Absolutely. An oversight on my part. The ground is important.
I’d rephrase it this way: in sprinting, volition, aggression, violence, happens in full and big ranges in the air, while finishing on the ground.
100%. Right on. I mention the cue “whip your hip back” because it is in the same in nature as the cue OP posted: “hammer the nail”. I think ‘stepping down’ is an inadequate cue. Many athletes know they are stepping down yet coaches still tell them “your hips are low” — “keep your hips up”. The athlete thinks WTF?! What Don’t I get?? The cue I present is great language on getting athletes to step down. I stole the cue from Frans Bosch/Jonas Dodoo.
Thanks for clarification. Here is an article that describes max velocity sprinting essentially the same way http://speedendurance.com/2009/02/17/vince-andersons-sprint-acceleration-and-maximum-velocity/
Vince Anderson mentions in this article that there should only be a downstroke in sprinting, and according to him Carl and Leroy would emphasize getting the foot back down into the ground as quickly and powerfully as possible.
Have you ever thought that what you have talked above has got nothing to do with cuing when “the athlete thinks WTF?!” Most of the new athletes going to respond the way you have described above or athletes who have a difficulty communicating/understanding their coaches.
Whether I am going to say “step down” ,“your hips are low” or “keep your hips up” athletes I am working with know what I am talking about and what I want from them, they are able to correct it, whether they are 12 years old or 56 the response to cue is pretty much similar. How do I know that, one because I see it and because I’ve asked every single one of them whether they know as to what I want from them when I say ……
Cuing is not the problem, communication between coach->athlete, athlete->coach is.
I am not French and unfortunately neither am I the esteemed (proper) coach PJ. I am actually Oldbloke with, I think, a screwed up username on this system !
I suspect my username has been transposed to PJ in the board`s database, still a bug after 24 hrs so one to report to Angie.
With any luck I will return as Glen Mills…
Here is a video that talks a lot about cues. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoKh-RYDDBY
Around the 6:30 mark the video talks about using the hip extensors to drive the leg down, and mentions “stomping” occurs when athletes use the knee extensors to drive the leg down. My question is how do you know/subjectively feel you are using your hip extensors to drive down vs the knee extensors driving down?
Cueing is a means to improve feedback loop between coaching and athlete, no? It’s logical then that there are better cues (language that gets the athlete to execute what coach wants to see) or bad cues (cues that lack something which makes athletes unable to execute). The coaching problem is one hundred percent based on communication between athlete and coach. And there are a lot of ways to facilitate better communication: culture of training group, coach pedigree, their emotional intelligence… cue is just one tool.
Is “push” a good cue? YES… if the athlete executes the coaches’ ideal. What if the athlete doesn’t seem to displace himself very far? ‘Push the ground away’. Is that a better cue? NO… if the athlete doesn’t execute. When a disconnect between coaching demands and athlete performance arises, there is a need to create better communication. Cues are one of the pathways.
My original post was talking about cues because that’s what I inferred from OP’s video and it’s idea of ‘hammer the nail’.
Wermouth not sure if I responded to you appropriately but these are my thoughts on cueing. Have a top day.
Hahaha, understood. I was thrown off because of the screen name, obviously, and PJ and I had just exchanged an email before I saw your post.
Sure it will get fixed.
But back to the thread- do you have any views on cues/techniques to maximise the horizontal component of force application when running. Or am I just overcomplicating things.
Congratulations on forcing me to look up some old applied physics/mechanics equations twice in the last week.
In no way are you overcomplicating things, just the opposite, in fact, as it is, in my judgement, most coaches inability to effectively understand the underlying principles that serves as the most significant limiting factor.
You’re already on the right track by way of reviewing physics/mechanics. This is the key as the immutable nature of the physics provides us with the ability to generate undeniable explanations. I suspect I review as much physics information as any non-physicist out there.
In terms of answering your question, I have a photo sequence with examples included in my upcoming book so I won’t go into much detail here.
Suffice it to state that what is already known, in terms of the physics of human motion, provides much of what any coach need know.
Consider the mechanics of generating negative foot speed, the motion of the sprinter’s hips and legs and feet, and build from there.
Thank you for the clarification, jccc110m
For me, this reminds me of that old thread from way back when members were talking about what’s right
Driving powerful long strides vs. being quick and fast as possible from the blocks.
If I remember correctly it was really that both cues are correct, and some athletes need to reinforce more force application, while other athletes need to reinforce more quick frequency to get to their ideal strides.
Maybe for some people who only tend to run with vertical force application and no horizontal propulsion, step down cue may be counterproductive?? maybe in such case lot of bounding drills emphasizing horizontal propulsion and cue to apply force not only downwards, but down and backwards?