CF could still be in that group if circumstances allowed. Kevin Tyler is as close as you will find (I think?) to Charlie’s method at present, and I that he’s quite good.
Vince is a VERY good coach, but he would tell you that his primary concern is not doing anything to harm is his athletes. Hence is he is very cautious. Not a bad thing, but constricting.
Dennis is a very close interpretation of Loren Seagrave. I think that he is also a very good coach, but Loren was/is better, maybe great.
Other than P-J, I can’t think of anyone in Europe at present Actually I think that Kenth Olsson, who coaches Johan Wissman, seems to have the right idea for the 400m. Janus Iskra, the Polish hurdler coach also seems quite sharp.
There are some others who you likely have never heard of.
This is ridiculous, only a hand full of coaches know CF methods when every sprint coach in North America should start off with a basic CF model to begin with! You know, like a CF high school edition, CF college edition and a CF elite edition. Geez, whats taking so long? Hell, if charlie comes up with a CF high school edition package I would have no problem going to local HS’s around the country and promoting his products; but I digress.
Sff, when I was going to collage (JC) I was under a coach who was selected for the Olympic womens coach so I thought I was in good hands; but I was wrong.
For starters, we pretty much did EVERYTHING that Charlie Francis DOES NOT do and the times I ran were slower then when I was in HS as well as most of the other people who were recruted.
Here is what we did for 100-400 meter sprinters:
Weight room work was optional but if we did do any he would always say “do 3 sets of 10!”
2-3 mile runs.
Intensive tempo every week. (This is how I pulled my ham, doing repeat 80% 200:mad:)
Endless conditioning work through the whole season such as stadium stairs, bounds, frogs, leaps that lasted 20-30+ mins long!
No sprint work EVER! (i.e 4x30)
Repeat 400s, 600s
Timed Plyo work for 45 min such as jumping over small hurdles, jump rope in place, bounds, and small box jumps that were just too easy. It seemed like a bunch of BS to me but it was hard to dispute at the time as it make you sweat so much so you “feel” like your doing “something”… sff, what a joke.
Ridiculous or not, there is great resistance to CF’s methods, at least in the United States. The reasons for this would likely create a pointless debate that would rapidly turn off topic.
I sense your frustration and all I can say is that for years I watched the same thing happen to young men and women who I had developed. Hell it happened to me, though I was of at best modest talent. Whether it is in North America, Europe, or wherever far too many coaches are tied into old cliches about the preparation of athletes. It’s intellectual laziness. Every post-season I breakdown the previous year and look at what I think worked and what needs to be altered. I really enjoy the process because I like learning. I also like the people that I coach and want to see them improve.
As stated a few posts back, look at who’s getting improvement, not results. I named the coaches who’s methods that I believe have fulfilled this assignment. There are other coaches who seem to be doing a good job, but since I don’t know there methodology I prefer not to comment.
To me there is no prefect plan. There is only a plan that works well for a given athlete in a given situation. There are, however, many bad plans.
Actually I think that Kenth Olsson, who coaches Johan Wissman, seems to have the right idea for the 400m. Janus Iskra, the Polish hurdler coach also seems quite sharp.