Elitetrack: Sport Training & Conditioning

i ask this because i have a couple athletes that seem to stall out in a triple extension position after every push. maybe i need to cue these kids differently? what do you say to an athlete that is overdoing each push?

tough question- what to say to kids to get them to not overdo it but also keep them pushing a lot to accel, i cant help you sorry but i’m really interested to see what people have to say

i just watched the videotape of friday’s practice and one girl appears almost hyperextended at toe-off! wtf? her heel is over the opposite knee on the first stride. i guess we have some work to do. suggestions?

Hard to picture what you’re saying.  You want to make sure they have a LOW heel recovery for the first few strides.  Also make sure they aren’t letting the lower leg swing out. 
You can think of the thigh as a hammer and the shin as a nail.  You want the nail to go into the track like this / not | during accel

This is possibly my most unclear post ever.  Sorry…hope you can understand some of it.

she is recovering her heel way too high (up to her butt). she used to not be able to achieve triple extension. when i told her to “PUSH” really hard she ended up with the previously stated position. this is really frustrating because she has worked hard all winter in the weight room and now i have her all F’ed up. i may need a therapist.

You could try telling her to “step over the ankle” insteadof step over the knee during acceleration.
The cue I often use in situations like that is “just do it the way you used to” or to paraphrase another’s cue on this board I believe “f*** it, just run”.  Sometimes improving an athlete’s power alone can fix alot of technical issues in the absence of any technical instruction.

i will try the “step over the ankle” cue tomorrow. if that doesn’t elicit the appropriate response i will try prone starts. if that doesn’t work i might tape my mouth shut and wear a shirt with the words ... “f*** it, just run”.

If you do decide to print shirt with “f*** it just run” on them please let me know where I can purchase one.

i will try the “step over the ankle” cue tomorrow. if that doesn’t elicit the appropriate response i will try prone starts. if that doesn’t work i might tape my mouth shut and wear a shirt with the words ... “f*** it, just run”.

I would say you most likely have a strength issue with this girl.  Acceleration is heavily dependent upon this.  The prone starts would be a good thing to revisit. I often need to revisit very basic concepts in acceleration throughout the season with developmental sprinters.

I’ll take a t-shirt too.

I’m also having a tough time envisioning exactly what’s going on with this girl’s starts, but I suspect it has something to do with integrating a specific new movement into a well-coordinated sequence.  With less talented or less athletic individuals, if I tell them to do “x”, they tend to do “x” and not much else. 

What to do?  Well, I like the suggestion of having a “just f*** it and run” drill, where the athlete is focused simply on achieving a feel or a rhythm or an outcome, rather than a specific movement.  The goal is to see the movement-specific cue carry over in a more fluid or functional fashion.

If things are still terrible, they’re usually terrible in a slightly different way, and you’ll get an idea of what needs tweaking when they’re actually running, instead of overemphasizing a particular element of their start.

thanks for all the replies. i think i have given her too much feedback and now her head is full of clutter. maybe if i just lighten up and let her run her body will sort out her problems. she is very quick - so maybe telling her too push longer is playing too much to her weakness? maybe she is better off quick stepping and not worrying about triple extension.