I had the pleasure of sitting down with Tom Tellez and asked the questions that most coaches had about the current debates on forums and one of them was on vertical and horizontal forces. Like any master of coaching, Tom at a ripe age of 76 was sharp and created clarity to what was going on. I can’t say enough good things about him as for two hours we addressed some very high level concepts and Tom made sure it was clear what the underlying physics were. In November, Toronto will host the CACC clinic for coaches and people are more than welcome to ask the same questions I did. When addressing top speed I asked about vertical and horizontal forces in sprinting. Tom proceeded to share the simple concept of the garden hose spraying water . When you tilt slightly back the garden hose will see the water rise, given that you are holding it parallel to the ground. The best angle is a combination of physics and anatomy, and increasing the forces on the down stroke of the stride will increase the distance, sort of like turning on the water pressure. Efforts to pull back will cause you to fall on your face. Since you are already sprinting vertical forces with trajectory angle will allow for greater levels of speed only if you can apply the forces better (power,contact time,technique).
Carl Valle
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