110 HURDLES 101. David Pennington Shawnee Mission East

Transcription

1 110 HURDLES 101 David Pennington Shawnee Mission East

2 TODAY WE WILL COVER Recruiting Hurdlers SM East Program Practice / Drills / Etc. Hurdle Technique & Mechanics Common Errors Selected Workouts Coaching Philosophy

3 What you need to know FROM THE START

4 COACHING THE HURDLES Coaching is the best job in the world. But you have to work at it. To be a good hurdle coach you have to rise to the challenge much as you expect your athletes to do. For your athletes and your program to improve, you have to be a student of the sport and expect your athletes to do so as well. Network, Clinics, Youtube

5 WHO MAKES THE BEST HURDLERS? Breaking the Mold Everyone is a hurdler until proven otherwise. Don t look at an athlete and decide before they step on track. Athletes willing to work hard every practice. Don t have to be TALL Don t have to be that FLEXIBLE Give me a girl or guy with GUTS.

6 DREAM BIG / EXPECT SUCCESS I start preaching from the beginning that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE. Making Varsity as a Freshmen Being a State competitor by a Senior Becoming a College athlete

7 OUR PROGRAM What s worked for us so far at SM East

8 EXPECTATIONS / SET THE TONE Discuss expectations If you want to be a hurdler you will work harder than any other specialty You will be at practice everyday Mastering sprinting and hurdles You will be one of the last kids to leave practice daily You will be respectful of each other and encourage each other

9 TEAM WARMUP Group Warm Up (Entire Team) Sweats daily unless it is 80 degrees, TOP & BOTTOM, 3 lap warm up Dynamic drills: Skips with forward arm swings Skips with backward arm swings Side to side with claps at top Karaoke high knee Straight leg bounds ANKLING A Skip, A run, Build ups Personal stretching (calf) Leg swings front-back, side-side

10 HURDLE STRETCHES Everyone grabs a hurdle and raises to inches Straight leg stretch Toward hurdle and toe Down to toe of standing leg Bent leg stretch Rest bent leg on top of hurdle Bend down touch toes hold, relax Bend straight leg to feel stretch in flexors

11 SPRINT DRILLS A good starting point is to assess the athletes running technique. We emphasize the same thing sprint coaches emphasize. Toe up, Knee up Heel recovery Stay hips tall Be up on the balls of your feet Arms at 90 degrees - cheek to cheek Don t cross your arms across your body

12 HURDLE DRILLS TRAIL LEG (WALKING, SIDE) Set up a row of 8 hurdles, with the bases touching. LLLLLLLL Height: 30 for Girls & 33 for Guys Focus on: Foot in front of hurdle Drive knee up and through the hurdle Continue to drive knee upward and close the door Repeat 5-8 times.

13 HURDLE DRILLS LEAD LEG (WALKING, SIDE) Same setup as before, 8 Hurdles, bases touching Focus on: Take step with takeoff (trail leg) / punch through the ball of your foot Drive bent knee to the hash mark on the hurdle Toes up, knees up. Push forward with the take off leg to continue forward motion, bringing hips forward and over the hurdle. Demonstrate the power push off by having athlete rest flat foot on hurdle and pulling upward on thigh so they extend up. Demonstrate you can be an inch from the hurdle and still make it up and over the hurdle

14 HURDLE DRILLS OVER THE TOP (WALKING) Set up a row of 8 hurdles, with the bases touching. LLLLLLLL Height: 30 For Females & 33 For Males Focus on: Foot in front of hurdle Try to mimic the isolated (half hurdle) lead and trail leg drills Toes up Lead leg knee straight toward hash, up and over with trail leg following Trail leg knee up and over, continue to drive knee and close the door Arm action precise, don t allow arms to float. Shoulders and hips square! Repeat 5-8 times.

15 HURDLE DRILLS PROPER ARM TECHNIQUE As in any running events your arm action tells your legs what to do. Fast Arms = Fast legs Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Focus on: Take step with takeoff (trail leg) / punch through the ball of your foot Lead arm comes up with thumb stopping mid chest. Elbow up. Quick, snapping action as it returns to your side. Lead arm watch and lead leg knee are connect by string. Trail arm action is normal running motion. Rotation at the shoulder elbows at 90. Stop hand at hip.

16 HURDLE DRILLS TRAIL LEG (HOP) Set up a row of hurdles, at discounted steps How To: Jog toward hurdle and punch take off leg Hop with lead leg and bring trail leg up and over the hurdle. Jog to next. Progress by increasing take off distance and speed eventually full speed.

17 HURDLE DRILLS OVER THE TOP Standing start with jog between hurdles Emphasis precise movements arms and legs Forward lean - driving the forearm forward as if shucking someone in football. Benefits of Forward Lean vs Downward Lean Bent lead leg Quick action with trail leg Tight ball on top of hurdle Constant forward motion. Downward makes a lazy trail leg

18 COACHING THE 3-STEP Key is discounting hurdles and confidence Drastically discount hurdles like 4 foot lengths per hurdle 1 st hurdle normal distance/marking 2 hurdle 4 steps in toward start 3 hurdle 8 steps in toward start 4 hurdle 12 steps May need to use cones to the side to divide up the space L. ^. ^. L. ^. ^. L Punch 1 st and last step. Many coaches emphasize shuffle in-between hurdles, but at this age they need the power of high knee action and kids tend to step out too far in front of body. I d rather they get their knees up and sprint.

19 3-STEP / CONTINUED Don t absorb the track. You are not loading up and jumping the hurdles you are running the hurdles Punch the track. Everything is straight down the track. Don t allow arms to come across body. Don t allow arm to curl around the back. Knee/leg straight down the track so equal action/reaction doesn't make you wander all over the track. Shoulders square.

20 EVERY REP COUNTS We spend a lot of time at SME going over hurdles, starting Day 1. Anytime we get a sunny day, we choose to hurdle, even if it means rescheduling a running workout or doing both. When we practice, we don t let athletes go over only 1 hurdle. It s always two or more. And they are required to run off the hurdle they clear to the next hurdle. The purpose of reps are just like free throws - to develop muscle memory and rhythm. Reps are done for quality not quantity. ONCE form drops off, the reps stop. Athletes wanting to do just one more must wait till the next day.

21 HURDLE MECHANICS Lets put it all together.

22 Toe Up, Heel to Butt

23 Toe up, knee up, hips tall, good arm action & aggressive

24 Lead arm watch connected to lead knee. Distance to hurdle (little too close).

25 Push/lean forward, knee bent, allows athlete to look and move forward.

26 Plenty of room to bring trail leg through. Knee still bent, trail arm doesn't wrap around back.

27 Trail leg knee up & moving toward running position. Lead leg extended with toe up & ready to punch.

28 Moving on to next hurdle. Everything straight down the track.

29 BEYOND THE BASICS A few more-advanced fundamentals

30 COMFORTABLE RHYTHM NEEDS TO GET UNCOMFORTABLE The old adage if it ain t broke don t fix it doesn t apply to elite hurdlers. With beginning hurdlers you are constantly striving for them to find that comfortable rhythm. The go to rhythm 1,2,3 1,2,3, It s a rhythm once they find it they want to go to it over and over. But for an elite hurdler that comfort gets in the way of success. You default to the lopping rhythm because it s comfortable. You go through the motions and stay within your comfort zone.

31 HOW TO BREAK OUT OF THE COMFORT ZONE It s all about the arms Remember the Basics Rotate from the shoulder. Emphasis on lead arm watch and lead leg knee connection. Lead arm should push forward - as mentioned earlier. Don t allow your lead arm to cross the body. As important is the need to stop your trail arm by your side instead of letting it float on back beyond your back pocket. Abruptly stopping it and driving back up will help to get your lead leg down to ground faster. QUICK QUICK Remember, quick arms = quick legs Keep the motions quick and sharp.

32 COMMON ERRORS Finding & fixing bad habits

33 ERROR TAKE OFF TOO CLOSE Boys should be at about 7 feet & Girls 6+ feet Crowding the hurdle or being on the hurdle is tough for beginning hurdlers They fear hitting the hurdle so they get closer to hurdle Getting closer either makes them jump up and over the hurdle or they hit the hurdle!

34 ERROR HITTING HURDLES W/ TRAIL LEG Happens due to an everted toe. As hurdler bring trail leg across hurdle the foot hangs down and toes hit the hurdle. The toes need to be kept tight to the body and parallel to the hurdle crossbar. Like anything muscle memory developed by doing the wall drill can help Assessment of sprint mechanics to see if athlete runs with toes down. Correct sprint mechanics and toe issue will be corrected as well. Finally the forward lean, pushing forward keeps your chest over your thigh allowing more room for your trail leg to come through and the forward motion.

35 ERROR DROPPING TO TRACK You start dropping to the track. You get to the hurdle and over the hurdle fine, but as you clear the hurdle your lead leg completes its action an inch or two before the track and you literally fall to the track. Causing you to drift farther out and allows less time for your sprinting actions. Correct it by continuing to push on the far side of the hurdle. The statement once you are in the air you can t do anything about your hurdling isn t true You can drive your leg down. While maintaining your lean, actively engage the ankle/foot in striking the ground. Punching it. This will propel you forward toward the next hurdle. Disconcerting at first it will become the new comfortable feeling they strive for.

36 WORKOUTS Here are some of our go-to reps

37 WORKOUT QUICK STEPS // SPEED Speed, Quickness Focus 5-7 H 6 yards apart 1 st hurdle on the regular mark quickness not speed drill, clear them as quickly as possible, should feel crowded. Force yourself to be quick. Do H in 2 sets. 5-7 min recovery-stay loose. Don t sit down.

38 WORKOUT QUICK STEPS // ENDURANCE Endurance Focus 8-10 H 6 yards apart Do H in 3 sets. 1 st hurdle on regular mark

39 WORKOUT ZONE DRILL Pre-race workouts 2 days prior to major race Hurdles 1-4 set up Open zones where hurdles 5-7 go then set up Hurdler gathers speed through the zone. 2-3 reps out of blocks and 5-7 m recovery

40 MY PHILOSOPHY Some things learned along the way

41 WHAT TO DO WHEN THINGS GO WRONG If you don t teach them, they aren t going to know. What happens when you fall? Touch a hurdle? Knock a hurdle over? False start? Someone hurdle in your lane? Teach them never to walk off the track unless they are hurt. You started the race, finish it. Hurdling From Behind Focus, Don t panic, never give up, finish thru the line. Run as if running down hill, smooth Just like in sprinting don t fight and get tight.

42 HELPING TO BUILD CONFIDENCE Acknowledge & Celebrate Milestones. Getting through first race Setting a PR Finishing race with NO Stutter stepping Breaking PR First 3-Step Race Strong Finishes, etc. Remind them that this is a process, and that it doesn't happen overnight.

43 MY PHILOSOPHY You never know what one thing you say to an athlete that may change their life for ever. Sports can be life changing if approached correctly not by developing a big headed, conceited, it s all about me athlete. Use your influence to talk about the big picture (life, families, peers and yes - difficulties) Mold them into good citizens These are just kids They want your attention They want to please you They don t want to look stupid Text them Good practice Keep up the good work Build confidence and trust It s all about the relationships you develop.

44 COLLEGE EXPOSURE Indoor Meets: KU, KSU, MU, Arkansas Weekend Meets: Drake Relays, KU Relays, Arkansas