This is Dr. Mike Young's presentation from the 2014 Midwest Speed Summit. Dr. Young is the owner and Director of Performance at Athletic Lab sports performance training center and has coached multiple national champions in Track & Field along with working with some of the fastest athletes in soccer, football and baseball. This presentation focuses on applied sprinting mechanics and how coaches can best make technical changes. The presentation uses biomechanics and motor learning concepts and relates them to coaching the sprints.
10. • To increase running speed an athlete must increase force to
the ground in the appropriate direction and do so over
increasingly shorter periods of time!
• Minimize horizontal braking forces*!
• Increase propulsive forces
FORCE DEVELOPMENT & SPRINTING
15. • Refers of the ability of the leg to act as like a spring
• Momentum is developed during acceleration
• Body will move at same rate unless acted on by
unbalanced forces
• Two external forces will cause deceleration
• Leg stiffness increases vertical impulse, shortens ground
contact and increases elastic return
INCREASE LEG STIFFNESS
16. • Increased vertical force
produces:!
• Greater displacement!
• Stiffer spring!
• Better maintenance of
momentum
VERTICAL FORCE
PRODUCTION
17. Vertical
Displacement?
The path of COM will follow a sinusoidal
curve when viewed in the sagittal plane
COM reaches apex in flight
COM low point during support
18. Vertical force production is
the key component of top-end
speed and that in turn
influences the ability to
maintain a slight increase in
stride length and stride
frequency
Dan Pfaff
19. Charlie Francis
To go faster, you need
more force. The more
force you apply, the
higher you will rise off
the ground.
20. Better sprinters may
appear to bounce
In reality, flight times are similar and
ground contact times are shorter
21. • Stride frequency is comprised of two components: !
1. Ground contact time !
2. Flight time!
• The best sprinters spend less time on the ground !
◦ Greater frequency
MORE SPRINT MATH
22. The benefit of greater force application is two-fold:!
• Increased stride length • Increased stride frequency
STRIDE LENGTH
&
FREQUENCY
51. •Better sprinters are front-side
dominant
•Better sprinters have shorter
contact times
•Full extension neither needed
nor beneficial
•Ideal touchdown characterized
by swing knee even with
support knee
56. • Movements of the limbs
originate from the core of
the body!
• Proper stabilization and
alignment of the core
ensures appropriate
movements of the limbs
POSTURE
57. PELVIC TILT
Posterior Tilt = less
hamstring tension,
more QFM tension!
Anterior Tilt = more
hamstring tension, less
QFM tension
60. What to See
• Big split of arms & legs
• Forward lean (from the ankles)
• Neutral postural alignment
pushing through long axis of
body
• ‘Complete’ pushes & triple
extension
• Low heel recovery
• Gradual progression of body
angles
61. What to Say
• “Knees to chest”
• “Shade the sun”
• “Feel the feet behind you”
• “Push the ground away”
• “Legs like pistons”
• “Push, Push, PUSH!”
• “Drag the toe” (even though you
don’t want them to)
• “Step over the ankle”
• “Push yourself up”
64. What to See
• Continued progression of
body angles
• Preservation of posture
• Gradual changes in limb
movement magnitude
• Progressively higher heel
recovery during swing phase
65. What to Say
• “Push yourself tall”
• “Tuck the hips”
• “Cheek to cheek”
• “Step over the ankle, step
over the calf, step over the
heel”
69. What to See
• Upright posture
• Powerful & dynamic arm swing (not
locked at 90 deg)
• High knee recovery
• Front side dominance
• Relaxation in face, shoulders, hands
• Foot contact under the hips
• ~Vertical shin angle at GCT
• Pre-activation prior to contact
70. What to Say
• “Balance a bowl on your head”
• “Slam the elbows down”
• “Step over the knee”
• “Feel everything in front”
• “Imaging you have a rubber band
from you heel to your butt”
• “Make your eyelids jiggle”
• “Run tall and bounce”
• “Push up” ….or “Push down”
• “Be a super bouncy ball”
72. Creating a learning
environment
Try to coach without “coaching” by
creating an environment that
facilitates motor learning
Create contextual
interference by varying
trial type & order
Tools & specific
environments can
make motor patterns
idiot proof
75. FRAMEWORK FOR SKILL
ACQUISITION
Contextual Interference
Movement
& Task
Variability
Low Practice
Variability
Beginners
Experts
Intermediate
High Practice
Variability
Low
Contextual
Interference
High
Contextual
Interference
Wu, 2008
77. SPRINTING IS A SKILL
SPRINTING FASTER IS THE RESULT OF PUTTING MORE FORCE IN
TO THE GROUND AT AS LITTLE BODY MASS AS POSSIBLE
BETTER PRACTICE DESIGN IMPROVES SKILL ACQUISITION WHICH
ALLOWS MOVEMENT TO BE AUTOMATIC, REFLEXIVE & EFFICIENT
THE WAY A MESSAGE IS DELIVERED IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS
THE MESSAGE
UNDERSTAND THE BASICS OF MOTOR LEARNING BEST
PRACTICES