Fundamentals or Advanced Training? I don't think drills are bad but they tend to fail to prove that they transfer as much as we think to believe. Some drills may have different effects on various athletes and various times of development. A drill at an early stage may teach a part but at advance levels may hinder change. Some drills are just physical tools to stretch or strengthen parts of the ev [...]

Approach with 8 StepsApproach with 7 StepsWhen looking at speed over the hurdle is to look at the hips as they are the center of mass. We are going to use 8 steps to keep him consistent this year but from a long term approach I don't want to limit his college coach if a few years from now 7 is the new 8. I will review a more advanced hurdler and share what we plan to address in detail later. [...]

KRAENZLEIN, ALVIN 1876-1928Track-and-field championHurdling InnovatorAlvin Kraenzlein is one of the pivotal figures in the development of track and field. Historians of the sport recognize him as the father of straight-lead-leg hurdling (in which the first leg over the hurdle is kept straight and parallel to the ground). Hurdlers continue to employ this technique, which permits the athlete to clea [...]

I was talking to my friend and fellow coach Randy Gillon about improving the take-off to touch-down by a "work the dirt" method. I don't know Tony Veney that well but his name is brought up by Randy many times, as Tony has some nice words of wisdom of what we are trying to achieve with our training. The Cubans are an interesting set of track coaches as they have some fantastic insights. Here is [...]

Imagine that you are at a concert in Sevilla, after a stunning flamenco performance, clapping at a fast uniform pace, much like a heart beat while jogging. Even better, try it out right now, but stop after you reach twelve claps. Then do it again but this time execute the first, third, fifth, eighth, and eleventh claps loudly, and the remaining seven claps softly. Your clapping patte [...]