I’ve modified the big circuit for various athletes in which the volume is graduated over the course of an accumulation type block and eventually levels off.
Similar to what others here have stated, it’s key that the onset of this work corresponds to the athletes current preparation.
The other thing to consider is what the misinformed sport coach is likely to require of the athletes (ergo middle distance running for “conditioning”) For this reason, I’ve modified big circuits for high school level footballers (soccer) to include lengths of 100 and 200 at the onset and progress towards 200, 300, and 400 in order that we stay close to what’s smart yet cover some ground relative to what they’re likely to be subjected to without me resorting to programming middle distance running. In this way, I’ve started one athlete at 1500yds per session and finalized him at 5000 over a 10 week period. This is all prior to the school season.