'Feed the Cats' : Prioritizing Speed

with Tony Holler,
Plainfield North High School (IL) Head Boys Track & Field Coach;
2015 ITCCCA Hall of Fame Inductee;
over 35 years of coaching experience at the high school level

Plainfield North High School track & field coach Tony Holler has revolutionized sprint training forever thanks to his 'Feed the Cats' training program. Countless track & field programs across the nation have begun to adopt the 'Feed the Cats' system and have quickly seen an immediate impact on their results.

In this video, Coach Holler zeroes in on what it takes to build speed on the track. You'll walk away with an understanding of what makes athletes faster, as well as the best mechanics to adopt for faster times.

What Makes Athletes Fast

Holler's clinic presentation starts with his philosophy regarding speed, and how to train to improve speed. He also explains that these concepts don't only apply to track coaches, but to football coaches as well.

Next, Holler explains that through experience as an athlete, and trial and error as a coach, he learned that less is actually more for speed athletes. For the last 20 years, Coach Holler has implemented a system for training speed in which athletes sprint as fast as possible, as often as possible, while staying as fresh as possible. He covers:

• The common pitfalls most coaches cannot avoid when training for speed.
• Avoiding injuries and burnout.
• Why long, grueling conditioning sessions are like poison for speed development.

Correcting Mechanics

Coach Holler spends time giving an overview of sprint mechanics. You'll learn proper sprint mechanics that make athletes more efficient when they run, as well as how to teach and drill those mechanics. Additionally, Holler explains that the selection of drills is not nearly as important as how they are done.

This presentation of speed development from Coach Holler is sure to give you a blueprint for building speed in your own athletes! His theories make for a comprehensive program that is designed to get your athletes faster, while keeping them happy and healthy!

58 minutes. 2020.