A little of this, a little of that

By Sprints/Hurdles Coach John Wise

I wanted to touch on several topics here, hopefully there is something for everyone …

First of all, we had our annual Intersquad Meet on December 10^th.  It turned out to be a great way to open up our season!  Looking through the results it appears our athletes have done a solid job of training in the fall and if we continue to do our job we can have a successful indoor season.  It was a close competition but the “White” squad won their first ever team title, edging out the “Gold” team 151-137 with the “Black” team in 3^rd and “Gray” alumni in 4^th.  Several meet records were broken and fun was had by all!

We are now on what is considered to be “Winter Break” for the track and field teams.  Our sport is very unusual in that we practice all fall then take about a month off before our first track meet.  Obviously this time isn’t exactly “off” as the athletes are encouraged to train very hard over this time to be ready for the upcoming indoor season.

This time of the year can really make or break the season for an athlete.  All of the coaches can recount numerous times where we’ve had athletes not do what they needed to do over the Winter Break and struggle throughout the indoor season.  Last year our team did a terrific job training during the holidays and the result was sweeping the men’s and women’s indoor MVC titles!

While distance runners are fairly used to running in cold temperatures, sprinters/jumpers/throwers have a tougher time.  Often these athletes are hustling around trying to find an indoor area to train or just toughing it out in the often cold and snowy outdoor conditions.  One of the better stories is of Chris Dickman and Jordan Zerr shoveling off an entire lane at their high school track to do a workout (pictured below).  While it may seem extreme, Chris earned all-American honors last year indoor and Jordan had by far his best year as a Shocker.  Coincidence?

Dickman and Zerr's hard work paid off - this is crazy right?

Changing subjects, last week our coaching staff went to the annual US Track Coaches Association Convention.  This year was in San Antonio (last year was Orlando).  This convention has multiple purposes:  1)  This is where the coaches get together to talk about, and often argue, about rule changes and other things that affect our sport.  How to qualify for the NCAA meet is always a topic and this year was no different.  Just so you know, the two site preliminary we had last year appears to be what we’re going to have for several years down the road.  2) Attend seminars and clinics held by the top track coaches around the county (and sometimes the world).  I always come away learning a little bit and also feeling like we are on the right track and Wichita State.  3) A chance to socialize with our fellow coaches and friends without the pressure of being at a track meet.  Most of our best friends are coaches that we usually only see at meets and it was great hang out and catch up with everyone!  4) Have fun!  Myself, Coach Yost, and Coach Hetzendorf went down the giant water slide at our hotel 20 times!

We are very fired up about the upcoming indoor season at Wichita State!  At the time of writing this blog, we have 23 days until the Herm Wilson Invitational at the Heskett Center!  We’re excited to have a quality field of teams including Tulsa, Oral Roberts, Sam Houston State, and Emporia to compete against.  It should be a great way to start the season!  Go Shockers!!!

Transitioning from athlete to coach

By Nate Thiesfeld, Shocker T&F Graduate Assistant

I started out at WSU as a fresh recruit for Steve Rainbolt. I put in my 5 years (1 red shirt year) as Shocker. Somewhere in the midst of my career as Shocker I decided I wanted to continue to be apart of track and field after I graduated.  Following my career at WSU I could not leave Shocker track and field just yet. I moved on to become a graduate assistant under Coach Bolt.

 To be on the other side things are a little different. My day starts with coming to the office and usually doing any task that the coaches throw my way which can vary from taking inventory to running off practice and everything in between. My first job that welcomed me to the world of coaching was a daunting task. I printed out over 20 state track and field results and identified quality juniors.  Now as I see the recruiting letters coming in, I’m glad all the work was worth something.

Besides office work my main job is for inventory and uniforms. As an athlete I was never fully aware of where our apparel and uniforms came from. I thought there was some magic WSU button we pushed and out popped 400 shirts nicely printed with the WSU logo on them… wrong. To outfit a track team there is a lot of work involved in picking out the correct logos, getting sizes from everyone on the team and so on. I appreciate coach Yost a lot more now that I realize all the work she put in over the last few years on uniforms and apparel.

After I do inventory/uniforms and any other odd job that Rainbolt wants me to accomplish its practice time. Every day I want to jump in with the runners and complete the workout, but usual I am helping time or in the weight room watching the athletes. The second speed endurance our team ran (usually the hard workout of the week) I lost my voice yelling times to the athletes. I am far behind Coach Bolt’s booming voice. I need some vocal lessons from Bolt so one day I can yell OOOOOoooooo for an extended period of time.  Another thing I never thought would be hard is timing athletes. When you have 40 runners running on the track with 2 minute intervals and they are all starting at different times. Yeah to say the least I am still learning how to efficiently time and record all the runs. 

This is the next best thing to being an athlete. I love working with this staff, and so far I couldn’t think of anything else I would want to be doing while I am in grad school. I can not wait for Shocker Track and Field to start, it should be a great year. I am excited to be apart of this team this year!

Coach Yost talks about the upcoming Intersquad Meet .....

By Jumps Coach Heidi Yost

As an alumni and current Assistant Coach of the Wichita State University Track and Field team, I feel it is part of my duty to make sure that the After Shocks team is well represented at the Intersquad Indoor Meet every year.

                      

If you are hearing about the Intersquad Meet for the first time let me give you a brief description. The Intersquad Meet is the brainchild of Assistant Coach John Wise.  He started it four years ago and it can be compared to a football or basketball scrimmage of sorts. Every year the incoming freshmen are drafted to a team (Black, Gold or White) by the captains/coaches of each team. This draft is similar to the NBA/NFL draft and once you are drafted to a team you remain on that team for your career, trades are possible but none have been made as of yet. Once you complete your eligibility for Wichita State University you are automatically a member of the Gray Squad which we have named “The After Shocks” and your eligibility for this team lasts a lifetime. The color and name is quite fitting if you ask me! We think this process is a lot of fun for our athletes and a great opportunity for alumni to meet up again with past teammates or introduce themselves to new member of the great shocker track and field tradition we have. This meet is also a good indicator of how well our team has prepared for the 2010-2011 season and a chance for the alumni to see “if they’ve still got it” whatever “it” may be. Every year the meet is contested on Study Day (the Friday before fall semester finals week starts). Some field events will get started around 2pm and it finishes within a few hours (the schedule will be posted on goshockers.com soon). We have tried to make this meet interesting so there are a few unconventional events, for example the overhead forward medball throw and an 8-10 person 200m relay. What was Coach Wise thinking?

Shocker Track and Field Fans/Spectators…

This is a great event that you are sure to have a great time watching. Our athletes really get into the spirit of it all and are looking forward to the opportunity to compete since they started practice at the beginning of September. The captains/coaches of each team get the opportunity to draft their new team members from a great pool of newcomers next week.

Calling all Alumni…

I am currently trying to get a calling brigade together to start contacting alumni for “The After Shocks.” As I mentioned before this is a great opportunity to meet up with past teammates, to meet some new alumni and get to know some of our current athletes and future After Shocks. I encourage all alumni to at least stop by to support the athletes competing, if you feel like testing your athletic abilities please contact me at hyost@goshockers.com. Remember… this is “just for fun” although… if any of you are like me you might find yourself in the heat of a battle once you’re put in a competitive situation. One more thing… my hopes are that the Intersquad meet is a way to stay connected to the great athletes we’ve had on this team. But that can only happen with your help. I need to get as much contact information as I possibly can on as many Shocker alumni as possible, I would appreciate any help with this process as you can give. Ok… one more thing I would also like to have a more significant social event for the alumni than what we have had in the past… any ideas would be helpful.

I am certainly looking forward to competing alongside the athletes that I coach (although I am sure I will get my butt kicked).  I’m also looking forward to seeing, talking, and getting to know some of my fellow “After Shocks.”

The Intersquad meet will be Friday, December 10^th. Hope to see you there!!!

What's different about Shocker Track & Field?

by John Hetzendorf - Throws Coach

I have been a part of Wichita State Track for quite a while now, but this year feels different….

So what’s different???

First off I think our staff and our athletes are really working hard to make our program better.  Last year was one of the most successful years in Wichita State Track and Field history, we won four of the six MVC titles contested  ( Women’s X-country, Women’s Indoor, Men’s indoor, and Men’s outdoor).  Despite this success our head coach Steve Rainbolt has challenged our staff and our team to take our program to new a level.  Step 1 in this process has been our staff ramping up our recruiting efforts.  For example Coach Wise and myself found ourselves on a 1000 mile recruiting journey, meeting with 8 recruits and discovering towns we never knew existed like Bison and McCracken, Kansas.   Also on the recruiting front I think we may set a record for official visits for the month of November.  Stay tuned we will let you know in a December blog!

Step 2 has been getting our current team better. To do that our staff and our team captains have been trying to get our team to not just train hard, but to train with more focus and discipline.  We have felt like our teams have worked hard in the past, but now we have challenged them to take care of the small details that make the difference between good and great!   So far I feel like the athletes are doing a better job of this, but we still have a long way to go for us to be as good as we want to be.

Another big difference this year are the meets we are hosting.  The first one is the Missouri Valley Conference Cross Country Championships on October 30^th.  The last time we hosted was in 1999.  Our Women’s cross country team has won the last 5 championships, and should be battling for one again this year!!! We are also hosting 6 Track and field meets this year, 3 indoor, and three outdoor. (see  www.goshockers.com for our meet schedule)   For most of my time at Wichita State we have only hosted one meet.  I’m excited that our team gets to compete on our great facilities this year!!! 

Here is a quick update on what the throws’ group has been up to.  The throwers just finished a six week fall training cycle.  We kicked off our next cycle with some testing.  The throws group does the quad test, which is four different tests the overhead shot throw, standing long jump , 30 meter sprint, and 3 double leg hops.  The testing went really well!! It was some of the best testing we have had since I have been at WSU!!  Now we will be focusing more on throwing and our throwing technique.  I am excited for some big throws this season!!

It feels different, but it’s an exciting time to be a part of Shocker track and field!!!

Shocker Cross Country update ...

By Kirk Hunter - Cross Country/Distance

First of all, I would like to say how happy I am to be a part of the Shocker Cross Country and Track Teams!  I have been very impressed with Coach Rainbolt and his staff, and how they have welcomed me as part of the team.  Their vision of track and field is the same that I have envisioned throughout my career, and it is nice to have a group that is looking to work towards the common goal, being the best!

So far I have learned quite a bit about my new co-workers, from Rainbolt’s unique way of coming up with great expressions and/or new words, Wise finding more duties for all of us to do, (recruiting ideas, blogs, etc., etc.), Yost, Hetzendorf and Wilson always there to pitch in when I ask my million questions as the newcomer, and even when Nate and Foley jump in to drive when I ask, even if it is all the way to Missouri!!!  Can’t leave out Reed-speed, my rocket scientist helper.  He has been invaluable.  It will be difficult working without him when he moves on next semester.    With all this help, and the many staff members around the campus who have pitched in to help me, my adjustment was very easy.  All in all, I have to say I am glad to be a Shocker!!

The teams are getting ready for Pre-Nationals this weekend.  I am excited to see what we really got.  I stay pretty low keyed early in the season, but now we are revving up and getting ready for the ‘big’ meets.   I have been happy with how our cross country teams have worked this season, especially since they had to adjust to a new coach so quickly.  They, like our staff, have accepted me into the program, and have literally run with what I have been teaching them.  They work HARD, and we look for that hard work to pay off not only this coming weekend, but also at the upcoming Conference Championships, Regionals, and dare I say, Nationals!

Our women have been consistent, and need to stay that way to meet their objectives.  This team knows what is at stake, and plans on bringing their best to every meet we compete in.  The men had to deal with hit after hit this season.  What impressed me is how they have been able to roll with the punches.  These guys have not laid down; instead, they continue to push forward.  This is nothing less then I expect from my teams, we DO NOT, WILL NOT EVER quit!  Bring on everything you can and in the end if we gave our best that is all we can ask.

Last thing for now, the MVC Conference Championships!   We are HOSTING this meet on October 30, 2010 at the Raft golf course.  We are looking forward to having a large crowd of supporters out their cheering on our men’s and women’s team.  What ever the outcome, I can guarantee you will can have no greater time than painting yourself up as Wu-Shock, coming out to the meet, and hooping and hollering for our teams the entire time they run. We need YOU to become a part of Shocker Cross Country!!!  NOTHING gets a runner going like a good crowd cheering them on.  I will look forward to hopefully seeing a massive crowd of supporters running all over the course come October 30!!!!!

October is a busy time for Shocker Track and Field

By John Wise - Sprints/Hurdles/Multi's

Even though the track and field teams aren't competing until January, the fall is still a very busy and important time for the coaches and athletes at WSU.

For the athletes in the sprint/hurdle/multi group its imperative to have a successful fall training phase to ensure a high level winter and spring track season.  The summer and fall is our "base" to build upon to try and achieve the highest peaks possible at the end of the year.  While we are doing lots of fartleks, hills, and tempo runs, we also have a significant focus on explosive training that involves sprinting, plyometrics, and Olympic lifting.  Building power and explosiveness is something that has to be done year round to see big jumps in performances for sprinters, hurdlers, and multi's.



6am hurdle mobility with the sprint/hurdle/multi's



Next week we will be testing the 30m start, 30m fly, 300m dash, standing long jump, standing triple jump, over back shot put throw, and hang clean.  The athletes are always excited for this testing period to see how they compare to the previous year's results.  This group has been working hard and I'm always fired up to see where we are and what we need to work on to achieve our goals!

Running at "Champion Hill" near Benton, KS

We are only a few weeks from watching our cross country team host the MVC Championships.  Our ladies are looking good to be a serious threat to win their 6th straight MVC title and our men are very motivated to improve on last year's performance even though they've been less than 100% in terms of health.  It should be a great show out at the RAFT Golf Course!

Around the office the main thing we are discussing daily is recruiting. As a staff we meet every Tuesday for a business meeting and every Wednesday for a recruiting meeting.  In the past we've tried to put these two meetings together into one but have felt the emphasis on recruiting gets lost in the shuffle.  We defintely feel like we are more organized and are talking to terrific recruits all around Kansas and the nation.  We've had a few recruits on campus already but October and November will be very busy with multiple recruits at WSU every week.

We usually bring 50-70 recruits to campus every year on "official" visits.  I'd say right now our 6 coaches are talking to about 80 athletes and by the end of the year it will probably be around 150.  Of those 150 we will bring in about 25-30 newcomers every year.  How to fit all those athletes into 12.6 men's scholarships and 18.0 women's scholarships is an even bigger puzzle that maybe I'll talk about when we get closer to the February signing date.

One thing is for sure - there is rarely a dull moment around the track office these days with fall training, recruiting, and as always Coach Rainbolt's quirky leadership style!

Shocker Track & Field starts blog!

Welcome to the new blogging home for Shocker Track & Field!

Our goal is to have at least weekly updates written by the WSU Track & Field staff.  We will provide insight into the comings and goings of all things Shocker T&F!

The cross country season is in full swing while the rest of the team is working hard in the fall conditioning portion of their training.  Coach John Wise will provide the first entry into this blog later this week.

Bookmark this page and check back regularly!