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Tony Holler - Lessons Learned
tfconsortium
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Feed the Cats is a revolutionary way of training, coaching, and teaching with an appreciation for specificity, essentialism, performance, and love. After gaining a world-wide following in Track & Field, FTC has now gained a strong foothold in American football and lacrosse.
“FOUNDATIONS OF TRACK” is a Feed the Cats approach to track at the middle school level. This course has the most content of any Feed the Cats course produced thus far, just shy of four hours.
“FOUNDATIONS OF TRACK” also features the best distance coach I know, Andy Derks. Andy had built a distance program from scratch in the past ten years at Plainfield North. Last year we had 25 boys sub-5:00 in the mile, ranking #2 in Illinois.
Topics include Feed the Cats, organization, essentials, descriptions and videos of the three types of sprint practice, record-rank-publish, fundamentals of track (hurdles, block starts, and relays), meet management, distance culture, and distance workouts.
Even though this course was created for middle school coaches, high school coaches will find it thought-provoking. The word “fundamental” is often spoken, seldom explored.
The goal of Coach Derks and myself is to provide middle school athletes with a more positive experience. Hopefully high school programs will consider buying this as a gift for their middle school coaches.
234 minutes of talking track!
Additional Resources
Solo Speed Training in 700 Words
Courses that should be paired with this one:
FTC-205 Sprint the 400 (Lactate Workouts)
Or, buy the whole Feed the Cats Bundle at over 50% off!
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In this course, you will learn the fundamentals and advanced techniques of coaching hurdlers from two of the best in the field: Alec Holler, hurdles coach at Edwardsville High School, and Tony Holler, head track coach at Plainfield North High School. Alec and Tony break down the essential elements of hurdle training, including lead and trail leg mechanics, acceleration drills, confidence-building techniques, and adjustments for different skill levels through a structured, drill-based approach. By the end of this course, you will have a complete framework for coaching hurdlers with efficiency, precision, and confidence.
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“PROGRAMMING” is course #15 of an ambitious Feed the Cats Certification Program created by Tony Holler.
Feed the Cats is a revolutionary way of training, coaching, and teaching with an appreciation for specificity, essentialism, performance, and love. After gaining a world-wide following in Track & Field, FTC has now gained a strong foothold in American football and lacrosse.
“PROGRAMMING” is a Feed the Cats approach to setting up practices. Practice structure is explored using two models, a staff of five and a staff of one.
One of the most asked questions every year, “How do you structure your jumps, hurdles, and throws practice?” This course answers that question in detail.
The categorizing of workouts (speed, x-factor, lactate, and *off*) is explained with video samples of each.
Practice planning (for long and short seasons) is taught in simple terms with scientific reasoning. Coaches will be able to set up a season-long practice plan within minutes of finishing the course.
Attention is given to the special circumstances of the 2021 pandemic.
108 minutes of talking track!
Additional Resources:
Solo Speed Training in 700 Words
Courses that should be paired with this one:
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“SPRINT RELAYS: THE BANG STEP” is course #14 of an ambitious Feed the Cats Certification Program created by Tony Holler.
Feed the Cats is a revolutionary way of training, coaching, and teaching that values specificity, essentialism, performance, and love. After gaining a world-wide following in Track & Field, FTC has now gained a strong foothold in American football and lacrosse.
“SPRINT RELAYS: THE BANG STEP” was created by my youngest son, Quinn Holler. Quinn was my right-hand man and relay coach at Plainfield North from 2014 to 2018. During that four-year period, our average best 4x1 time was a state-leading 41.79. Fourteen different sprinters made up those five teams. The best sprinter in the history of Illinois, Marcellus Moore, ran on only two of those five teams. The amazing five-year run ended with a state championship in the 4x1 and 3A state record time. We also won the 4x2 that year (and the 100 and the 200).
Quinn Holler was hired as a Biology teacher by Andrew H.S. in the summer of 2018. He was also hired as an assistant for the varsity football team and sprint coach for the track team. In his first year at Andrew, Quinn’s 4x1 broke the school record in the 4x1 and got fourth in the state. With his fastest guys returning, 2021 would have possibly ended with a 4x1 state championship for Andrew H.S., but Covid canceled the season. Quinn’s career six-year average best time in the 4x1 is an amazing 41.84.
Quinn was hired as the new head track at Andrew for the 2021 season. Quinn Holler is only 27 years old.
Quinn covers the 4x1 in this course and his proud father provides the rest.
81 minutes of relay content.
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“FEEDING THE CATS WITH JUMP DRILLS” is course #13 of an ambitious Feed the Cats Certification Program created by Tony Holler.
Feed the Cats is a revolutionary way of training, coaching, and teaching that values specificity, essentialism, performance, and love. After gaining a world-wide following in Track & Field, FTC has now gained a strong foothold in American football.
“FEEDING THE CATS WITH JUMP DRILLS” was created by national jumps guru, Rob Assise. Rob coaches at the hottest track and field school in Illinois, Homewood Flossmoor.
Rob Assise, a 19 year veteran of coaching track and field, is a TFC-insider and has written several for SimpliFaster, Just Fly Sports, and ITCCCA. He is the co-owner of “Field Focus” and the owner of “Re-Evolution Athletics LLC”.
One of the most important features of Feed the Cats is the world-wide network of coaches who have bought into the idea of prioritizing speed and explosiveness while de-empathizing conditioning, toughness, and high volume workouts. The focus on well-rested, happy, and healthy athletes is truly a departure from the grind of the traditional approach. Jumpers may benefit from this approach more than any other subset of track athletes.
Coach Assise goes in-depth in progressions and regressions of three of his go-to jump drills - skipping, galloping, and run-run-jumps. This resource is perfect for veteran jump coaches looking to add some spice to their programming, coaches who are new to coaching the jumps, and, most often overlooked, coaches of field-court sports. There is no resource which goes as in-depth on the movements presented, and coaches will walk away with an arsenal of options to maximize training time. In addition, Coach Assise goes into explicit detail on how to program these drills within the Feed The Cats system.
Up your warm-up, X-Factor, and training today with "FEEDING THE CATS WITH JUMP DRILLS"!
It could be argued that this course is track specific (long jump, triple jump, and high jump) but the drills of Rob Assise provide an amazing template for building athletes, thus the 100-level designation (200-level courses are track specific, 300-level are other sport-specific).
More courses are on the way!
Follow Tony Holler on Twitter… @pntrack
Follow Rob Assise on Twitter… @HFJumps
Other content from Rob Assise:
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“GETTING STARTED” is course #12 of an ambitious Feed the Cats Certification Program created by Tony Holler.
Feed the Cats is a revolutionary way of training, coaching, and teaching that values specificity, essentialism, performance, and love. After gaining a world-wide following in Track & Field, FTC has now gained a strong foothold in American Football and Lacrosse.
I get several requests for remote training. Professional basketball players, college football players, college track athletes, high school lacrosse players, etc. I’m currently speed training a 10 year old and a 50 year old. Speed is speed. “GETTING STARTED” thoroughly describes what I explain to my clients in our first phone call. Everything from the why, to the how, to the how often, to what will be needed and/or required to get started.
Here are some links referenced in “FTC-112”
Solo Speed Training in Less than 700 Words
Follow Tony Holler on Twitter… @pntrack
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“SPRINT BASED HURDLING” is course #11 of an ambitious Feed the Cats Certification Program created by Tony Holler.
Feed the Cats is a revolutionary way of training, coaching, and teaching that values specificity, essentialism, performance, and love. After gaining a world-wide following in Track & Field, FTC has now gained a strong foothold in American football.
“SPRINT BASED HURDLING” was created by my oldest son, Alec Holler. Alec was an all-state high school hurdler and is the best hurdle coach I’ve ever known. There must be something to this “Feed the Cats” approach to speed. Alec coached the all-time Illinois state record holder in the 110 High Hurdles (Travis Anderson, 13.59). I coached the all-time Illinois state record in the 100m Dash (Marcellus Moore, 10.31). The all-time Illinois state record in the 4x1 was coached by another Feed the Cats coach, Brian O’Donnell (Crete-Monee, 40.86).
One of the most important features of Feed the Cats is the world-wide network of coaches who have bought into the idea of prioritizing speed and explosiveness while de-empathizing conditioning, toughness, and high volume workouts. The focus on well-rested, happy, and healthy athletes is truly a departure from the grind of the traditional approach. Hurdlers may benefit from this approach more than any other subset of track athletes.
When hurdlers are removed from silly volumes, intensity and focus will skyrocket. When tired becomes the enemy and not the goal, hurdlers remain healthy.
More courses are on the way!
Follow Tony Holler on Twitter… @pntrack
Follow Alec Holler on Twitter… @a_hollerEHS
Check out the articles written by Alec Holler:
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“STIFFNESS” is the tenth course of an ambitious Feed the Cats Certification Program created by Tony Holler.
Feed the Cats is a revolutionary way of training, coaching, and teaching that values specificity, essentialism, performance, and love. After gaining a world-wide following in Track & Field, FTC has now gained a foothold in American football and lacrosse.
“STIFFNESS” was created by a guest presenter and international speed guru, Chris Korfist. One of the most important features of Feed the Cats is the world-wide network of coaches who have bought into the idea of prioritizing speed and explosiveness while de-empathizing conditioning, toughness, and high volume workouts. The focus on well-rested, happy, and healthy athletes is truly a departure from the grind of the traditional approach.
“STIFFNESS” gives the background needed for coaches to identify and correct the collapse that inhibits speed. Without stiffness, ground contact times are high and sprinters leak energy. Stiffness has nothing to do with flexibility.
More courses are on the way!
Follow Tony Holler on Twitter… @pntrack
Email of Chris Korfist.... korfist1@comcast.net
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“SPRINT BASED LACROSSE” is the ninth course of an ambitious “Feed the Cats certification program created by Tony Holler.
Feed the Cats is a revolutionary way of training, coaching, and teaching that values specificity, essentialism, performance, and love. After gaining a world-wide following in Track & Field, FTC has now gained a strong foothold in American football.
This presentation rocked the lacrosse world at the IMLCA National Clinic held in December of 2020. Tony Holler is the first presenter at IMLCA to never hold a lacrosse stick… yet the presentation got rave reviews.
“Sprint Based Lacrosse” takes an overview of the traditional approach to sport training (lift weights and get tired every day), and turns it upside down. Feed the Cats is the name of the new model and speed is the priority. The foundation of that speed is rest, recovery, and sleep.
More courses are on the way!
Follow Tony Holler on Twitter… @pntrack
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“SPRINT-BASED FOOTBALL II” is the 8th course of an ambitious “Feed the Cats” certification program created by Tony Holler.
Feed the Cats is a revolutionary way of training, coaching, and teaching that values specificity, essentialism, performance, and love. After gaining a world-wide following in Track & Field, FTC has now gained a foothold in American football.
This is the second football course of the program. There’s almost FOUR HOURS of detailed teaching. Coach Dixon first encountered the “Feed the Cats” take on football in 2017 when he read Coach Holler’s New Ideas for Old School Football Coaches. Since then, Dixon has become the flagship of the movement, going 39-7 in the past three seasons.
The first two FTC courses, The Speed Workout and X-Factor have a combined 2.5 hours of content, giving athletes (and coaches) everything they need to prioritize speed in the off-season. The third course, Block Starts, is arguably one of the most detailed instructional videos ever produced on the subject of block starts and acceleration. Record Rank Publish (over two hours) is the food of cats, the heart of the program. Sprint the 400 provides two hours of a Feed the Cats approach to training quarter milers.
More courses are on the way!
Follow Tony Holler on Twitter… @pntrack
Follow Brad Dixon on Twitter… @coachbdixon
T-Shirts:
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“ROCKET FUEL FOR SPRINTERS” is the seventh course of an ambitious Feed the Cats Certification Program created by Tony Holler.
Feed the Cats is a revolutionary way of training, coaching, and teaching that values specificity, essentialism, performance, and love. After gaining a world-wide following in Track & Field, FTC has now gained a foothold in American football.
“ROCKET FUEL FOR SPRINTERS” is the first FTC course from a guest presenter, Coach Kyle Edwards. One of the most important features of Feed the Cats is the world-wide network of coaches who have bought into the idea of prioritizing speed and explosiveness while de-empathizing conditioning, toughness, and high volume workouts. The focus on well-rested, happy, and healthy athletes is truly a departure from the grind of the traditional approach.
“ROCKET FUEL FOR SPRINTERS” gives the background needed to adopt the “Do Less, Achieve More” fundamentals needed to understand minimalist sprint training. The goal of the course is to give the off-season athlete everything they need to begin to indirectly train speed. The direct way to train speed is the subject of the first course, “The Speed Workout”.
Coach Kyle Edwards adds “rocket fuel” to the X-Factor catalog found in the second most popular course in the series, “FTC-102 X-Factor”. X-Factor includes drills and exercises that athletes should do when they are not sprinting (only sprint three times a week). Since X-Factor work is creative and changes from workout to workout, FTC coaches are always looking for new things to do and Coach Kyle delivers!
Along with “FTC-102 X-Factor”, “ROCKET FUEL FOR SPRINTERS” is a must for coaches heading into winter training. Nothing you will see on these videos requires a track. Everything can be done in a hallway, gymnasium, or any open space you can find.
More courses are on the way!
Follow Tony Holler on Twitter… @pntrack
Follow Kyle Edwards on Twitter… @kyle_edwards32
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“Sprint-Based Football” is the 6th course of an ambitious “Feed the Cats” course created by Tony Holler.
Feed the Cats is a revolutionary way of training, coaching, and teaching that values specificity, essentialism, performance, and love. After gaining a world-wide following in Track & Field, FTC has now gained a foothold in American football.
This is the first football course of the program. There’s almost three hours of detailed teaching. Many of Holler’s idea’s challenge tradition and mainstream thought. The instruction connects simply and directly. With 39 years of coaching and teaching experience, Coach Holler has found ways to connect with his audience without the sophisticated complexity of most presenters.
Follow Tony Holler on Twitter… @pntrack
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FTC 205: SPRINT THE 400
CLYDE HART OR FEED THE CATS“SPRINT THE 400” is the FIFTH course of an ambitious “Feed the Cats” certification program created by Tony Holler. This is a 200-level course, signifying that its content is TRACK SPECIFIC.
Feed the Cats is a revolutionary way of training, coaching, and teaching that values specificity, essentialism, performance, and love. After gaining a world-wide following in Track & Field, FTC has now gained a foothold in American football.
The target audience of “SPRINT THE 400” is track coaches. There are over two hours of detailed teaching. Drawing a sharp distinction between the greatest college track coach of all time and “Feed the Cats” allows students to see the differences and develop their own philosophies towards training. The instruction connects simply and directly. With 39 years of coaching and teaching experience, Coach Holler has found ways to connect with his audience without the sophisticated complexity of most presenters.
The first two courses, The Speed Workout and X-Factor have a combined 2.5 hours of content, giving athletes (and coaches) everything they need to prioritize speed in the off-season. The third course, Block Starts, is arguably one of the most detailed instructional videos ever produced on the subject of block starts and acceleration. Record Rank Publish (over two hours) is the food of cats, the heart of the program.
More courses are on the way!
Follow Tony Holler on Twitter… @pntrack
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FTC 104: RECORD RANK PUBLISH
“RECORD RANK PUBLISH” is the FOURTH course of an ambitious “Feed the Cats certification program created by Tony Holler. This is a 100-level course, signifying that it’s content is NOT sport specific.
Feed the Cats is a revolutionary way of training, coaching, and teaching that values specificity, essentialism, performance, and love. After gaining a world-wide following in Track & Field, FTC has now gained a foothold in American football.
The target audience of “RECORD RANK PUBLISH” is coaches. There’s over two hours of detailed teaching including 35 minutes of Google Sheet tutorial. RECORD RANK PUBLISH literally feeds the cats. Data-driven speed training is the centerpiece of Coach Holler’s speed program. The instruction connects simply and directly. With 39 years of coaching and teaching experience, Coach Holler has found ways to connect with his audience without the sophisticated complexity of most presenters.
The first two courses, The Speed Workout and X-Factor have a combined 2.5 hours of content, giving athletes (and coaches) everything they need to prioritize speed in the off-season. The third course, Block Starts, is arguably one of the most detailed instructional videos ever produced on the subject of block starts and acceleration.
More courses are on the way!
Follow Tony Holler on Twitter… @pntrack
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“BLOCK STARTS” is the THIRD course of an ambitious “Feed the Cats certification program created by Tony Holler. This is the first 200-level course, indicating that it’s track-specific.
Feed the Cats is a revolutionary way of training, coaching, and teaching that values specificity, essentialism, performance, and love. After gaining a world-wide following in Track & Field, FTC has now gained a foothold in American football.
The target audience of “BLOCK STARTS” is both athletes and coaches. There is over 60 minutes of detailed teaching including tons of video analysis. The instruction connects simply and directly. With 39 years of coaching and teaching experience, Coach Holler has found ways to connect with his audience without the sophisticated complexity of most presenters.
The first two courses, The Speed Workout and X-Factor have a combined 2.5 hours of content, giving athletes (and coaches) everything they need to prioritize speed in the off-season.
More courses are on the way!
Follow Tony Holler on Twitter… @pntrack
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“X-FACTOR” is the second course of an ambitious “Feed the Cats certification program created by Tony Holler.
Feed the Cats is a revolutionary way of training, coaching, and teaching that values specificity, essentialism, performance, and love. After gaining a world-wide following in Track & Field, FTC has now gained a foothold in American football.
“X-FACTOR” gives the background needed to adopt the “Do Less, Achieve More” fundamentals needed to understand minimalist sprint training. The goal of the course is to give the off-season athlete everything they need to begin to indirectly train speed. The direct way to train speed is the subject of the first course, “The Speed Workout”. The videos are simple, detailed, and reproducible. Workouts can be done solo. Athletes may find this course to be exactly what they are looking for and the perfect companion to “The Speed Workout”.
More courses are on the way!
Follow Tony Holler on Twitter… @pntrack
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“The Speed Workout” is the first course of an ambitious Feed the Cats course created by Tony Holler.
Feed the Cats is a revolutionary way of training, coaching, and teaching that values specificity, essentialism, performance, and love. After gaining a world-wide following in Track & Field, FTC has now gained a foothold in American football.
“The Speed Workout” gives the background needed to adopt the “Do Less, Achieve More” fundamentals needed to understand minimalist sprint training. The goal of the course is to give the off-season athlete everything they need to begin training speed three times a week. The videos are simple, detailed, and reproducible. Workouts can be done solo. With the crazy circumstances surrounding the pandemic, athletes may find this course to be exactly what they are looking for.
Follow Tony Holler on Twitter… @pntrack -
Speed is an important part of any distance runner. Coach John O'Malley and Tony Holler tackle some important subjects, with outlines and drills that will help develop and mold your athletes. This course will be beneficial whether you have/are a beginner or experienced runner. Get excited! This is truly an amazing, informational packed gem!
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Sprints - Feed the Cats
Coach Holler talks us through his training plan creation process called Feed the Cats. This idea of training helps to make your athletes faster without overworking them.