Tony Holler’s “Feed the Cats” Complete Sprint Training Program

with Tony Holler,
Plainfield North High School (IL) Head Boys Track & Field Coach;
2015 ITCCCA Hall of Fame Inductee;
over 35 years of coaching experience at the high school level

“Feed the Cats” is a revolutionary new method of training sprinters from Plainfield North High School head coach Tony Holler. No longer must you put your sprinters through long workouts that make them feel crushed by the end! This program will help you teach your sprinters to run fast using micro-segments of work. Holler shows how you can help athletes learn how to run fast without sprinting.

In a sport that often lacks innovative training methods, the “Feed the Cats” program bucks the trends to give you a new way to enhance your sprint training.

10 Commandments of “Feed the Cats”

In order to adhere completely to the “Feed the Cats” program, Coach Holler states that you must follow its 10 essential commandments, which include:

• Do high quality work with maximum focus over the least amount of time possible
• Prioritize rest, recovery, and growth; never underestimate the power of being happy and healthy
• Never forget – people naturally are good at what they like and are OBSESSED with what they love
• Promote your program with unrestrained enthusiasm
• “Record, Rank, and Publish” to feed the competitive nature of your fast-twitch athletes
• Never force-feed
• Never grind
• Never crush the physical or emotional soul of your athletes
• Never inflict physical punishment – punish only by taking away the opportunity to do the work
• Never forget, “Light a fire, don’t fill a pail.”

Micro-Dose Training

Coach Holler explains how training sprinters in micro-dose amounts is the best way for athletes to get faster. All sprint coaches must make max-speed a priority, and the goal of micro-dose training is specifically to train with a minimum effective dose.

Sprinting fast is the foundation behind the sprinter. The faster the top-end speed, the faster the sub-max speed. Remember: to run fast, the athlete must train fast!

Points of Emphasis

Coach Holler states that if you want to increase speed, you must emphasize sprint mechanics, max-speed sprinting, and jumping. Holler demonstrates more than 30 drills that he uses to focus on stiffness, posture, and balance. The end result is better stabilization of the body, which causes stiffness and therefore faster speed.

Holler emphasizes that drills have to have a positive effect on speed without burning out the athlete. You’ll see how to workout without sprinting maximally every day, giving your sprinters the option to prioritize rest, which will keep them fresh throughout the season.

In order to beat the best, you have to train differently than the best. The “Feed the Cats” program from Tony Holler will allow you to do just that with your sprinters. This unique approach to sprint training will give your team the boost it needs to win more events than ever.