I call it faith in those we coach doing the right things the right way at the right time.

I really believed this throughout my coaching career: Unless there's something off or afoul in their approach to training and racing, our athletes will maintain their focus on achieving faster times or personal bests in their favorite events or races.

A Remember When Wednesday.A sprint coaching insight from years back: You'll never run faster until you run faster. The point is that you have to train fast to race fast. Yet early in my career .veteran coaches would tell me to avoid training at racing speed.

There are many reasons why people pursue exercise programs. For me those reasons changed seven years ago because of physical difficulties and limitations resulting from my vision altering stroke.

MONDAY FUN DAY.I loved telling jokes at practice. Current research indicates that laughter affects the human body both chemically and physiologically. It lowers blood pressure and releases endorphins and neuropeptides that make all of us feel better.

SUNDAY DOUBLE HEADER .What's unique about being a geezer garage lifter who can no longer drive to get to a fitness center? There's no multimedia devices, televisions, audio systems, or entertainment channels like a true fitness center. All I have is a garage heater.

Of the four key effort factors--duration, intensity, rest time, and frequency--most coaches would probably site frequency as the most significant.

A good point to share with athletes new to your program: The decision to leave their comfort zone and participate in your training with the focus and intensity it requires is already a mental victory even before they begin to see any fitness improvements.

The key for me is that physical activity has been shown to moderate feelings of depression, which can occur as a result of life changing disabilities.

Research going back almost 30 years makes it clear that physical activity contributes to better mental health and mental resilience. The benefits of physical training contribute to mental resilience are equally evident in all age groups and in both sexes.

This Ivern Ball insight is a key to what makes coaches effective. "Knowledge is power," he said, "but enthusiasm pulls the switch.".I like that.

I'll call this a "Remembering When" Wednesday Post:.A geezer coach's insight on aging: Time seems to stop when you're a coach with great memories. For me, with former athletes now in their 50's. it just doesn't feel like we worked together that many years ago.

How's this for a simple and direct reminder to the athletes we coach: Physical training requires effort, discipline, and persistence.

MONDAY FUN DAY.Of all the things I'm forgetting as I age, this lame joke from Sister Simeon, my 8th grade Dominican nun in 1964, I still recall with a smile: "The owner of a neighborhood cleaners came to our convent asking if any of the sisters had dirty habits.".

SUNDAY DOUBLE HEADER.The two things I've noted over the years that help keep athletes focused on their training:.positive results and consistent improvement.

Motivation and perseverance were two important qualities I'd discuss with my athletes because the training essential to achieve their goals requires both effort and coping ability. As legendary York coach Joe Newton said throughout his career: Motivation is the name of the game.

What was their reply? "Keep talking coach. It increases our recovery time.".

I valued pumping up my distance runners by noting that endurance athletes like them can recover from injuries faster because they've established a more developed network of blood vessels that gets more blood to various parts of their body faster.

What gets me pumped up is how my coaching colleagues continue to find creative ways to enhance these common fitness components--speed, endurance, strength, and flexibility--and then are genuinely excited to share their creativity with us on this forum.

Thought for Thursday: Warmup is more than just a warmup. It is a form of arousal. It creates neural arousal and focuses athletes on the activity while neutralizing distractions.