Sunday, April 15, 2001
"Spring into Speed, Hurdling & amp; Long Jump" will run Monday and Tuesday at Boardman High School.
By GEORGE WELKER
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
BOARDMAN -- Brent McFarlane, coach of Canada's Sydney 2000 Olympic track & amp; field team, says he can teach anyone to be a hurdler in no time.
Teaching them to run fast isn't quite as easy.
"I can teach anyone to hurdle in five minutes or less," McFarlane said. "I can teach them how to hurdle faster than I can teach them how to be fast."
That's why he'll get some help with instruction when three world-class athletes teach the fundamentals of speed at Boardman's "Spring into Speed, Hurdling & amp; Long Jump" camp at Boardman High School Monday and Tuesday.
Details: The camp is for athletes of all ages and their coaches, said David Pavlansky, Boardman track & amp; field coach. There is a $100 fee for participants and coaches and observers must pay $60.
The event runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day, and includes lunch.
Assisting McFarlane will be long-jumper Sharon Couch, a member of two U.S. Olympic teams and four U.S. World Championship teams, and Loren Seagrave, an internationally renowned sprint coach who currently is speed and conditioning coach for the Atlanta Falcons.
The instruction is for "anyone who wants to improve their speed for sport. It goes across the board," said Seagrave, who has worked with soccer, football and hockey teams.
Besides sprinters, he's worked with improving the speed of the United States bobsled team as well as NFL running backs Terrell Davis, Eddie George and Dorsey Levens, among others.
"After two days [camp participants] have a whole new understanding of what it means to be fast," Seagrave said. "I really get energized working with the kids."
"It's night and day," McFarlane said. "If they're good when they come in, they'll be great when they leave."
Opportunity: Couch said she enjoys instructing high school athletes because it gives them an opportunity she lacked while in high school.
With her high school track coach having little knowledge of individual sports -- he was the football coach, also coaching track -- she was left to learn long-jumping on her own.
She jumped 19 feet, 6 inches in high school, and landed an Olympic spot about 10 years later by hitting 23 feet at the age of 26.
They key was working with coach Randy Huntington -- coach of Olympic long-jumper Mike Powell, who taught her "One learns, by teaching, by doing."
"What you learn, you pass on to someone else," she said. "That makes you learn better."
Pavlansky said this is the third year in a row for the spring camp, designed to coincide with schools' spring break. It usually draws about 100 athletes from a wide area, including some from outside of Ohio.
Improving skills: "Every school isn't on spring break, but there are a lot of kids that are at home and looking to get better at something," Pavlansky said. "For kids that have a whole week off, it's a nice thing."
Registration is at 8:30 a.m. Monday, but athletes also may sign up by calling Pavlansky at 549-3570. On-site registration will be at door No. 3 at Boardman High School.