European Under 23's: Q&A With Clieo Stephenson

At the European Under 23 Championships in Bydgoszcz West London Track & Field had representatives both competing and coaching. Head sprints & Hurdles coach Laura Turner-Alleyne was a member of the coaching staff and sprinter Clieo Stephenson was a member of the 4x100m relay team. After the championships we sat down with Clieo to ask her a few questions on her experience at the championships.

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Clieo with WLTF Lead Therapist - Gareth Degg

Thanks for taking the time to talk with us today Clieo. What were your immediate thoughts when you found out you had been selected for the team?

I had very mixed emotions when being selected for the team. Due to an injury that developed at the beginning of the season, I found it difficult to achieve my goal of running in the individual 100m race. However, despite not running as fast as I had hoped this season, it was still an honour to be selected for the relay and I was excited to experience my final age group international championships.

Did you have to change any of your plans for the season and if so how did you do this?

My training with Laura is extremely planned, so I had known what my season looked like way before the season had even begun. However, being selected for various teams including being invited to run in Geneva, Switzerland, were things we were not able to plan for. This meant I was running on weekends I had not planned to run on and having to pull out of other competitions to do so. When invited or selected for other competitions, Laura and I would always ensure that changing my plan would benefit my season. If it would benefit my build up to the European Championships, then I would adapt and fit my schedule around that change.

Was this your first time competing for Great Britain at an age group championships?

No, I had been lucky enough to represent Great Britain at the European U20 Championships in Rieti, Italy in 2013 on an extremely successful team! The experience however, was very different this time round with the athletes allowed to be more independent!

How helpful was it having your coach as a member of the team staff?

I loved having my own personal coach there with me as it allows me to treat the championships just like any other competition I would do in the UK. With Laura being an experienced athlete herself, she understood the demands and was able to share her experience with both myself and the other members in the team. It’s great because Laura is able to monitor my build up and suggest any changes or adaptations to my preparation when she is at the championships too.

“With Laura being an experienced athlete herself, she understood the demands and was able to share her experience with both myself and the other members in the team.”

— Clieo Stephenson

What did you find most difficult about being away?

The most difficult thing for me is getting used to a different bed! If it’s not what you are used to, it can be difficult to get sleep on the first couple of nights. I would suggest bringing your own pillow just in case the pillows are not to your taste! Also, the food in other countries can often be not to the standard you would hope when you are competing. However, in Poland the food at the hotel was great!

Clieo with WLTF head sprints & hurdles coach - Laura Turner-Alleyne

What would your advice be to any young athletes that have ambitions of competing for Great Britain?

My advice would be to not change anything that is working for you. To be world class and represent your country, it does not mean doing different things that may work for one person and not for you. Everybody works and thrives differently, so if it works for you, keep doing it.

How are you going to use your experiences from the championships to help you continue moving forward with your training?

I am going to take the positives of being selected to motivate me going forward in my training. Although I may not have got the selection that I wanted, not being able to compete to my best ability and still be selected is promising. It excites me for the future as I know that when I am able to fulfil my potential, I will be exceeding my expectations and goals!

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With less than a month to go for most in the 2016/2017 season, we would like to wish everyone the best of luck with their final competitions of this year. If you are interested in joining West London Track & Field please contact us via the following emails:

Sprints & Hurdles - laura@westlondontrackandfield.com

Pole Vault - ellie@westlondontrackandfield.com

British Championships Preview

This weekend twelve West London Track & Field athletes will head to Birmingham to compete at the British Outdoor Championships. With seven athletes from the sprints and hurdles group and five pole vaulters, this is the most athletes that West London Track & Field has had at a British Championships.

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Here are the events that we'll be contesting:

Men's 100m:

Marvin Popoola - Coming back into form after a few years of injury woes, Marvin ran a seasons best of 10.62 at the under 23 National Championships and will be looking to improve this again in Birmingham.

Jahde Williams - Fast improving in his less favoured sprint event. Jahde ran a personal best of 10.73 at the Under 23 National Championships to make the semi-finals.

Women's 100m:

Clieo Stephenson - Fresh from her bronze at the Under 23 National Championships, Clieo is looking to build on a consistent first half of the season in which she has ran 11.7 on two occasions.

Shereen Charles - Experienced sprinter who thrives on the big occasion and will be looking to break the 12 second barrier when it counts.

Men's 200m:

Marvin Popoola - Running two personal bests at the Under 23 National Championships including a time of 21.27, Marvin will be aiming to run faster again in Birmingham.

Jahde Williams - In his more favoured of the two sprints, Jahde ran a personal best of 21.55 from lane 1 at the Under 23 National Championships. Lots more to come.

Men's 110H:

Jack Kirby - A finalist at the Under 23 National Championships and a former GB Under 20 representative, Jack will be aiming to get closer to the 14 second barrier this weekend.

Reece Young - Another finalist from the Under 23 National Championships. Reece ran a PB to make the final in his first race of the season. He'll be hoping to build on this in Birmingham.

Men's 400H:

Max Schopp - Max is in his first season with West London Track & Field and has run consistently close to his PB every race. He'll be looking to break this over the weekend.

Courtney MacGuire - Bronze medallist from the Indoor British Championships

Men’s Pole Vault:

Max Eaves - Max will be hoping to go one better than his silver medal from the indoor championships. Having already contested numerous British Championships, Max will be looking to step up again in Birmingham.

Women’s Pole Vault:

Henrietta Paxton - Coming off of back to back season’s bests including a commonwealth games qualifier of 4.25m, Hen will be looking for another strong performance over the weekend.

Jessica Robinson - Jess won a silver medal at the Under 20 National Championships and will be aiming to back up this performance with her efforts at her first British Outdoor Championships.

Courtney MacGuire - Courtney will be hoping to add another medal to her collection after winning a bronze medal from the Indoor British Championships.

Sophie Dowson - Sophie won a bronze medal at the Under 20 National Championships with an outdoor seasons best of 3.75m and will be hoping for another season's best at her first British Outdoor Championships.

Sprints and Hurdles at West London Track & Field

With just one day to go until the action starts at the British Senior Championships this weekend - for an unprecedented seven WLTF sprinters and hurdlers - we sat down with Head Sprints and Hurdles coach, Laura Turner-Alleyne, to explore her coaching philosophy.

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Laura, thanks for taking the time to speak with us today. What does an outline of the season long programme for the West London Sprints and Hurdles groups look like?

Laura Turner-Alleyne

When I started coaching, one of the first coaches I researched was Charlie Francis. I could relate to his short to long principle and decided I wanted to base the programme around this approach. This allowed me to work on the technical elements as I had hoped and also try and break out of the “tough training makes you tough” mentality (which I hate, by the way). So with our programme you are either running fast, or you’re running easy. There was no in between. I want the athletes to appreciate “tough training’ comes in many forms. You do not need to be throwing up after every session to be working hard. Tough training should be mentally challenging, breaking habits, challenging thought processes, prolonged periods of concentration. Finding and maintaining correct sprint mechanics is “tough”.

Our structure does not change very much through the year. We work with a specific theme for each of our 4 days of training. Monday, speed. Tuesday, tempo and conditioning. Thursday, acceleration. Saturday, speed/technical endurance. Each high intensity track session (Monday, Thursday, Saturday) is followed by a plyometric activity and a short gym session which follows the same theme as the track session. For example a speed day will have a fast, single leg/split stance lift as the primary movement.

How much of your programme do you change from one season to another and do you find that you change less as you gain more coaching experience?

In our third season, our programme has maintained its structure. The content has changed slightly, as you would expect, as the team learn from our experiences with the group and from our continued reading and conversations around many aspects of coaching. I would say the main change year to year so far has been the volume of training. I am constantly trying to strike a balance between too much and too little volume and the form that volume takes. I am learning that there is not one answer to the volume debate. It depends on the athlete. So I tend to programme different options for athletes depending on what they need and what their body can handle. Some can handle volume in the form of tempo/easy runs, others need the hard speed endurance, some can handle neither.

Our programme has an increasing influence from our lead Therapist, Gareth Degg. The more I work with our therapy team the more I appreciate how important it is for the athletes to be moving well. Everything we do from the warm up to the conditioning session has been influenced by Gareth and his movement strategies.

“I am constantly trying to strike a balance between too much, and too little volume, and the form that volume takes.”

— Laura Turner-Alleyne

How much does your training programme for the athletes you coach change during different times of the season?

During competition season I will plan the athlete’s week depending on their race schedule. Other factors to be considered when planning training around races are:

1. How much gym work is needed? Minimal effective dose, males versus females, strength versus elastic athlete
2. Increase plyometric activity if gym work reduces
3. How many times a week running fast? Some athletes can only run fast 1/week which may mean only on race day and not at all in training during the week
4. Maintaining volume versus reduced volume; some respond better to maintaining a level of volume in the programme, some need to reduce volume
5. Competitive training sessions; some respond well to these, others don’t

All in all, this leads to many hours spent carefully planning each athletes race preparation and myself and the other coaches having to be masters in multi-tasking at training sessions.

WLTF sprinters working on acceleration

How important do you think it is for athletes to be aware of what stage of the season it is and how this should effect their perspective & how do you communicate this to them?

As a coaching team, we work really hard on making sure mechanics on the track and movements in the gym are optimal. This requires attention to detail, video review, clear communication and accountability from both athlete and coach. The longer we work with an athlete the clearer we can see what type of feedback they respond better too. Some athletes are thinkers and like internal cues, others respond better to external cues. This is not to say we use either one or the other, both are required at certain times and for certain aspects of training.

Sprinter Clieo Stephenson after winning a bronze medal at the Under 23 National Championships

When we get to competition season I try to keep the majority of cues external and limit the amount of video footage I let the athlete look at during training. Small tweaks and reminders may require a small degree of internal cueing, but generally we use external cues. I tend to use warm weather training in April as my last chance to make any big technical changes we need to address before competition starts. After that, I am just trying to maximise the model they have been working on for the past 6 months.

During race season, athletes will always want to watch video footage or talk about every step of their 150m rep, I simply keep answers short and make sure they have a very clear objective (just one) for each run. I will also not show them video if I do not want them to see it, I haven’t had too many athletes struggle with this concept. They understand my reasons and respect my judgement.

How do you manage athlete’s mind-set during competition season and do you find that it is harder for them to be more process driven during this time of the season?

Managing an athletes mind set has been the biggest challenge I have faced as a coach (so far). Whilst studying for my BSc and MSc I chose the hard sciences, completely disregarding the psychology modules. At the time, I was an international athlete and found it hard to get my head around all the theories these modules threw out. Looking back now I wished I had taken at least one of these modules!! The majority of my reading is now around psychology and coaching science, I find it really interesting and the most relevant area to delve into working as coach.

Every athlete responds different during competition season and as such, needs to be handled differently. Those who know me will know my militant approach to most things, stemming from my days as an athlete. Some athletes respond really well to this and can relate to that mind set. This is not the way to bring out the best in everyone, so I am constantly having to manage my approach to sessions, feedback, race warm ups and debriefs. This is by far the most changing aspect of coaching and, in my opinion, is the difference between an average coach and a great coach.

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Thanks again Laura for providing an insight into what the training for our sprinters and hurdlers looks like. The seven athletes from the sprints and hurdles group will be joined in Birmingham by five pole vaulters from West London Track & Field and we'd like to wish all twelve athletes the best of luck!

My First Year With WLTF

This week's post is written by West London Track and Field Assistant Coach - Mikel Perry. After originally joining West London Track and Field as an intern Strength & Conditioning Coach, Mikel is now a permanent member of our coaching staff each week and assists both the Sprints & Hurdles and the Pole Vault groups.

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Mikel Perry

I started working with the sprints and hurdles side of WLTF in September 2015. I had always wanted a chance to get involved with sprinting, as I find the purity of the sport fascinating, particularly from a strength and conditioning perspective. At the time, I was also finishing my MSc in Sports Medicine, so was keen not only to see how the sports medicine and coaching teams work together in the real world, but also to get involved and help integrate the rehab and performance elements.

The year started with the coaching team all getting to know each other, talking through the basic plan for the year and then looking more in depth at our first block of training. Initially my role was primarily focussed on providing strength and conditioning support to the athletes in the gym and helping out with testing. My role with the track work was to watch and learn; trying to absorb Laura’s coaching philosophy, seeing how the technical elements are executed, and just as importantly, getting to know the athletes.

Initially, the idea of coaching the athletes for their sprint work was daunting. Whilst I understood the basics of sprint mechanics and some of the various elements that we were trying to work on, I struggled to actually see these in real time with an athlete sprinting in front of me. This was not like watching a footballer run (no offence meant!), all these athletes know how to run and most have a good enough understanding to know what they need to work on – my analysis needed to be on point! The answer to this (for me at least), was slow motion video. I was lucky enough to be able to watch the performance live, then watch it back, and finally chat to Laura about what she had seen and what she thought needed attention. I also found that this was a good chance for me to feed back to the athletes, chatting to them about what they could see and getting to know what they think about during their performance.

England Under 23 Champion Clieo Stephenson

Quite quickly, I started to find that I was picking up on things without the need to check the video. The next step was to figure out what to say to correct the things that I was picking up on. This is an interesting topic, as there are a multitude of different cues which get used by different coaches. Talking to all our coaches and listening to how and why they use certain cues was immensely valuable, as was talking about why they would not use certain other cues (no high knees cueing in our camp or Laura might jump out and get you!). I enjoy this side of coaching, as it requires a bit of creativity to figure out how to get the best out of somebody. You can have two athletes with exactly the same mechanical problem, but they may need two completely different solutions for them to be able to correct that problem.

A couple of months into my time at WLTF I was no longer just an S&C coach, but an active member of the WLTF team. I was starting to get to know the athletes better, getting to know the coaches better and beginning to feel like I was adding value to the track coaching. The next area which I was able to explore was the therapy side of things. Through my masters degree, I had sat in with many physios, surgeons and sports doctors, but never any osteopaths. Sitting in with Gareth (and later Jason too) gave me a chance to see how they think about issues, and talk to them about some of the specifics involving our group of athletes. It also gave me a chance to share some of my opinions, so that they got an idea of how I think and see what things I work on with athletes. Unfortunately injuries are a part of any high level sport, but having a cohesive team in place, in which individuals know their roles, is hugely beneficial for the athletes. The fact that Gareth and Jason have a wealth of experience with top level athletes has made it particularly informative for me, and I continue to benefit from having the chance to work with them.

Seemingly out of nowhere, it was competition time. Whilst training had obviously been building towards the indoor season, it still somehow surprised me. Being around the team during this time was particularly interesting. Seeing how people deal with pressure, how personalities change, how focus increases and then also seeing how people respond after whatever performance they are able to produce – be it good or bad. There is no hiding behind a team in this sport, just you against the clock and a few other athletes. Depending on the competition, it may be the time or the win which is most important, but the time never lies. If you ran slow, you ran slow. If you made a clear mistake or you aren’t 100%, that may not bother you too much, but if that is unexpected, it can knock your confidence. As a coach, finding the right balance between giving people space, critiquing, and providing support and positivity was, (and in fact still is) no easy feat.

WLTF sprinter Luke Sargeant in action

Thankfully, the indoor season went well and on we went. Although the emphasis of training was continually shifting, the rest of the year including the outdoor season, felt more like a steady progression. This time was more about continuing to improve my track coaching, and taking on a bit more responsibility for rehabilitation and injury prevention. I was also at university more, which actually tied in very nicely (given that I was taking Injury prevention and Rehabilitation modules), allowing me to put real world problems to my lecturers. On a side note - a quick mention of the UCL Sports and Exercise Medicine MSc is worthy, as it has provided me with a level of understanding surrounding injuries, which now feels completely indispensable. Having a better appreciation of the anatomy, mechanisms of injury, the structural damage which injury causes, and the way that different tissues heal and adapt to loading, has definitely made me a better strength and conditioning coach.

Going back to the end of the year… The outdoor season went very well. We seemingly had personal bests at every competition, with very few injury problems. It’s amazing how emotionally vested you become in a short space of time, just from seeing the hard work that has been put in and getting to know everyone. I have to say a big thank you to Laura, Sam, Tim, Gareth, Jason and all the athletes, as I learnt a lot from everyone. It was a great end to my year and although I wasn’t sure what the following year would hold, I hoped to remain a part of WLTF and get a chance to continue to build the programme – Little did I know I’d be working with the pole vault side of WLTF too, more on that another time!

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To hear more from Mikel, you can follow him on twitter: @MikelPerrySandC and to keep up to date with everything that's happening at West London Track and Field, give us a follow: @WLTrackField or like us on Facebook.