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. âą 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!
âą Minimize horizontal braking forces*!
âą Increase propulsive forces
FORCE DEVELOPMENT & SPRINTING
15. âą Refers of the ability of the leg to act as like a spring
âą Momentum is developed during acceleration
âą Body will move at same rate unless acted on by
unbalanced forces
âą Two external forces will cause deceleration
âą Leg stiffness increases vertical impulse, shortens ground
contact and increases elastic return
INCREASE LEG STIFFNESS
16. âą Increased vertical force
produces:!
âą Greater displacement!
âą Stiffer spring!
âą 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, ïŹight times are similar and
ground contact times are shorter
21. âą Stride frequency is comprised of two components: !
1. Ground contact time !
2. Flight time!
âą The best sprinters spend less time on the ground !
⊠Greater frequency
MORE SPRINT MATH
22. The beneïŹt of greater force application is two-fold:!
âą Increased stride length âą Increased stride frequency
STRIDE LENGTH
&
FREQUENCY
51. âąBetter sprinters are front-side
dominant
âąBetter sprinters have shorter
contact times
âąFull extension neither needed
nor beneïŹcial
âąIdeal touchdown characterized
by swing knee even with
support knee
56. âą Movements of the limbs
originate from the core of
the body!
âą 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
âą Big split of arms & legs
âą Forward lean (from the ankles)
âą Neutral postural alignment
pushing through long axis of
body
âą âCompleteâ pushes & triple
extension
âą Low heel recovery
âą Gradual progression of body
angles
61. What to Say
âą âKnees to chestâ
âą âShade the sunâ
âą âFeel the feet behind youâ
âą âPush the ground awayâ
âą âLegs like pistonsâ
âą âPush, Push, PUSH!â
âą âDrag the toeâ (even though you
donât want them to)
âą âStep over the ankleâ
âą âPush yourself upâ
64. What to See
âą Continued progression of
body angles
âą Preservation of posture
âą Gradual changes in limb
movement magnitude
âą Progressively higher heel
recovery during swing phase
65. What to Say
âą âPush yourself tallâ
âą âTuck the hipsâ
âą âCheek to cheekâ
âą âStep over the ankle, step
over the calf, step over the
heelâ
69. What to See
âą Upright posture
âą Powerful & dynamic arm swing (not
locked at 90 deg)
âą High knee recovery
âą Front side dominance
âą Relaxation in face, shoulders, hands
âą Foot contact under the hips
âą ~Vertical shin angle at GCT
âą Pre-activation prior to contact
70. What to Say
âą âBalance a bowl on your headâ
âą âSlam the elbows downâ
âą âStep over the kneeâ
âą âFeel everything in frontâ
âą âImaging you have a rubber band
from you heel to your buttâ
âą âMake your eyelids jiggleâ
âą âRun tall and bounceâ
âą âPush upâ âŠ.or âPush downâ
âą âBe a super bouncy ballâ
72. Creating a learning
environment
Try to coach without âcoachingâ by
creating an environment that
facilitates motor learning
Create contextual
interference by varying
trial type & order
Tools & speciïŹc
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