hutchinson High School in Hutchinson, MN.
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  This is my first year as the head boys track coach.
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  The previous three years I've been an assistant coach working
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  with throws and then most recently working with the
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  sprints, and I'm also a assistant varsity football coach
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  as well. So having the opportunity to
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  coach both sports, I can see the value in both of them and how
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  they benefit one another, not only for the athletes but as
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  further coaches as well. So a little bit about myself, I
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  originally grew up in Illinois and went to Canlan High School,
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  home of Don BB and PJ Flex. We have a strong track and field
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  history as well as a strong football program.
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  Had a lot of success in football.
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  I just did track to help myself in football, so I was probably
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  one of the worst track athletes that you would have ever saw.
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  And I think my total varsity points scored was 1/4 of a
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  point. So I was on a relay team that
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  scored one point at a varsity meet and my whole entire career.
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  So my team though as a senior we took second place in state.
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  I was the 8th alternate on the four by one team.
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  I think the coach just felt bad for me and I was buddies with
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  all of our really good track athletes, so I got to go and be
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  a part of that and be a part of the successful team.
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  So that was really cool opportunity and then I was
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  fortunate enough to get a scholarship to play football at
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  Saint Cloud State University in St.
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  Cloud, MN. That's kind of how I made my
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  way. N had a really good time, ended
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  up starting all four years and was a team captain and really
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  enjoyed my time at Saint Cloud State.
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  After I got done playing did a couple jobs here and there and
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  then went back and became a graduate assistant coach working
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  with the football team as well as doing some strength and
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  conditioning stuff. So did that for a little under a
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  year and realized that I thought I wanted to make some money so
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  used my degree in construction management, worked as a project
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  manager for a construction company for three years.
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  But I just was not feeling fulfilled in that position.
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  You know, I was making money hand over fist over $100,000 as
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  a 24 year old, but I something was missing and what that was,
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  was the competition, it was the sport.
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  It was everything that I did as a kid that was just missing from
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  my life. So decided to take a leap of
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  faith, move back to Minnesota where I could use my master's
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  degree. I got and started teaching right
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  away here in Hutchinson. So became an assistant football
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  coach as well as track coach. Fortunate enough we had a lot of
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  success my first three years here as a football coach.
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  We we got first place in state, we got second the next year and
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  we won the state title again. So the four years coaching here,
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  we've been at the state championship game three years, 2
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  state titles and one state runner up.
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  So we've had a lot of success with our program.
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  And then on the trackside last year we had a sprinter that I
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  worked with my first year working with the sprints that
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  set 2 school record, set the state record and won the state
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  meter, state 200 meter dash set in a with a time of 2168.
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  Now he's running out South Dakota State University.
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  So have had a lot of success in my young coaching career.
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  That does not make me a good coach.
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  That just means I've gotten very lucky.
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  So as we all know, we're only as good as the athletes that we
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  have. I know we like to think we can
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  make them all better in which we do and we try, but you got to
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  get lucky every once in awhile. So that is part of that.
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  But yeah, I just want to talk to you guys about how football and
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  track, how they can help both each other's program, but also
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  you as a coach. The obvious things with the
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  athletes is the speed, the power, the explosiveness that is
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  going to come from both sports. So in football, you need all of
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  those traits to be successful, no matter the position, whether
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  you're running back, defensive lineman, linebacker, DB, wide
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  receiver, even a quarterback. If you are fast, if you are
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  powerful, if you're explosive, you were going to be dynamic on
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  the field. And yes, that stuff's developed
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  in the weight room. I'm a big weight room guy.
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  That is why I see a lot of value in track and field as well,
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  because I was one of those work, work, work, weight room, weight
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  room, rate, room, lift, lift, lift.
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  That's going to bring me success where there's also another part
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  of that and that's that speed aspect, which I wish I would
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  have developed more in my career.
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  So that's going to help you in the field and you could develop
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  that in track. So I think an ideal world is
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  used that winter time to put on that mass, stay in the weight
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  room, get big and then when the springtime comes, you come out
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  for track. That's where we work on your
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  flexibility, your mobility, your speed, your explosiveness, and
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  then we kind of make that a whole well-rounded athlete.
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  Hit the summertime, combine those two in the fall, you're
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  ready to go to have a successful football season.
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  The other aspect with track, why I think it really benefits our
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  football athletes and vice versa, is they get the
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  opportunity to compete. So I know when our weight room,
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  we are always looking for ways to get our kids to to compete,
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  have little competitions, do stuff.
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  But there's nothing like lining up next to somebody with a
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  different uniform on and going at it with them.
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  Whether you're in the starting blocks for 100 meter dash,
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  whether they just threw their personal best in the shop put
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  now you're going to go through your personal best in the shop,
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  but or obviously in the football field when you're going head to
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  head against each other, that competition is what's going to
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  help our athletes be successful. So those are just two ways that
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  these two sports can benefit each other.
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  The other thing is injury prevention.
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  So when you're sprinting, when you're jumping, when you're
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  running, that's only going to help the lower body strengthen
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  our ligaments, our tendons, our muscles.
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  So when we come to the fall, we shouldn't have to worry about so
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  many soft tissue injuries, whether it's a pulled hemi, a
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  quad, a calf, whatever it might be, because our body's been
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  used, used to that stimulus being at full speed, being at
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  Max velocity, not just lift and lift and lift and never
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  sprinting. Now all of a sudden the fall
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  comes and you got to Sprint and your body's like what is going
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  on? It doesn't know what to do when
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  something breaks. So being able to get your body
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  ready to go for competition, that is another great thing for
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  track how that benefits football and vice versa.
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  And then last part, which is the most important part is teamwork.
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  Kids being kids, kids hanging out with each other, developing
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  those relationships, being friends.
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  Track is much more laid back than football.
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  So they have the opportunity to slow down a little bit, to talk
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  with one another, to hang out, to develop those close knit
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  relationships. So when you get to the fall and
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  it's 11 on 11, it's third and one and we got to make this
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  stop. They know that they have each
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  other's back because they've developing, developing those
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  relationships from being kids. That's why I strengthened during
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  track and field. So that's one nice thing I
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  really like about that for athletes.
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  Now, the benefits for the coaches.
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  For us as coaches, there's a lot of similarities between coaching
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  football and coaching track. Some that you don't necessarily
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  think about, but it is pretty prevalent and it works the same
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  part of the brain and it kind of fills that void that we lose in
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  the fall from game plan and from watching film and all that
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  stuff. Winter hits season out over and
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  we're like, what do we do with all our time track?
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  It kind of help fill that void. One thing I know that we do with
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  our program, and I recommend all all track coaches do, is we do a
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  ton of film breakdown. So anytime my kids are in the
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  starting blocks, I'm filming them.
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  They're getting done. We're watching it right then and
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  there. Any of our throws or jumps,
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  anything like that. I encourage our coaches to film
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  so our athletes can see what they're doing.
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  That is no different than what we do in football, taping our
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  games, taping our practices, breaking it down, watching it
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  with our athletes. It's the exact same thing.
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  Because athletes can't fix what they can't see, what they don't
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  know. And film is going to be only a
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  way you could truly, truly, truly see what they're doing,
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  see what they're doing wrong and all that stuff.
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  Whereas, you know, the naked eye is great, but that film is going
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  to reinforce everything and help you fix stuff right there.
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  So film breakdown and track is just the same as football.
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  And it really, really benefits your program, benefits your
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  athletes. It helps you see how they're
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  moving. And it's only going to elevate
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  you as a coach and your programs.
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  And then when you're making lineups for your track and field
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  meet, I know it, it seems not quite like game planning for an
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  opponent, but it's very similar. You're trying to put these kids
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  in the best spot to be successful.
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  It's no different than, hey, what front are we going to run
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  against this formation so we could be as successful as we
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  could be on Friday night. So when you make your lineups
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  for track and field, you're trying to be like a, will this
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  relay team beat this relay team? Should I put those kids in the
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  open event? And you're just trying to figure
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  out, play a little chess match to see what's going to be the
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  best lineup for your team to be successful, to go win conference
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  championships, to get as many kids, pass the sections into the
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  state meet, whatever it might be.
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  That's a very similar process. And it's really cool as a coach
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  to be able to make that line up and then all of a sudden you
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  start to see it come to fruition.
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  You're like, OK, this is good, we're beating this kid.
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  This relay worked really well and all that stuff.
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  It's just like when you're calling a defense and you're
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  like, this blitz is going to be money on 3rd and 8:00 and all of
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  a sudden it's third and eight. You call the blitz, you get a
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  sack and now they're punting. It's the exact same type of
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  feeling. And it's really, really cool to
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  be able to do that. And it's nice that you get to do
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  that in the spring and in the fall.
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  You kind of fill that void that you miss from coaching football.
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  And then as a football coach, you develop those strong
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  relationships with your athletes.
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  You spend a lot of time together, especially in the
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  summer and then into the fall. And then, like I said, we've
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  been in the state championship game three of the last four
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  years, so you spend a lot of time together.
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  All of a sudden that game ends whenever it might be, and you
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  don't see your athletes anymore. Yes, I'm a teacher in the
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  building, so I do get to see him a little bit, but it's not the
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  same. So being able to pick that up in
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  the spring and start to see your athletes again, start to develop
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  those relationships again, it's only going to be stronger into
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  the summer and into the fall. They're going to be able to
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  trust you more and you know you're going to be able to trust
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  them to increase whatever you want to do on the field.
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  Whether it is, hey, we're going to put in more coverages, we're
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  going to put in these checks, we're going to put in, hey, if
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  they come in this formation, this is going to be our auto,
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  all that stuff. Being able to develop that trust
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  and that relationship, those athletes is only going to help
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  you even more. And then the other thing, you
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  know, there's a lot of competition for athletes now,
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  especially with specialization, social media athletes, things
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  they need to do this, this and this.
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  Coaching both sports is a recruitment tool for you to be
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  able to get athletes into your programs.
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  So football's obviously the one that holds the keys at most
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  schools, especially at our school.
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  So it's, you know, you get those athletes that want to come out
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  for football and then you don't see them again until maybe next
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  fall or whatever. You can be like, hey, this is
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  going to track is going to help you for football.
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  Then you start to get them out for track and then they start to
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  fall in love with track too. And now that only strength
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  strengthens both programs. I like it. 2 examples of
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  programs that have amazing track programs and amazing football
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  programs. One is Batavia, IL right by
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  where I grew up. They just won state a couple
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  years ago and boys track and field and the year before that
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  they won state football. So it's just those two things
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  coincide so well. You get your athletes out and
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  it's only going to help both programs.
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  And then the other thing too is you get to see our athletes
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  move, get to see them move in space, get to see what they're
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  doing right, what they're doing wrong, what you need to work on.
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  And the benefit for what like what I do being a football
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  coach, then I work in the weight room in the winter and then
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  coach track is I could see how they're moving, what we need to
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  work on in the winter. So then we'd be successful in
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  the spring and the spring. If there's anything that we need
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  to tweak, we can adjust that so they get faster, so there is no
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  injuries and we can help them continue to develop as an
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  athlete and we carry them into our summer strength conditioning
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  program in the fall ready to hit the ground running.
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  So being able to coach track in football, I think they go hand
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  in hand and it's just the number one benefit for our athletes is
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  you get them to compete, you get them faster, you get a more
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  explosive. And ultimately, if you're a
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  positive influence on their life, they're going to want to
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  be around you. And what you can do with both
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  these sports is elevate them as a person and as an athlete.
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  And ultimately that's what we want to do.
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  We want to give them a positive experience because will they go
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  professional on this? Chances are unlikely.
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  But when they think back on it, you want to think, man, I you
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  want the athlete to think, man, I did everything I could to be
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  the best that I could be. And I really appreciate my coach
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  for working with me all those seasons to help me be the best
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  person that I could be. So track and football, a lot of
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  people like to debate the topic, but to me it's a no brainer.
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  If you're going to be a a good football player, you should run
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  track in the spring. And if you want to be good at
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  track, I recommend doing football as well because of that
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  toughness, that speed, that explosiveness, that agility,
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  It's only going to translate over.
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  And like I said, I am the head boys track and field coach, but
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  I am a football coach first, track second.
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  But that is a OK because both those sports are so awesome.
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  And the fact that I have an opportunity to impact our
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  athletes and no matter what fashion just makes me happy.
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  So thank you for listening to this talk.
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  If you guys have any questions, feel free to give me a follow.
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  I'm on also some social medias at Coach Koring KOEHRING and
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  feel free to follow us along. Check out our journeys.
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  I like to post a lot of stuff on social media about our program,
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  highlighting what we do. If you guys ever have any
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  questions or just want to talk about football, talk about
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  track, talk about what we do. I'm very passionate about this,
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  very passionate about working with athletes and I just want
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  all programs to be successful. And I just want to see our
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  numbers continue to grow in both sports because kids deserve
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  these opportunities to be kids. Hey gang, Mike Cunningham here.
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  Hey, I hope you enjoyed this episode of the Guild 1918
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  Project series. It's really my mission, my
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  passion to bring you massive amounts of value and I hope this
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  one hit the mark. The Gilt 1918 Project is really
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  dependent on you if for you to build your own episode, to hear
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  your voice, to have your voice heard you have something to say
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  and teach other coaches out there.
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  So please get a hold of me, E-mail, text message, Twitter,
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  smoke signals, get a hold of me and let's help create your
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  episode of the Guild 1918 Project.
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  Hope you enjoy the day, they will see you tomorrow.