Coaching Every Event in Track and Field

by Del Hessel,
Colorado State University Head Track & Field Coach (1970 to 1976, 1999 to 2006);
Colorado State University Head Coach Cross Country Coach (1996 to 2006);
Colorado State University Assistant Coach Track and Field Coach (1996 to 1999);
2024 Colorado Running Hall of Fame inductee;
was also a US Olympic Training Center Coach;
first coach in Division I history to coach three track and field programs and take each to the NCAA championships;
as an athlete (at Colorado State) Del Hessel was ranked as one of the nation's Top 10 800 meter runners;
competed in the NCAA championships, the USA championships, and the US Olympic trials;
received the "Nye" award as the most Outstanding Athlete at Colorado State his senior year;
1995 inductee in the Colorado State Athletics Hall of Fame

Coach Hessel coached in the high school ranks for five years before starting a remarkable college coaching career. He has an outstanding grasp of all of the track and field events and under his leadership, his program produced over 90 NCAA All-American in a wide variety of events. It is his philosophy that the head coach should be able to coach all of the track and field events with accuracy and energy. Coach Hessel has spoken at coaches clinics in nearly every state in the union covering nearly all events. He has coached track and field in the Division 1 ranks for nearly 40 years in three different conferences and been voted "Conference Coach of the Year" 16 times.

Beside his head coaching duties, Hessel served as president of the coaches cross-country association, was the head coach for the US Olympic Sports Festival southern team held at the Air Force Academy, served on the Olympic development staff for the middle distance events for 10 years, was on the World Cup staff and the USA vs Great Britain staff, and, has given numerous lectures on training at the US Olympic training center in California. While at Colorado State, he was the first coach in the conference to break BYU's long time stranglehold on the conference title for both men and women.

Hessel's motivation to put this book together was driven by his own experiences and conversations with other coaches, and, by never seeing a book like this. Hessel discovered through the years that many coaches do not possess a basic understanding of every event and as importantly, do not possess the insights of what may go wrong and how to correct.

The description of each event and the detailing of common errors to look for will help coaches help their athletes as they look to improve and grow. Hessel's hope is that every track and field coach gets a copy and puts it in their travel bag as a reference, and, that through the aid of the information in this book, every athlete in track and field is guided by a more confident, competent coach!

33 pages. 2021.