i coach an 18 year old female (12.6) 100m sprinter who has heel to butt mechanics from the beginning of her acceleration. i have told her “keep your heels low” but she struggles. any ideas? she has great maximal strength so this should be the strength of her race.
How is her hip flexor and abdominal strength? Does she have large legs (calves especially) or feet?
It sounds to me like she has high heel recovery because her hip flexors and abdominals aren’t strong enough to allow for lower heel recovery during accel. Since she’s not strong enough, she has to bring her heel up higher to reduce the load, but as you’ve noticed, this is putting her in bad position so early in the race.
Unlike a lot of other members, I feel that direct abdominal and hip flexor training (through weights) is necessary for optimal performance. Maybe something along these lines will help her.
i have never tested her hip flexor or ab strength. she does not have heavy legs or big calves. her feet are size 8 and she does have longer than expected ground contacts for a 12.6 sprinter.
It’s the trump card I always go to but work on the posture. If the back is straight then there is typically less butt kick.
Another focus in acceleration is providing a vigorous arm action to cue the acceleration.
These might help.