#255 - WE ARE ANDREW SIMMONS, TRAINING YOUTH TO THE PEAK OF THEIR RUNNING PERFORMANCES AND MORE

It's the height of track season and we are starting to see the action heating up even if the temperatures outside aren’t quite there yet here in Colorado. I’m actually pretty jealous of the following guest, Andrew Simmons, the owner and founder of Peak Performance Running in Golden CO. It is a club for high school and middle school runners, and is probably similar in many respects to others around the country. The reason the club exists in the first place is that many kids get substandard coaching in their own school programs, so they turn to Peak Performance Running and its team of coaches, athletic trainers, and physical therapists to try to achieve the results they hope to achieve. I’m certainly not knocking all school coaches, one of whom I have been. I know many, many great coaches who truly care about the kids they coach and have developed the knowledge and techniques to deliver superb experiences to them. I’ve also observed schools that don’t put any effort at hiring a coach with any relevant track experience. The school at which I recently coached is one of two in the league that simply gave the head track coach job to the football coach; ours admitted he knew nothing about track, but he was learning about it by watching YouTube videos! What are we doing here? Unfortunately, that is way too common in our schools, especially in sports outside of football, basketball, volleyball, and baseball. So that’s where clubs like Andrew’s come in. I’m jealous as I said because he can run the Peak Performance the way he likes and doesn’t have to deal with bureaucratic school administrators. What he has built is truly extraordinary. It’s a club that not only coaches, but also emphasizes character development. It hosts meets and camps, too, that showcase the fun these young runners have whether they are just starting out or have moved to more competitive levels. If you are a taxpayer with kids in school or not, this is an interesting discussion about how someone like Andrew has a vision to serve others and fill a gaping need. I think the lesson here also is that there is a strong argument for these clubs that operate outside of the school coaching realm, just like there are similar youth clubs in sports like soccer, volleyball, and more.

GoFundMe to buy a new racing chair for Julia Beckley.  Thank you!
http://bit.ly/3ZGigAb

Andrew Simmons
[email protected]
peakperformrun.com
Facebook Peak Performance Running
Instagram @peakperfomancerunning

Bill Stahl
[email protected]
Facebook Bill Stahl
Instagram @stahlor