Fall testing, Bolt plays 58 holes of golf and the Tallgrass Film Festival hits Wichita

Well I haven’t been able to write much recently because I’ve been pretty busy.  October is a very busy but great month for me.  Here’s the halfway recap:

Shocker T&F makes fall transition

I tell people that October is the best month for weather in Wichita and this year has not disappointed.  We haven’t had to go indoor for any practices yet and the forecast continues to look good for the rest of the month.

We have finished our early season conditioning and have moved into the first part of our specific preparation phase.  In the middle we did some testing to see how our athletes are progressing.  Over the years we have done many different tests but have settled on seven in the past decade or so.  I created a scoring chart for each event and we make a “Heptathlon” competition out of it to create some fun and to see how an athlete improves (or occasionally doesn’t) from year to year.

The top scores are usually around 6000 points.  Heptathlete Nikki Larch-Miller broke our all-time record with a score of 6348 while jumper Shazz-Michael Lindo won the men’s competition with 6043 points.  It’s fun to have something that all the event areas (with the exception of throws and distance) can compete and get intense with in the mid-fall time period.

Overall our men had an average improvement of 56 points per person.  We had two guys who went down significantly because of injury or our average would’ve been around +120.  Our women averaged around +150 so they had some great testing results.  Of athletes who had testing in previous years, 26 out of 34 improved.  Of the eight who didn’t improve, injuries were the main reason and a few only went down a few points.

What do the testing results mean?

Testing shows us two things:  1) Where an athlete is strong or weak in specific areas and 2) How well they have prepared for the track season.

What it doesn’t tell us is how good of a season someone will have.  It can give us clues but the real work is still ahead of us in the specific preparation phases and, of course, track meets.

But overall I would say we were pleased with how the fall conditioning period went and are excited about the 2016 season!

What is the rest of the team doing?

The throwers recently completed their own testing that involved some jumping and explosive throwing events.  Coach Hetzendorf does this the first week of practice as well as after Fall Break (which was last week).  Next weekend (October 24) is the annual Throws Pentathlon in which our throwers (and others) can compete in all five throwing events (Shot Put, Discus, Hammer, Javelin and Weight Throw) in a Pentathlon-type scoring competition.  It’s a great chance to see a preview of our throwers – we have some great ones!

Cross Country has been up and down in their last couple of competitions but looks poised to finish strong at the MVC Championships.  They went over to Arkansas and ran really well placing 3^rd (men) and 4^th (women) overall with several very good performances.  This weekend they struggled a bit at the Pre-Nationals in Louisville placing 36^th (women) and 37^th (men) overall in the seeded race of over 40 teams.  We are excited to head to Evansville, Indiana, in two weeks to see how we stack up with the rest of the Valley!

Coach Rainbolt’s crazy golf-a-thon

For the 2^nd year in a row, Coach Rainbolt did a birthday challenge that involved golf and raising money for Shocker T&F.  As he will be turning 58 years old soon, he WALKED 58 holes of golf.  It took 11 hours and he covered over 23 miles!  So he basically did a marathon while playing golf.  Here is a video that was put together about his day.  HERE IS THE VIDEO.

Morning workout video

Another video that was done by one of our decathletes Seth Buck has become pretty popular.  It’s about our early morning Friday workouts we do in the Fall.  Thanks to Seth for putting this together – cool stuff!  HERE IS THE VIDEO.

Recruiting

October is a very busy month in recruiting as it seems we have potential Shockers on campus almost every day of the month.  The early signing period is less than a month away so we are working hard to get kids in on visits.  So far we only have one verbal commitment but we expect to have several more in the coming weeks.  Because of NCAA rules I can’t speak specifically about who we are recruiting or signing until they actually sign so there’s not much more I can say here.  Although I can say I’ve been on the road a few times to talk with lots of coaches and athletes and it’s one of my favorite things to do besides coaching!

This guy turned 41 last week!

Thanks to everyone who wished me a happy birthday or was part of the festivities!  Even though I’m 41 years old I only feel like …. well probably 41.  However, I’ve been told I act younger - not sure if that’s good or bad but I’m going to take it as a compliment. J

Movies!!!

I’ve really been watching a lot of movies lately – and this weekend was the annual Tallgrass Film Festival, so I’ve got that going for me, which is nice.  Here’s a recap:

I was able to see the 1974 sci-fy classic 2001: A Space Odyssey on the big screen about two weeks ago.  I had seen bits pieces of the Stanley Kubrick movie online but never had watched it all.  My initial reaction was mixed.  It looks great and for a movie that was made over 40 years ago, it holds up extremely well in terms on what a realistic portrayal of outer space might be.  It’s just really, really, REALLY slow at times.  I’m glad a saw it, I just probably won’t try to sit through it again.

Ironically enough, the next movie I saw was also about outer space, The Martian.  It stars Matt Damon as a man that gets left behind on Mars and has to figure out how to survive for several years before he can be rescued.  I thought it was a good movie.  It had a good sense of humor and was creative in how Damon’s character fought for his life.  It was a little long but overall I recommend it.  It’s killing it at the box office as well so it’s been a very successful movie.

Next I saw the drug/illegal alien/drama movie called Sicario.  This was the best movie I’ve seen in quite a while.  It stars Emily Blount as a FBI agent that joins a task force led by Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro that is fighting the drugs wars between the US and Mexico.  It’s an intense movie from start to finish and Del Toro is definitely the guy who steals the show.  What I really liked about the movie is that you never really know who the good guys or bad guys are.  And even after the movie you’re left thinking about how you might handle the same situation.  If this is an accurate description of the current state of the drug wars then there is no simple solution that any politician running for president can figure out.

This weekend the Tallgrass Film Festival rolled into town with over 200 movies around the city of Wichita.  This is a great thing for our city and I try to get out and support it as much as possible if I’m in town.  Luckily this weekend I was!

The first movie I saw was called Uncanny and was about the world’s first perfect Artificial Intelligence robot and the way it interacted with a reporter that came to do a story about him and the scientist who created it.  I thought it was a really good movie and an example of how there are so many good movies out there that never see the light of day in terms of commercial success.  The director of the movie was in attendance and answered questions afterwards.  I was amazed to find out it was done for only $200,000 (I guessed $2 million) and filmed in only 12 days.  This is why I often don’t go to see big budget movies that were made for over $100 million.  I wish more people were able to see great small budget movies like this and created more demand for them by mainstream movie theaters.

One of my favorite things at these movie festivals is watching the “shorts”.  Shorts are movies that are generally less than an hour (usually 10-20 minutes).  They will group several shorts together to have a 90 minute to two hour long show.  I won’t go into detail about all of them (I saw 16 short films over two different shows) but there are two that stuck out.  If you can ever find Texting: A Love Story or Larry Gone Demon you will not be disappointed.  It was also cool to see that five of the movies were made in Kansas and one in Wichita.

I also saw a great documentary called Bounce: How the Ball Taught the World to Play.  Basically, it was about how sports (and balls) have evolved and been a common centerpiece through history in teaching all of us to have fun through competition and games.  They did a great job with talking about a lot of different sports and a lot of different points of history.  I imagine this documentary will make its way onto Netflix or something in the not too distant future so check it out if you get a chance!

Next time

My head is spinning at the moment so I don’t know what I will talk about in the next blog.  If it’s in two weeks I am hoping to talk about a great MVC Cross Country meet and how the Bengals are 7-0!

Until then, thanks for reading and Go Shocks!

Training starts to get tough, Bolt hit 285 golf shots, and a pimp inspires us all

Track

This past week we started our next phase of training after our initial conditioning phase we finished last week.  For us it lines up with our annual Fall Break where WSU students get a couple days off around the mid-term time.  We didn’t have a Fall Break at Kent State (where I went to school) so this was new to me when I started working at WSU.  We use it to give the athletes a few days off and hopefully return to practice refreshed and ready for a new level of training.

Taking a few days off is just as important as trying to push yourself to the limit every day.  It’s impossible for coaches to know when an athlete is most susceptible for injury but it’s much more likely to happen if they don’t take a break here and there.  Our athletes want to be ready right NOW but sometimes they (and we) forget it’s most important to have them ready for the championship portion of the schedule in late February and then May (and beyond).

So after a few days off and a day at the golf course supporting Coach Bolt (see section below), we got back at it on Thursday with our first speed endurance workout of the year.  No matter how good of shape you‘re in, nothing can prepare you for the first time your body fills up with lactic acid from long and intense sprints of 100-500 meters.  I can still remember the first time I did 500-300-300-200-200 with 6 minutes rest.  I laid on the track for what seemed like an hour afterwards wondering what truck had just run me over.  I’m sure I went back to the dorm afterwards and fell asleep immediately.  This is what you have to go through to become a good long sprinter.  Luckily, your body begins to adjust to these types of workouts over time and the recovery process isn’t nearly as bad the next few times.  For a good long sprinter (200/400) these workouts are the “bread and butter” of their training.  It’s the most specific work they will get in preparation for those events.

Thursday was also the first day to get a little event work in so if you had stopped by the track it would’ve looked like a 3-ring circus with hurdles, long jump, pole vault, high jump, sprinting, and throwing all going on at the same time.  Even though it probably seems chaotic to the outside viewer, I usually find myself smiling because I know the indoor season isn’t too far away!

Cross Country Pre-Nationals

Coach Hunter took the cross country squad out to Terre Haute, Indiana, for their toughest challenge of the season so far – the Pre-National Invitational.  Run on the same course as this year’s NCAA Championships it brought together over 100 teams, many of which are ranked in the top-25.  Both of our teams were placed into the “Blue” race, which is reserved for the top teams in the meet.  There were around 40-50 teams in the Blue race and our men placed 31st while our women finished 37th.

Coach Hunter was a little disappointed in the overall placing but felt confident afterwards that our team would be ready in two weeks.  He has done a great job getting this group to believe they can achieve at a high level and I’m sure this little hiccup won’t be a major issue when we’re in Carbondale, Illinois, for the MVC Championships.

Bolt’s 57 hole golf-a-thon

Last week I mentioned Coach Rainbolt would be walking 57 holes of golf (he’s turning 57 this year) to try to raise some money for Shocker T&F.  Well he was able to accomplish the feat and it was a very enjoyable day.  Our entire team of 130 athletes made their way out to Willowbend County Club in shifts to be the “gallery” for the event that began at 7:30am and ended around 5:30pm.  It took Bolt 285 shots to play 57 holes and he said he felt a lot better afterwards than he did compared to his crazy 50k and 55k jog-a-thons.  So far we have raised around $8000 for our program and we expect it will eventually be over 10k.  Thank you to everyone who has donated – it will go a long way towards supporting our great Shocker athletes!

Tallgrass Film Festival

Believe it or not Wichita is the home to a great artistic culture.  Besides things like museums and live music, one of the biggest passions for people in this community is movies.  In 2003, the Tallgrass Film Association began the Tallgrass Film Festival with the motto being “stubbornly independent”.  It is much like the famous film festivals you may have heard about like Cannes and Sundance.  There are over 200 films being shown in Wichita this weekend and I always try to get out and see a few of these great shows.

I was able to get out to a couple of films this weekend and my favorite was a collection of short films made by Kansans or films about the state of Kansas.  There isn’t anywhere else you would be able to see such unique and quality cinema except a festival like this.  Thanks Tallgrass!

“H” Movies

This is the eighth of a 24 part series (if I don’t bore you all to death) where I list movies I own by letter (I don’t have any movies that begin with Q, X or Z but I do have some that start with numbers).  I currently own a small collection of 164 movies (and growing most weeks) on DVD.

Most of the movies I own I had previously seen and enjoyed immensely.  Some are movies that I had not seen but was curious about.  Some were gifts from people with bad tastes in movies.

I only have 5 “H” movies but they are all very good so here is the list from best to worst …..

Movie Name (year made, length, MPAA rating, IMDB rating, Box office)

Hustle & Flow (2005, 116 min, R, 7.4, $23.5m) – It’s hard to imagine a movie about a pimp who tries to become a successful rapper is one of my all-time favorite movies – but it is!  Terrance Howard is incredible as Djay, the down on his luck pimp who is desperately trying to earn a legitimate living but can’t quite turn the corner.  One of the most fascinating things about this movie is that it was written and directed by a white guy (Craig Brewer).  This was a low budget movie that was an obvious labor of love for Brewer.  If you haven’t seen it, make sure to find a copy soon.  “Everybody gotta have a dream.”

The Hurt Locker (2008, 131 min, R, 7.6, $49.2m) – Jeremy Renner stars as a Sergeant in the Iraq War who is assigned to a bomb squad and ruffles his fellow mates with his wild ways to disarm bombs.  This movie won all kinds of award including best picture of 2008 and it’s easy to see why.  Brutally honest and seemingly realistic, it will open your eyes as to why people do this sort of job and want to go back again and again even in the most harsh and dangerous situations.  I love this movie and the final scene with Renner marching off the plane will give you goosebumps, not knowing if it’s a good or bad thing.

He Got Game (1998, 136 min, R, 6.9, 21.5m) – This Spike Lee movie stars Denzel Washington as the father of the best high school basketball player in the nation (played by NBA star Ray Allen).  As a young athlete when this came out I was totally engaged in the behind the scenes recruiting as well as the drama of how all this affects a young, talented person.  It’s not a perfect movie but I think it’s one of Spike Lee’s best.

Hard Candy (2005, 104 min, R, 7.2, $7m) – This was one of the early Ellen Page movies that showed her immense talent.  She played a teenager who turns the table on a pedophile in his own home.  I don’t want to give away what happens in this movie because it’s some of the most intense stuff you will see but needless to say any male who watches it will wince while making sure his manhood is still in place.  This is a great little movie that basically only has 2 characters.

Higher Learning (1995, 127 min, R, 6.4, 38.2m) – This was one of John Singleton’s follow ups after his success with Boyz in the Hood.  The main reason I bought this movie was because the lead character, played by Omar Epps, is a college track athlete and how many movies that involve college track are out there?  Not many!  Unfortunately, most of this movie isn’t about track, it’s mostly about racism and how young people are influenced on a college campus.  I feel much of the movie is blown out of proportion but it’s still entertaining nonetheless.

Next week

We are fully back to practice so I’ll report on that as well as talking about our Intersquad Draft that takes place Wednesday night.  I only own two “I” movies and if you can guess them both I will give you a million dollars.

Until then, thanks for reading and Go Shocks!!!