Talking to the Team: Inspired Track & Field Coaching

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;
1995 inductee in the Colorado State Athletics Hall of Fame

In Talking to the Team: Inspired Track and Field Coaching, Coach Del Hessel reaches into his personal archives and memories over a long storied career as an athlete and a coach, and has documented a wonderful telling of instances where a coach's conversation with an athlete(s) has resulted in opening the door to additional insight, communication and in many cases, an athlete's breakthrough. Coach Hessel is hoping that this book will fuel in many coaches a desire to learn from those who have gone before them; Hessel he does so in a way that leaves the reader with a really keen understanding of the unbelievable backstories of some very memorable events who were completely or in part shaped by a coach 'talking to the team'.

Hessel calls on a rich supporting cast of additional coaches and athletes, to share additional insights on observations, on what works, on what does not, where coaches can offer assistance, how parents can best support their athletes, things coaches can do to enrich the athlete experience and more!

There are seven chapters in this book;Motivating the Team, A Training Philosophy, Think About This, Championship Coaches’ Answers, Survey Yourself, Great Advice and The Bulletin Board

Each chapter unfolds a different silo of information and cumulatively, they provide a rich weaving of unbelievable stories, data and observations that will equip an aspiring coach with advice and time-tested recommendations. This book will also prove valuable for any seasoned coach as they will undoubtedly read things they knew but hadn’t fully formed a thought on and as they read through some of the opportunities to move your team ahead and some of the obstacles that every coach can encounter. Coach Hessel had a yearning to share what worked so well for him and by enlisting several other veteran coaches and a college team to provide their own feedback and observations, Hessel has inadvertently created a ‘blueprint’ for creating a winning program while pointing out the pitfalls and program-killing distractions that you may encounter along the way!

59 pages. 2024.