290: High school coaching (with John Larralde)

GAINcast with Vern Gambetta

What are the demands of modern high school coaching? John Larralde calculated that he has just 43 training days to prepare his track athletes this year. Add to that a small student population, multi-event athletes, a young coaching staff, and little connection to the daily campus life. Some might see these as problems, but for Larralde that's no big deal as he describes himself as a problem solver. On this episode of the GAINcast Larralde talks about how he approaches high school track coaching.

For more information on this topic, read the complete show notes at: https://www.hmmrmedia.com/2025/05/gaincast-episode-290-high-school-coaching-with-john-larralde/

The following links were also referenced in the podcast or provide some additional reading material on the topic:

• The GAINcast is sponsored by GAIN and by HMMR Media. Join HMMR Media to get access to a vast library of online training resources, video, articles, podcasts, and more
• For more from Larralde, listen to our interview with him about endurance training on GAINcast 95. Larralde shared examples of how he has used different methods with different athletes from different athletes can produce top results.
• For another perspective on high school coaching, check out GAINcast 69 with high school coach and athletic director Patrick McHugh.
• Some discussion points in this episode included The Russell Cup and training by design (covered on GAINcast 285).