🏃‍♀️ Can you actually TEACH speed?

What’s up y’all? Cici here.

Welcome back to More Her Speed, a weekly no-BS newsletter all about women in coaching.

Don’t Believe Everything You Hear

Last week I met a ton of new people.

Let me explain:

Here at More Her Speed (as I’m sure you’ve heard), we finally launched our membership.

It’s a community of women coaches committed to helping each other learn and collaborate utilizing resources we put together. We also have monthly webinars with top coaches from around the industry, AND in-person conferences (details to come).

After a week of launch, I hosted our welcome webinar. So many coaches came together and introduced themselves. It was awesome hearing where everyone is from and what they want to get out of the membership.

It really is starting to feel like a COMMUNITY.But, as we put together the resources for the membership (updated weekly, by the way), and we were brainstorming what coaches should be doing, I started to think a lot about what coaches shouldn’t be doing.

So, here’s some free game. A few misconceptions about speed that I hear thrown around that need to END NOW:

1. You can’t teach speed: While there are some unmodifiable characteristics like height, leg length, genetic makeup: ANYone can get faster at any age with the right system of assessment and targeted training.

1. You don’t have enough time to teach speed: This is common- ESPECIALLY in-season. However, minimal effective dosages of speed can be achieved in short time frames of 5-15 minutes as a part of a warmup. You may not have time for technical changes — but focus can be on stimulus (amount of running, low & high speeds)

Show Me Your Friends, I’ll Show You Your Future

We all know how strong I feel about finding and creating a solid team.

I recently dove into an amazing new book called Legacy, by James Kerr.

This book highlights the success of the New Zealand All Blacks Rugby Team, and what sets them so far apart.

They have COMPLETELY taken over the men’s rugby world in the last 100 years:

• 3 World Cup titles

• NO national team has a winning record against them.

But, their success can be traced back beyond just hard work and dedication:

“Don’t be too big to do the small things.”

There are 15 principles and lessons that the book outlines, each one focused around personal responsibility, culture, and overall purpose.

Something I always tell other coaches is that most people can coach speed, and most people can train speed.

But you can’t teach someone (coach or athlete) to be a good person.

The ability to deliver authenticity and keep it real will open doors that reach far beyond sports or 9-5’s.

This is unlike other business leadership books I’ve read. It perfectly applies the rules of rugby to the business setting; helping the reader create a culture and environment that contributes to their goals.

Kerr says “It is the identity of the team that matters — not so much what the All Blacks do, but who they are, what they stand for, and why they exist.”

Quote of the Week

“I always believe I can beat the best, achieve the best. I always see myself in the top position.”

-Serena Williams

Picture where you want to be. Now, what are you doing TODAY to get there?

Appreciate y’all,

Cici