High Hurdles PHASES, DRILLS AND A 4 YEAR PLAN OF DEVELOPMENT Don Helberg Wheaton North High School Wheaton, IL
Goals for this Talk Review the phases of the hurdles My philosophy of training High Hurdlers Show drills we do 4 year development plan Corrections of common faults Present in a simplified (understandable) manor
Acknowledgements: There are sooooo many people who have helped develop me into the hurdle coach I am today that I cannot list them all, but there are a few to special note Willie May Rollie Eckman Wilbur Ross Marc Mangiacotti Boo Schexnayder Tommy Badon Wayne Clark Keith Klestinski Jim Martin Devlyn Lovell Jack Sands Al Carius Frank Gramaroso Gary Winckler All of the athletes I ve coached
Info: 34 years at Wheaton North. Always have coached the hurdles Ran hurdles in H.S. and College (North Central College, Naperville IL) Head Coach for past 26 years 2 State Trophies, 15 Conference Titles, 6 Sectional Titles 11 Individual State Champions, Many State Placers ITCCCA Hall of Fame 2008 (2 x Coach of the Year) USTFCCCA Board of Directors (2013-15) Executive Chair National Senate of High School Track Coaches Associations (2011-2016)
Coached Hurdles since 1985 110 High Hurdles Top 10 List 1) A.J. Harris 13.42 2002 2 x State Champ(state record holder) 2) Adam Harris 13.76 2005 2 x State Champ 3) Mike Trumpy 14.12 2009 3 rd Place State Meet 4) Steven Connor 14.25 2015 9 th Place State Meet 5) Ron Classen 14.2 H.T. 1969 State Champ 6) Frank Pettaway 14.2 H.T. 1992 6 th Place State Meet 7) C.J. Jossell 14.2 H.T. 2010 7 th Place State Meet 8) Chris Wight 14.3 H.T. 1977 6 th Place State Meet 9) Bob Brockman 14.4 H.T. 1973 10) T.J. Griffin 14.5 H.T. 2004
6 Phases of Hurdling Start Approach Take Off Clearance Landing Stepping out to next hurdle
Start Lead Leg is BACK in the blocks (8 steps) Take 8 steps to first hurdle (possibly 7??) Length of Drive Phase is ~4 steps Same Acceleration pattern as 100 m 120⁰ 90⁰
Approach After the Drive Phase the athlete needs to gain a TALL position Take off foot is below hips
Mike Trumpy 3 rd State Meet PR: 14.12 Start (Drive Phase), Getting Tall for Approach.
Take Off (Extension) Needs to be ~7 (~6 6 girls) in front of hurdle Hips need to be in front of T.O. foot before leaving ground Drives INTO the hurdle (not jumping) Leave T.O. foot behind
Take Off /Landing Distances Boys Girls Ht. T-O Landing Ht T-O Landing 5 5 7 6 3 2 5 3 6 7 3 1 5 7 7 5 3 5 5 5 6 6 3 3 5 9 7 4 4 0 5 7 6 5 4 0 5 11 7 3 4 0 5 9 6 4 4 2 6 1 7 2 4 0 5 11 6 3 4 3 6 3 7 1 4 0 6 0 6 2 4 3 TAKE OFF DISTANCE Distances are measured from the cross-bar Taken from Techniques magazine (Vol 7, #2, Nov 2013)
Clearance Lead Leg will extend forward (slightly bent) when extension is completed Need to have lean to raise center of gravity Arms are controlled to help keep balance Big split sets up proper trail leg
Landing Should land on ball of lead foot ~4 past hurdle Lead leg should land below center of gravity Trail leg should be kept high ready for the get away step
Stepping Out to Next Hurdle Get Away Step Most UNDER COACHED aspect of hurdling Lead foot must PUSH away from the hurdle Trail leg knee should be kept high to get maximum stride length away from the hurdle Will keep momentum going Will keep balance
Thanks To Keith Klestinski for providing this video All Phases Put Together Start Approach Take Off (Extension) Clearance Landing Get Away Step
My Philosophy of Coaching High Hurdles Do NOT do Hurdle Workouts Train with Short Sprinters Most hurdlers are better at one distance (Long or Short) so train them accordingly Do Hurdle Drills EVERYDAY (hurdling is muscle memory) Never go over more than 3 hurdles in a run Go over hurdles usually no more than 2 days/week Hurdle #1 is most important get this one right! Work on one aspect at a time and don t worry about other aspects Use Touchdown Times in practice
Hurdle Drills we do EVERYDAY after the workout Hip Circles Lead Leg Boxes (Extension) A and B Skips over hurdles Walking Hurdles Get Away s
Hip Circles Heel of foot should be at crossbar (coaching point!) Knee ALWAYS higher than ankle Finish toe up high on wall
Lead Leg Boxes (Extension) Try to get the Extension leave take off foot behind
A & B Skips over hurdles (10 toe-heel steps apart) Make sure they drive knee up toe up, good arm placement A Skips B Skips
Walking Hurdles (Tip Hurdle Over) Work on Extension, Arm Placement, and Get Away step 10 toe-heel steps apart
Get Away s (find small step) Land on ball of foot, keep trail knee high, BIG step away
Hurdle Technique Days They do the 5 Everyday Drills to warm-up 5 step drill to loosen up Bust Outs 1,2,3 hurdles (use touchdown times)
5 step drill to loosen up Use HH marks (use which every height you prefer) Put #1 at normal spot Put #2 two base lengths longer Put #3 four base lengths longer This way they can run at a decent speed 5 stepping Can work on all phases of hurdling at sub race pace
Bust Outs This is the term I use when I want them to come out of the blocks over the 1 st hurdle, first 2 hurdles, first 3 hurdles. I just say Bust 1, or Bust 2, or Bust 3 I discount hurdles (either distance or height) Do this is all weather conditions Put cones up to represent a finish line after their last hurdle
Bust Outs Bust 1- Work on start and steps to first hurdle Bust 2- Work on Get Away step from first hurdle, keeping momentum and balance Bust 3- Working Rhythm Usually don t do more than 10 Bust 1 s or Bust 2 s Usually no more than 5 Bust 3 s
Bust Outs Will use time touchdowns and share with athlete after each run to help them with where they currently are. If have injured athlete or tripod, use an I-Pad and video the Busts so we can analyze
Touchdown Times (can find on-line) Click split each time lead foot hits ground Target time H 1 H 2 H 3 H 4 H 5 H 6 H 7 H 8 H 9 H 10 Finish Time 13.6 2.5 3.6 4.6 5.6 6.6 7.7 8.8 9.9 11.0 12.2 13.6 14.0 2.5 3.6 4.6 5.7 6.8 7.9 9.0 10.1 11.2 12.4 14.0 14.4 2.6 3.6 4.7 5.8 6.9 8.1 9.3 10.5 11.7 12.9 14.4 14.6 2.6 3.7 4.7 5.8 7.0 8.2 9.4 10.6 11.8 13.0 14.6 15.0 2.6 3.7 4.9 6.0 7.2 8.3 9.5 10.7 12.0 13.2 15.0 15.5 2.7 3.8 5.0 6.2 7.4 8.6 9.8 11.0 12.3 13.6 15.5 16.0 2.8 3.9 5.1 6.4 7.6 8.8 10.1 11.3 12.6 14.0 16.0
4 Year Development Plan Goals I ve set up for ALL of my hurdlers (regardless of ability) Better Athletes will progress thru these faster As you work on 1 goal, don t worry about other aspects they will diminish because the athlete will be focusing on the 1 goal.
Freshmen Year Goals Good Trail Leg Knee up nice and high 8 steps to first Hurdle Good Get Away step Proper take off distance 3 step Aggressive into hurdles
Freshmen (Aggressive, good trail leg, 3 stepping, good get away step) Aaron Oduber PR = 16.9 HT
Sophomore Year Goals Faster 8 steps to first Hurdle Good Arm Placement and Action Proper Trajectory over Hurdle Quicker steps between hurdles 3 step whole race
Sophomore (faster to H1, faster between hurdles, better arm control) Josh James PR = 15.6 HT
Junior Year Goals Good Drive Phase out of blocks Good Arm Placement and Action Proper Trajectory over Hurdle at faster speeds Sprinting between hurdles
Junior (good arms, sprinting between) CJ Jossell 7 th state meet PR = 14.44
Senior Year Goals Good Drive Phase out of blocks Good Arm Placement and Action Proper Trajectory over Hurdle at faster speeds Sprinting between hurdles Good Finishing strides off last hurdle
Senior (sprinting off last hurdle) Steven Connor 9 th State meet PR 14.25
Correction of Common Faults Floating Chicken-Stepping (stuttering to hurdle)(not 3 stepping) Rocking Back Off of Hurdle Not Getting steps to first hurdle Wild Arms
Floating Floating- Leading with foot rather than knee Improper EXTENSION Wrong Right!
Floating
Floating-Corrections Walk hurdles set on HIGHS (tipped over). Tell athlete to leave trail leg foot on ground as long as possible Work lead leg boxes Get athlete to feel extension
Chicken Stepping
Chicken Stepping-Corrections Mark Take Off and Landing spot on track. Show how far they really have to go. They are afraid of distance between hurdles Walk hurdles and move them farther apart to increase step length between Work Get Away Step (big push with landing foot) Move hurdles closer together to get 3 step pattern
Chicken-Stepping Corrections Mark the landing ~4 and Take Off ~7 and show how far they actually have to go 30 18 9 L.D. T.O.D. 1 2 3
Rocking Back Off the Hurdle
Rocking Back Off the Hurdle-Corrections Lead Leg Box Extensions 5 step drill working on Extension Get Away s
Not Getting Steps to First Hurdle Corrections Not Being Aggressive out of the Blocks Improper Drive Phase steps Mark out Take Off Spot Start off with discounted heights ( even start with banana hurdle) Bust 1
Wild Arms Lead arm crossing mid line Lead foot crossing mid line
Wild Arms-Corrections Walk Hurdles and focus on arm placement/movement 5 Step Drill focusing on Arms Bust 2 Reach for paint
A.J. Harris (2 x state champ 13.42)
Thank You for Attending Contact me with questions/comments Good Luck with your season Don Helberg (Wheaton North H.S.) donald.helberg@cusd200.org