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2026 NFHS Track & Field Rule Changes: A Practical Guide for Coaches
Three rules that look like paperwork. One of them could save your athlete’s season — or their life. It was a Tuesday dual meet at Exeter, a few springs back. Not a championship. Not a divisional. A regular-season meet on a cold April afternoon with rusty athletes and hopeful coaches. One of my girls hit…
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The Crucible: Surviving the Mid-Season Grind (Part 2 of 3)
The honeymoon is over. The warm, conversational miles of August are gone. The “first day of school” excitement has faded into the routine of homework and darkness falling a little earlier every day. The leaves in New Hampshire are starting to turn, and so is the mood of the season. We are now in the…
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Forging Iron: Mastering the Pre-Season Grind (Part 1 of 3)
There is a specific smell to late August. It’s a mix of cut grass, humidity, and for a high school cross country coach, a cocktail of anxiety and teen spirit. The first day of practice is the great equalizer. You look out at the group and you see the full spectrum: the varsity veteran who…
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Percy Cerutty’s Stotan Training Method: Beyond Data-Driven Running
Why This Australian Madman Was Right About Everything Grit Over Garmin: The Stotan Training Method A Coaching Essay for High School Distance Runners It’s 1960. Herb Elliott—undefeated in every 1500m and mile race he ever ran—is charging up a 60-foot sand dune in Portsea, Australia. His coach, Percy Cerutty, is nearby, likely shouting something unfiltered…
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Developing the Freshman Runner: A Career-Based Approach
Developing the Freshman Runner: A Career-Based Approach for High School Coaches Every August, a new group of freshmen arrives at practice. Among the natural talents, you inevitably find the “project” athlete: the kid who wants to run distance but currently lacks the coordination, speed, and aerobic capacity to be competitive. In a sport often obsessed…
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