Selected Book
Coaching Cross Country Successfully (Coaching Successfully)
- Paperback
- Edition: 1
- Author: Joe Newton, Joe Henderson
- Publisher: Human Kinetics Publishers
- Release Date: February 1998
- ISBN-10: 088011701X
- ISBN-13: 9780880117012
- List Price: $19.95
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Summaries and Customer Reviews provided by Amazon
SummaryIn Coaching Cross Country Successfully, coach Joe Newton explains how he built and runs his cross country dynasty and how to apply his principles of teaching discipline, dedication, and teamwork to develop and improve your own program. Combining insightful instruction with dozens of personal anecdotes, Newton explains how to • motivate a team and individual athletes, Coach Newton also shares the 12-week practice schedule he’s used to train 19 of his teams to title-winning performances. |
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
From the pen of the legend.
Rating:
Legendary coach Joe Newton inspires runners not only at York Community High School in Elmhurst IL, but many more across the state and nation. This is less of a technical book -- for that go to Daniels' Running Formula -- and more of an insight to a coach and a program. Definitely worth a read!
Limited Usefulness
Rating:
There are very few current books directly intended to function as how-to guides for high-school cross-country coaches. This title's durability has, I think, more to do with the lack of competition in this niche (and with the author's level of renown) than with its intrinsic merit.
Joe Newton's approach to program development is simple. Recruit, if you can, huge numbers of runners from the student body, train them at very high mileages and intensities, and let the cross-country gods sort them out. While this Darwinist approach may yield some good results at very large schools with three-season running continuity (XC-indoor track-outdoor track), at small schools without year-round running, Newton's methods (if taken at face value) are likely to be a formula for team-shattering injury rates and rapid demoralization.
As regards technical matters, Newton's outlook was antique even when the book was published a decade ago. He disdains consideration of biomechanics and running form and chuckles at the notion that it might matter how runners breathe. If you have 150+ runners in your program (as Newton's York High School does), well, sure, those that have naturally fine form will reveal themselves as contenders for your top 7. Those of us with only 150 (or even 250) boys or girls in the whole high school might not be so lucky.
Much of the book is taken up with anectodes about Newton's undeniably impressive record of success in a very competitive region. However, while this may be entertaining to those who have an attachment to York High School or an interest in the recent history of scholastic running in northern Illinois, it comes across largely as unnecessary chest-thumping to those outside these circles.
The most commendable feature I find in Newton's book is its strong emphasis on discipline, athlete responsibility, and clear communication of expectations from coach to runner. With regard to this area, Newton's old-school toughness represents a refreshing change from the kind of compromising and equivocating attitude evident in too many high-school coaching staffs.
Many fine and successful high school coaches put their training programs and general observations on their school and personal websites. For beginning (or more experienced) coaches looking for ideas on workouts or program development, such websites represent a resource far superior to Joe Newton's book.
A york Tale
Rating:
Hey everybody, I agree with the others about this book talking to much about York and how many times they have won state titles. The hard miles the runner's put out during the XC season may not benefit them in a long term career. There are some decent speed work ideas to use in this book but I feel the training could be updated with more modern techniques that could possibly give the athletes more longevity. I also have a problem with the Standout runners being held back to run for points.
OK
Rating:
It was an ok manual type of reference book. It really needs to be updated to current training methods.
Motivated for life
Rating:
I'm 57 years old. I ran Cross Country for Joe Newton in 1963.
He STILL motivates me. Every time that I feel like quitting, I
think of Joe Newton, and it gets me going again. How's that for motivation?
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