Reflections on Rivalries (and 5 Lessons Learned from a Change in Perspective)

Do you have someone you respect even if you don’t agree with everything they say, do, or believe? I suggest you seek those people out and engage with them regularly, with deference.

I consider Tony Holler to be one of these people, and I’ll tell you what I have learned from Tony and his presence.

For those who don’t know him, Tony has set fire to long-held traditions for training sprinters by questioning or downright rejecting methods considered holy by other sprint practitioners. He coined the phrase “Feed the Cats” for his philosophy. When I first heard this program on the World Speed Summit, it made me uncomfortable because it is so foreign to what I have used to develop my athletes for decades.

Through the years, I have found value in interacting with Tony and other such “thought outliers.” Building these relationships has helped reshape my perspective on how we can learn, inspire, and disagree while not becoming (or staying) enemies. Finding clarity not through agreement but through an understanding of how others do things differently can be empowering for perspective, context, and growth.

Finding clarity not through agreement but through an understanding of how others do things differently can be empowering for perspective, context, and growth, says @SprintersCompen. Share on X

It is important to build bridges, or at least doorways, not walls. Through dialogue—and even, at times, criticism—you will be forced to be clearer in your purpose and mission.

This defense and explanation can help you create a brand of your own and a fully fleshed-out identity. Over time, when someone makes strong points, there can be value in shifting your point of view for the benefit of others instead of holding on to beliefs that are antiquated in their original form. Finally, when you commit yourself to becoming a lifelong learner and staying curious, it helps influence those around you to do the same, enabling your athletes and colleagues to have a life of growth to stay relevant in the field.

1. Clarity Is Important

In 2020, Tony and I had a four-hour debate on Zoom about our training methods and philosophies. In many respects, this came about through a combination of factors. First, Tony and I seemed to be following one another at coaching clinics. Because our training systems were so different, it drew people into different camps. In our polarized world, this sets us up as rivals when, in fact, we are friends and peers with different contexts in which we try to accomplish a similar task: providing joy for young people through sport.

The debate was heralded as a prize fight. Like many heavyweight bouts, people hoped to see blood or a vicious knockout. Instead, something very different came out of the lengthy online talk. Tony leveled a critique of my system as being too complex. While I didn’t enjoy that comment and believed my system was not overly complicated, I realized that I certainly wasn’t making it as consumable as it could be for the masses.

I recognized that I needed to create entry points to my philosophy—not only for buy-in but so I could clearly teach others what I believe. The critique led me to narrow down the fundamental principles in the Critical Mass System to those I find the most valuable. I learned that I need to start with my key principles of training based around:

• The race distance.
• The intensity.
• The demands of the key competition of the year.

Those three things needed to be clear, as they were the keys to my entire strategy as a coach. From there, I could add more detail, but first, I needed to give coaches a clear path to explore the galaxy of options.

I thoroughly enjoyed the conversation. As many of you know, Tony and I are both very feisty. While we kept the debate respectful, at times, we were certainly uncomfortable as well. However, many people would avoid exposing themselves to criticism or even allowing someone to question their methods publicly. I believe that conversation shaped how other hot-button topics should and could be handled in the future!

2. Go on a Mission

Tony once told me, “You’re a centrist.” He later said that only radicals make history. While I agree with the sentiment, I also believe that centrists can help radicals create a consensus to move forward together to something better.

His statement led to a bit of a moral dilemma. I am a person who loves to build consensus on moving forward with a unified front. A centrist is certainly not, on their face, considered “radical,” but in our polarized society, maybe I could become a radical centrist, or better yet, a synergist.

I liked how Bruce Lee did this with his martial art, Jeet Kune Do. His martial art avoided ideas that were intellectual silos, instead taking the best of many styles of fighting, almost like a precursor to MMA as we see it today. So, instead of responding with an open-ended “it all depends,” I believe a more evolved response should be, “It all depends, but due to your particular situation, you should try this and explore options here.”

Don’t close yourself off to ideas; be clear in what you value. If I appreciate exploration and open consideration, then I darn well better be a radical in my willingness to create dialogue. Share on X

Don’t close yourself off to ideas; be clear in what you value. If I appreciate exploration and open consideration, then I darn well better be a radical in my willingness to create dialogue and be a vessel to disseminate knowledge for others who may be radically apart from one another. I want to constantly bridge-build where I can and dig my heels in the ground with things I actually believe.

3. Build an Identity You and Others Can Believe In

Much is made of Tony’s cult of personality. While some may malign that as silly or a religion without a deity, I find it to be a significant point of strength. If you want to influence others, you need to be respected and have a brand that drives intrigue to shape their world. More importantly, if you are altruistic, people must rally behind you to create the change you feel has sweeping value.

Tony’s value can be measured in a multitude of ways—first (but not limited to) by bringing non-track nerds like me back into the sport: not only athletes but others in the strength and conditioning space who come from a field sport mentality. Additionally, the idea of how to brand and make money through our value is unprecedented. While making money is not our core purpose, it does provide us with a means to financially support the principle of making practice the best part of our student-athlete’s day.

Too many of us starve while we make riches for others. Absolutely, you should help others! However, there should be an exchange. This doesn’t have to be cash, but it could be a meal, a coffee, a review, or even a professional speaking engagement.

You have value, and more so if you have a brand. What’s your brand? Mine, the Critical Mass System, has made me a lot of connections and helped pay some of my family’s bills.

That brand wouldn’t have a lot of value if it weren’t for the counterpoint of Tony’s philosophy with which I could contrast it. Thus, my support of longer intervals, tempo training, and more voluminous training sessions is different than Tony’s method; however, due to our discussions and defense of our approaches, they now hold up better to critique, allowing for more effective adoption of techniques based on what your circumstance may need.

4. Be Willing to Change

Many of you who have come across Tony recently might think this doesn’t apply, but if you would humor me, you might see value in this perspective. Many of you know Tony as the Feed the Cats guy, “Mr. Fly 10s,” and absolute speed over everything else. He could be dismissed by coaches who believe in different roads to success or by the off-putting attitude of the messenger. However, ask yourself, “How did Tony come to this?”

In large part, it was an epiphany resulting from observing his exhausted athletes and having a son who said, “Track sucks, Dad.” Realize that this man won numerous state titles with a method that resembled a long-to-short system. Now imagine you are on the cusp of a Hall of Fame career and decide to throw out large parts of your program for a new and radical idea. While Tony and I have things we disagree on now, who knows how our systems will continue to evolve before we decide to hang it all up?

More importantly, we have more in common than we don’t have in common. For example, we want our kids to enjoy their sports, learn life lessons, and certainly achieve success compared to their competition. Ultimately, the job is not about being the smartest person holding a stopwatch. It is instead about being a vessel for our athletes’ joy in the pursuit of a challenging task. But, of course, in the world of Twitter (X) and “hot takes,” that’s no fun!

Tony’s work has made me reevaluate what I do through my system—especially with particular kids that I feel have the physical makeup or supportive needs that might flourish more with a Feed the Cats template. While I might not adjust my entire system and replace it wholesale with a long-to-short system, block method, triphasic training, or Feed the Cats, I am inspired never to think I have everything figured out and am in a lifelong search for enlightenment and nuance to evolve into a better coach. Tony’s complete metamorphosis shows the impact of what can happen if you are willing to change, even in the latter stages of your career.

5. Help Others Who Help You

Tony is an Amplifier. In some respects (and if you know Tony’s politics, you know he might not like this characterization), he is a sort of Joe Rogan. If you are at his conferences, mentioned in his podcasts, or brought on as someone he thinks is noteworthy, it can change your trajectory and impact you on a national level. In many respects, he is a kingmaker.

I find this to be one of his most outstanding contributions to the world of athletic performance. Many of you now know who Brad Dixon, Brian Kula, JT Ayers, and even “yours truly” are because we’ve had our signals boosted by the relationship. In turn, we do that for him and others as well. That ability represents a power few have, especially on social media in the sports performance field.

Due to this, I try to broadcast good work and amplify people where I can. In many ways, with the encouragement of my friend Mike Cunningham and his “Gill Connections” podcast, that was the reason I started the “Companions of the Compendium” podcast: to turn up the volume on the voices of people who I believe have many things to contribute to our world of health, fitness, and performance.

The Intellectual Post-Game Handshake

Make sure you have a proper perspective on rivals and competition. They are often our best teachers, forcing us to reflect on our practices and strengthen our original convictions.

Make sure you have a proper perspective on rivals and competition. They are often our best teachers, forcing us to reflect on our practices and strengthen our original convictions. Share on X

Not every rival deserves respect, and some are more than cantankerous. I would argue these people are opponents and not rivals, though, and there’s a difference. However, over time, you can appreciate rivalry based on mutual respect or at least the fact that they push to improve. It is essential to keep that in perspective.

Thankfully, we are past the age of life-or-death duels and gladiatorial games. While we contest one another intellectually or physically, once out of the arena, these people are not your mortal enemies. Instead, they are the vehicle by which to learn and better ourselves through the crucible of competition.

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF