Track and Field Training Program

New York Road Runners’ Track and Field Training Program helps coaches enhance their students’ learning and understanding of the skills needed for track and field.

General Guidelines

The Track and Field Training Program is designed to help coaches participating in the Developmental Track & Field Series. It is made up of 14 Session Cards and 3 Supplementary Session Cards that cover a range of topics necessary for coaching track and field. Use the menu on the right to navigate between sessions. Session 1 and Session 2 should be used at the start of the season. The rest of the sessions can be used either in or out of sequence and are designed to cover the entire track and field season. Each card covers a discrete training session for students; they should be used one at a time.

The Supplementary Session Cards, which touch on stretching, aerobic capacity, and muscular strength and endurance, should be integrated into all training sessions. Muscular strength training is not suggested for students until 5th grade.

Throughout the Session Cards you will see a indicating an activity from A Running Start: The Video Resource for Coaching Youth Runners. Click here to visit the website and watch over 80 useful coaching videos.

Suggested Breakdown of Sessions

It is strongly recommended that each session include the following components, regardless of the Session Card being used:

• Warm-Up and Stretching (5-10 minutes)
• Skill Development (20-30 minutes)
• Elements from Supplementary Session Cards (15-20 minutes)
• Wrap-Up Game (3-5 minutes)
• Cool-Down (3-5 minutes)