On Tuesday, August 7th, the Chester County Running Store presented Dinner with
Coach Frank "Gags" Gagliano at the Market Street Grille in West Chester. Those fortunate enough to share time and stories with the legendary coach, were treated to a nearly hour-long, entirely entertaining chance to hear Coach Gags' take on his not-for-profit running club (The NJ-NY Track Club)... on his athletes (including 2012 Olympic 5K Finalist Julie Culley), on his training philosophy (in great detail)... and more. This four-part series will be posted by the time Culley toes the line in Friday's 5K Finals in London. Enjoy!
Oh... and you can't support his club by buying shoes. They are totally independent so that athletes from anywhere in the U.S. can benefit from Coach Gags and his training. The NJ/NY Track Club is a not-for-profit and your donation is totally tax deductible. To become a sponsor, drop an email to Coach Gags directly... or donate from this page on their site.
PART ONE: Nike Farm Team - Old Friends - Coacing Philosophy - Rivalries
PART TWO: The NJ/NY Track Club - His Training Regimen - His Olympic Trials and Olympic Athletes
PART THREE: Paying your coaching dues, the use of intuition and adjusting to conditions in training, overtraining, and his opinions on Mo and Galen.
PART FOUR: It's an open Q&A on how to motivate athletes, both elite and high school, and training questions on strength and speed.
Coach Gags' has coached every level of track and field, from high school athletes to Olympic qualifiers. He began coaching at Roselle Catholic in NJ, later became director of Track and Field at Rutgers University, moved onto become head coach and eventually Director of Track and Field at Georgetown University, founder of the Washington DC based Reebok Enclave elite professional track and field team, founder of the Nike Farm Team in Palo Alto, CA and later became the 1st coach in the resurgence of the Oregon Track Club, the most dominant middle distance club in USA Track and Field. At Georgetown Coach Gagliano produced 140 All-America performers, five Olympians, seven individual national champions, and 23 BIG EAST championship teams. Since coaching professionals exclusively, Coach Gags' has trained countless numbers of athletes to USATF Nationals Finals, World Championship teams, World Championship finals, Olympic Teams and Olympic Finals. Coach Gagliano has brought his wealth of talent and knowledge back home to the NY/NJ area where he will undoubtedly continue his tradition of excellence with his newest venture, the NJ*NY Track Club. Most recently, he coached Julie Culley to a win in the 5000 meters at the Olympic Trials.
Part One of Four: Coach Gags talks about the Nike Farm Team, old friends, and his coaching philosophy.
Part Two of Four: Coach Gags talks about the NJ/NY Track Club, his training plan in detail, and how the plan is working for his athletes, including Olympian Julie Culley.
Part Three of Four: Paying your coaching dues, the use of intuition and adjusting to conditions in training, overtraining, and his opinions on Mo and Galen.
In Part Four, it's an open Q&A on how to motivate athletes, both elite and high school, and training questions on strength and speed.