1. Altis camp 2015
Altis,formerlyknownasWorldAthleticsCentre,wascreatedto facilitate anelite andprofessional
environmentfortrackand field.Altisworkstowards influencingthe careersof the bestathletesin
the world,offeringeducationalprogramswhichdevelopsbothathletesandcoacheswithinthe
sport. All of the leadcoachesat Altisare highly experienced Olympiccoaches,whoshare their
knowledge toathletesandcoachesof the youngergeneration. The coachingstaff isledbyCoaches
Dan Pfaff,AndreasBehm, JohnGodina,andStuartMcMillan and supportedbyAssistantCoaches
NickSheuerman,DustinImdieke,KyleHierholzerandChidi Enyia. AtAltistracksessionstake place at
Paradise ValleyCommunityCollegeAthleticsTrackand theirweightsessionsare conductedoverat
EXOS (formerlyknownasAthletesPerformance).
Purpose of the travel
On November21st
2015, five trackand fieldathletesaccompaniedKimbelyBaptistetoAltis,
alongwiththe Newham&Waltham ForestHighPerformance Programme strengthandconditioning
coach, LeahDunthorne.The five athleteswere triplejumperChiomaMatthews,100mhurdler
YasminMiller,100m/200m sprinterFinette Agyapong,shotputterYoucef Zatatand100m sprinter
Corinne Humphreys.
The chance to take a handfull of athletesouttoAltiswasa great opportunityand
experience foreveryone involved,it wasputtogetherforthe athlete’stobe immersedinanelite
track and fieldsetup,gainingvaluable coaching feedback fromhighlyknowledgeablecoacheson
varioustechnical aspectsof theirevents. Athleteswoulduse thistriptodeveloponself-reflective
feedbackaswell asgainingamore in-depthknowledgeof differentaspectof theireventsandhaving
a good trainingsetup.It givesthe athletesafew technical pointerstoworkonbefore the startof
theirseasonandalsotime to workin anytechnical changestheyfeel isbeneficial toimproving
performance incompetitionseason.
Altisdoesanincredible jobof makinganyandeveryone feelathome rightfromthe start.
The athletesquicklysettledintothe trainingroutine atthe campand undoubtedlytheyall learnta
lotfrom the coachesand the athletes.
Coaches,athletesand practitioners involvedat Altis
Beingoutin Phoenix atAltis centre allowedmyself tomeet,andthe athletestotrainwith
talentedOlympicand worldclass athletesandcoachesaswell as athleteswithalotof potential.
Such athletesinclude butnotlimitedto AriesMerritt(USA/ 110mh), Muna Lee (USA/100m)
Christabel Nettey (Canada/LJ),JodieWilliams(GB/200m),and DamionMcLean (JAMAICA/TJ),
Fabrice Lapierre (AUS/TJ), VikasGowda(INDIA/Discus) andmanymore fromall overthe world. The
nameslistedbeloware the coachesand practitionerswhohadthe most impacton the Newhamand
WalthamForestAthletes,myselfandLeah whilesatthe trainingcamp.
 JohnGodina– CEO/founder- throwscoach
 Dan Pfaff - Head coach
 Stuart McMillian- Lead sprintscoach
 Mike Boykin - Sprintscoach
 AndreasBehm - Lead sprints-hurdlescoach
 Chidi Enyia- Sprints& hurdlescoach
 NickSheuerman - Throwscoach

2.  Kyle Hierholzer&NatashaHarvey - Jumps& multi coach
 JasonHettler- Strength& powercoach
 Donna Rebadow - SportsMedicine Acupuncturist
 JunkoYazawa - Lead performance therapist
 JerodCarnahan - Performance therapist
Athleticstraining summary
Meetingandhavingthe privilegeof watching CoachDan Pfaff atwork,a true legendintrackand
field,wasanamazingexperience.Hisexpertiseandknowledge istrulyvalued andmany visitfrom
nearand far to feedoff of hisexpertise.Hisexperience withinthe eliteworld of trackand fieldis
extensive,he hastutored49 Olympiansandhascoachedathletesto57 national recordsina
multitude of events. WhilsttrainingatAltis,ChiomaMatthewswasunderthe watchful eyeof Coach
Dan Pfaff forthe firsttwo daysof hertraining.Inthose twodays Dan performedtrackside
treatmentonChioma,looseningherhips,knees,andankle whilstalsogivingChioma,myselfand
Leah (S&C) reasonsasto whyhe thoughtthiswouldbe beneficialtoher. CoachDan Pfaff lookedat
herbiomechanical gaitsinwarmup,herrun up and take off mechanics.Fromthishe was able to
give hera fewpointerstohelpimprove hertechnical developmentandsuggestedafew key
performance indicators(KPI’s)forherto workon. For the remainderof hervisit,Chiomareceived
coachingexpertise fromKyleHierholzerandNatashaHarvey(assistantjumpscoach),whobothhave
extensive knowledgewithinthe jumps side of athletics.Atthe campChiomacompletedAltiswarm
up whichlooksatmobilisingthe athlete before trainingaswell usingit asa reference toanalyse
athletes’movementpattern andmuscles/jointstiffness.Otherexercise/trainingincludedstanding
hopsintothe sandpitto teststatic explosive power, jumptechnique,20-40m(rudiments),shotput
throws, half approach triple jump,ELDOA (ÉtirementsLongitudinauxavecDecoaptation
OsteoArticulaire) techniquesandtheirweightsroutine.ELDOA isMyofascial stretchthat
“strengthensandnormalizesfunctionof the connective tissue forall the spine andspecificjoints
throughoutthe body”.Altisweightsroutine consistedof single legsnatch,seatedrackpress,bench
press,stepups,trap bar deadlift,alongwithotherweightbase exercises.
Whilstat AltisIalsohad the pleasure of meetingJohnGodina,the founderof Altis.Johnwas
a former3x World championand2x Olympicmedallist, andin2006 he openedthenWorldAthletics
Centre.Overthe twoweeksspentatthe trainingcampJohn workedcloselywithYoucef Zatat,along
withNickSheuerman.Afterdayone itwas clearYoucef was limitedinwhathe coulddousinghis
thencurrentglide technique,itwassuggestedthatgoingforwardJohn would trainhimusingthe
spintechnique which he feltwouldbe more efficientandeffective consideringYoucef’ssmall size. At
the endof day twoit wasclearthat John’s instinctandtrust inYoucef’sabilitytograspthe spin
technique hadpaidoff.Johnwasan amazingcoach to watch,the way inwhichhe broke downthe
technique andsetuptangible coaching cuesisan amazingabilitytohave aswell ashiscoachingeye.
The rest of the tripwas driventowardsrefiningsmallerpartsof the throw,feelingoutrightfrom
wrong. In eachsessionJohnGodinadida greatjob of breakingdownthe spinintoseparate phases,
graduallypiecingeachphase togetheruntil itwas complete. Duringhisweightsessions,Youcef
completedhisownsessionwithNickSheuermankeepinganeye onhistechnique andposture.
Youcef’sweightsessionconsistedof squats,benchpress,weightedvertical jumps,deadlift,clean
and press,snatchalongwithothermobilityexercises.
AndreasBehm,arelativelyyoungcoachwithaprettylaidback butdemandingcoaching
style wasthe prefectcoach forYasminMiller.Andreashasworkedwithanumberof athletesthat

3. whilstunderhisguidance have qualifiedforthe past2 Olympicsandthe lastthree World
ChampionshipssuchasAriesMerritt. Andreas’ssprintsphilosophyisveryaccelerationandspeed
drivensoit was no surprise thatwhilstcoached byAndreas,Yasminworkedmore on improvingher
accelerationacross 20m, 30m and 40m. Her trainingalsoincluded30mhurdle runs,andsand pit
jumps(double andsingleleg) usedtodevelopherstaticexplosivepower.The mainfocus forYasmin
was onkeepingherhipshighputtingherina tallerrunningposition. Inthe weightsroom, Leah
workedcloselywithYasmin,goingthroughhergymprogramme she completeswhilstinLondon
whichconsistedof exercisessuchaspowercleans,Nordics,trapbardeadlift, stepupsandpushups.
Short distance sprintersFinetteandCorinne spenttheirtwoweeksatAltistrainingwith
Chidi Enyia.Chidi hasover15 yearsof experience inperformanceenhancementcoaching,he has
recentlyjoinedAltiscoachingthe sprintsand hurdle groupalongwithAndreasBehmandStu
McMillian.Everymorningthe girls completedanintense warmup,deliveredbyJasonHettler,
workingonTorso activation,dynamicflexibilityandmobility thenprogressingontosprintdrillsand
elasticstrengthexercises.The athletes’mainsessionoverthe twoweekperiodwith Chidi consisted
mainlyof 10 - 40m accelerationrunsandwicketspeeddrill (- the bestwaytoteach topspeed
mechanics).AtAltisthe mainfirstandmostimportantteachingcue isaccelerationdevelopment and
technical efficiency,everysessionathletescompleteatleast3-5 accelerationruns. Ankle dribbles
are alsogreatlyemphasizedoninall sessions –teachingcorrectgroundcontact footstrike.Once a
weekthe sprintgrouphave a regenerationday(regenday) whichconsistof ownbodyweight
strengthcircuits, medball circuit, hurdle mobilitydrills, sandpitjumps, ELDOA,fascial stretchingand
banddistractionexercises. Inweekone FinetteworkedwithLeahusingherLondonbase gym
programme,incorporatingafewexercisesfromthe Altisgymprogramme.Corinne howeverjumped
straightintothe Altisgymsessioncompletingexercisessuchasditchstep,double steptopress,
Powell raises, trapbar deadliftandmanyotherexercises. Theseexerciseworkwellinincorporating
correct sprinttechnique andhittingthe rightanglesandmuscle activation(whendone correctly).
DuringweektwoFinette completedAltisgymsessionwhichsimilarlyfollowedthe same patternas
weekone,withafewnewexercisessuchasdumbbell seatedpress, staggeredsquat, bottomup
pushpress, and single &double leg glute hamstringraise.
EXOS offersahot and coldcontrast pool anda 25-meterlane pool.Hotand coldcontrast is
usedas a treatmentforpost-exercise muscle soreness,produce betterrecoveryandreducedmuscle
swellingafteranintense workout.Itworksbyanathlete spendingsome time inthe heatelement
and instantlymovingtothe coldelement,restandthenrepeatthe series. Youcef,Finette and
Corinne completedthistreatmentnumeroustimeaftertheirsessionsandfoundthatithelped
immenselywithmusclerecoveryandreducedsoreness.This treatmentwasgreattohave when
consideringthe athleteshave totrain6 days straight,itensurestheycouldshow upthe nextdayfor
trainingnotoverlysore andlethargic.
I mustadmitmeetingJunkoYazawaandwatchingher at work was great,herway of practice
are notlike the performance therapistyousee inthe UK.Junkohas assistedseveral stintsasan
athletictrainer/medical staff withthe USA Track and FieldNationalTeamforIAAFinternational
meetssince 2004, mostrecentlyatthe 2013 WorldChampionshipsinMoscow,Russia.She also
workedwiththe teamas the headathletictrainerinthe 2012 WorldJuniorChampionshipsin
Barcelona,Spain. Unfortunatelynotall the athletesgottoreceive treatmentfromJunkoasyoucan
imagine she isonhighdemandbythe full time athletes.Corinne andFinette,howeverwere the
fortunate onestohave gottenthe Junkoexperience. Corinne’sfeedbackwas;“Itwasnothinglike
I’ve hadbefore,andI feltgreatafterwards,the nexttwodayafterwardsIfeltnonigglesor
anything.”

4. Beingsurroundedbysomanygreat mindsintheirownrightwas a great and valued
experience, the whole Altisexperience wastrulyamazingandinvaluable. SpeakingtoDonna
Rebadow,AltissportsmedicineAcupuncturist,andwatchingherworkwassomethingnew and
different.The wayshe broke downwhatshe wasdoingand whyshe was doingitwas ona whole
otherlevel thatIam not familiarwith.Everycoachandpractitionerare extremelyknowledgeable,
theyare all willingtoshare theirviewsandphilosophywithanyonethatshowsaninterest.Inthe
short space of time at AltisIlearnta lotinregards to training,coaching,therapyandcreatingan
environmentsuitable fornurturingelite athletes’development.
KimbelyBaptiste