Some Fundamental Aspects of Sprinting

Technique

Ralph Mann described two different factions in track in regard to starting. One he says, "advocates a powerful, explosive start that seeks to jump out and make steps as long as possible (Jump Start), and one that believes that the action should be a quick turnover action that makes the steps as short as possible (Shuffle Start)." He said that both starts can be effective. I say this to recognize that there is a bandwidth of acceptability, and I'm sure that many athletes that start effectively fall somewhere between Mann's two descriptions. In some of my other blogs I'll get more into the differences Mann points out in regard to the two factions.

Another very important description of two different styles of starting can be found in the book Running by Frans Bosch and Ronald Klomp. It states; "At the start of a sprint, the upper body is leaning forward. This position is achieved either by bending the spinal column quite far combined with a slight pelvic tilt forward, or by tilting the pelvis far to the front combined with little or no flexion in the spinal column." Very importantly, it is explained how the "little or no flexion" choice allows the erector spinae muscle group to be better utilized than is the case when the spinal column is bent quite far, and how this advantage can facilitate more effective force application and various superior movement dynamics. In my opinion, this difference can be seen when comparing John Ross's 4.22 forty-yard dash to Xavier Worthy's 4.21 40-yard dash, with Ross exhibiting an acceleration trajectory that features the more bent spinal column and less of a forward pelvic tilt. For a sprint as short as a forty-yard dash, my belief is that both styles often times can yield similar times. For the 100 and 200-meter dashes, with the importance of getting the most out of max velocity, I feel that the "little or no flexion in the spinal column with more pelvic tilt" works best. In my mind, Trayvon Bromell exhibits an acceleration trajectory that features the "more bent spinal column", and Carmelita Jeter exhibited less spinal flexion and more forward pelvic tilt (1 minute 39 second point of this video) and consequently a consistently more effective max velocity than Bromell. In some of my blogs I get deeper into this, but in regard to using starting blocks, I maintain that my method of teaching starting block use, especially with using my Level One Blocks, make it a lot easier for athletes to more naturally develop the starting style best suited for them! 

And Also

Adarian Barr describes some key aspects of movement in this video. He references gravity and the two falls an athlete should experience with each stride while running. Coaches and athletes must also understand that reflexes are an important part of the deal. Three reflexes often identified as important contributors during successful sprinting are the stumble reflex, crossed extensor reflex, and the stretch reflex. In my mind, a good choice coaches can make, is to do a lot of studying to gain a deep understanding of their craft and possibly develop their "coaching eye" to the extent that they can identify the falling athletes exhibit, the contribution of reflexes, etc..., when they are looking at sprinting, jumping, hurdling, etc..., at full speed, and learn to give appropriate cues to help facilitate successful execution.  This video alludes briefly describes the stumble and crossed extensor reflex, but I suggest checking out the book Running by Bosch and Klomp for a more thorough explanation. This awesome video does a super job in regard to the stretch reflex.

In my experiences, less than skillful wording and cues given, and/or a coach's misunderstanding of subject matter can be counterproductive. Sprinting, ideally, occurs with a very high stride rate, I often qualify what I'm telling my athletes by telling them that they will best work things out when competing with others, and I add that at times, after the fact, they may say to themselves, "wow, I felt what coach was talking about that time", but again, things should happen fast through sufficient ranges of motion, with an effective use of power, timing and rhythm. Many times, I like to use general terms like "moving well", "moved away from competitors", etc..., to keep things in the proper perspective when talking to athletes about technique.

Some Limiting Factors 

For sprinting, various limiting factors are critical components. Some of these factors are strength, flexibility, mechanics, coordination, and conditioning. Much of the information in my blogs pertain to mechanics, but I hope to make it clear how technical aspects are supported by various physical abilities that often go hand in hand with these abilities. I believe it is important for coaches to attempt to assess their athletes early on in regard to their physical qualities, and execution of fundamental aspects. This should allow the coach(es) to individualize instruction to some degree. As coaches, we love to find athletes with a lot of raw ability, but it takes a lot of skill for the coach to effectively nurture those abilities and help to effectively steer the athlete. When dealing with youths, age-appropriateness is an important consideration. Coaches need to be able to recognize various limitations athletes may have at the varying levels of maturity and developmental stages as they are trying to accomplish various tasks.  

FLEXIBILTY

It is important not to underestimate the importance of flexibility. For child athletes, their flexibility is most often very impressive, but with maturity, as the muscles and tendons strengthen, flexibility inevitably lessens. According to Ralph Mann (rest his soul)," The biggest non-genetic factor affecting flexibility, however, is neglect." He explained the critical role flexibility plays, stating, "If a sprinter is not flexible enough in their pelvic area to shift their hips forward at Touchdown, then they are forced to "sit back" at foot strike. This position not only shifts the body center back (insuring more braking forces) but also presents a "soft" (less rigid) body position which leads to time consuming hip flexion, as well as requiring the hips to move through a longer range of motion (both time and energy wasteful).

There are varying degrees of flexibility and ranges of motion demonstrated by successful sprinters. Understanding what Mann explained can help coaches identify various methods of compensation athletes may use, as well as help coaches consider strategies to address root causes of various movement issues. Left unaddressed, some issues not only can hamper performance, but also can lead to injury. It is important to realize that athletes at all levels exhibit compensatory actions related to body structure/development, previous injuries, etc... Although I certainly am not an expert in this area, I hope to provide helpful information in some of my blogs. The summer of last year, I participated in the Altis Apprentice Coach Program in Atlanta, and it made a huge impression upon me when I saw the attention the athletes got on the therapy tables, getting massages and other forms of body work meant to address various issues that if untreated, could have been problematic. ​​​​​​​

STRENGTH/CONDITIONING

There is obviously a significant genetic component to strength, but a major challenge for the coach is to adequately address the static, dynamic, and elastic strength needs, as well as getting the athlete to apply these abilities effectively to help maximize performances when sprinting. Deficiencies in the needed specific power and strength can manifest themselves as collapsing hips, knees and/or ankles during movement up the track. Poorly conditioned bodies are also prone to injury. As with flexibility, being able to identify various functional strength needs can be very valuable, and as with flexibility, various functional strength aspects support good technique, ie; joint stability, reinforcing the way muscles should fire, etc... My "Physical Development" blog covers this as well as conditioning.