November 08, 2009

Armando Siquerios will join successful coaches Scott Raczko, Brad
Hudson, Nike legend Jeff Johnson, Zap Fitness’ Pete Rea and others at
the Super Distance Summit in January 2010. Mando talks about the
summit and his approach to coaching in high school.


Q: Armando, you have made it clear that in coaching Jordan Hasay to
all of her high school accomplishments that your larger concern was
with her ultimate future. To what do you attribute this way of
thinking?



I have had the opportunity to see and know many success stories. I
have also had the opportunity to see those who perhaps didn't live up
to expectations. Why? Now I have to be very careful how I say this,
but why is it our young female super stars don't pan out? I know
physiologically these young high school kids are still growing. The
motor just isn't developed. Their psyche can be very fragile. Why
should I strive to get all I can from this young person?



I could see with Jordan how naive she was to the sport. Jordan had had
success at a very young age. The internet and youth athletics had
built her into a super star before she had even raced in high school.
When she came to high school she was not a ball of putty waiting for
me to mold her into a success. She had very definite ideas as to how
things worked. I don't believe anyone was really critiquing her.



I really felt an obligation to give her the opportunity to develop a
good foundation of this sport (like any other young athlete). By
saying this, "look towards the future," I was able to diffuse some of
the expectations. I was able to really work on the basics. Anybody who
watched her race as an age-graded athlete or freshman versus her
junior and senior year can see what a different athlete she was. I
could have just stayed with the "blast from the gun, catch me if you
can" style throughout high school and she might have even had more
high school success. But we know, that kind of style won't work at the
next level. I wanted her to understand the sport. I wanted to do what
I could to help her have success at the next level. I didn't believe
that necessarily meant running her mile repeats faster, running higher
mileage or setting more records.



Q: Mando, you come from a medical background, which is not the
traditional path a coach would take. In what ways do you feel this has
had an affect on your approach to coaching?



Well, before I was a physician, I was a passionate runner. I was
actually disappointed I didn't learn more about physiology in medical
school. However, what I have learned since medical school regarding
people is "priceless" (as they say). Because of the nature of my work,
I see people with their guard down. I have probably seen more extremes
of human emotion in a greater variety of situations compared to your
average Joe.



I bring these experiences with me. I believe this has helped me:



- better understand the human psyche.



- keep things in perspective and translate that to my athletes.



- be able to communicate.



- to work past difficult situations.



- to deal with concerned parents.



- look at the whole individual.



Q: The Super Summit replaces the National Distance Running Summit. Why
did you accept the offer to speak there in January and why are you
willing to share?



I accepted the opportunity to speak because I believe there are people
out there curious as to who Jordan Hasay is, what are her chances for
senior level success, and how did she get to where she is. I can offer
some insight into those questions. I also feel by sharing this
information perhaps the next coach can do an even better job than I
did with their athletes. Plus, I'll get the chance to learn more from
all the participants!



Q: You will be joined by a pretty accomplished list of coaches in
Charlotte including legend Jeff Johnson, Scott Raczko, Brad Hudson,
York High School’s Charlie Kern and Zap Fitness’ Pete Rea. Has your
training philosophies benefited from any of their ideas or insights?



Yes! What a crew! Wow, I know I wonder should I even be up there with
them? I am a neophyte coach when it comes to these guys. I have to say
I have read things many of them have written (including yourself). And
yes every bit of information I get goes into my program/style in some
form or another. However, I have been passionately involved in this
sport for over 35 years. I have had the good fortune to have been able
to see some great coaches and athletes up close over these years. As a
youngster, I was heavily influenced by the stars and recent stars of
the day. I read and reread about all of them and their coaches...

 FOR INFORMATION ON THE SUPER DISTANCE SUMMIT GO TO WWW.DISTANCESUMMIT.COM