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Welcome back fellow coaches and athletes,
Today is another X-Factor day in our program.
As you've most likely read in the past couple of weeks, X-Factor is all about building athleticism beyond simply running at practice on a daily basis.
Tony Holler a coach from Illinois first came up with the idea and has since advertised his program "Feed the Cats" to thousands of coaches from around the country/world.
Here is a older video that gives a good visual representation of what he refers to as an "X-Factor" day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2DMP74EJqM
Most of the movements/drills/activities are very worth while and should be used in most/all track and field programs. There are a few I don't personally use, but that doesn't mean all of them couldn't be used in a different program.
The one thing you'll notice if you watch through the entirety of the video is that the movements he shows are all about foundational movements and strength, as well as, force absorption and overall body control.
In a broad sense, this is what X-Factor is all about.
There's agility focuses.
There's explosive focuses.
There's strength focuses.
No longer are individuals following the "old school" model of running kids until they puke. Instead, coaches are helping kids develop into all-around athletes that know how to run while also possessing the strength and explosive ability to be a great sprinter.
Student athletes need to be so much more than ¨runners¨ in today's athletic community if they hope to beat the incredible talent(s) out there.
By researching "Feed the Cats" or "X-Factor" online and/or on social media you will find a great deal of information and wonderful visuals.
I just retweeted a great visual workout I found yesterday on Twitter (you should check it out - @jumps4sp).
As always, I'd love to hear from you if you have any questions.
Better yet, I'd love to have a collaborative discussion with any/all of you if interested!
I have been working with an product called "Zoom" lately to communicate with my students. If you'd like, we could set up a visual discussion using Zoom to have connect even more during this trying time.
Please let me know if you are interested!
Have a great night!
Coach Ewing
longandtriple3@gmail.com