moving side to side from the blocks

[Pioneer]

@kitkat1

Side-stepping in the first part of the acceleration phase is normal as the athlete attempts sub-consciously to make space for the pelvis/hips to come through. If the lateral movement does not improve into the race, then it may be a mobility issue around the hips/pelvic girdle. In this case, get the athlete tested by your physical therapist for Range Of Movement and get specific massage to remedy. If the lateral movement continues, get the athlete to do all of his straight run-throughs etc on the lane-line rather between the lines: Get the athlete to use the lane-line as a visual aid because s/he may be having proprioceptive problems and this would help. If you use this practice, make sure the athlete runs with one foot either side of the line-line. The feet should not land on the line. Pay particular attention then to the arms which may be a major help to controlling the straight-line runs. kk

No doubt some degree of it is normal but it sounds-as in the thread starter- that the side to side motion was a bit excessive since it seemed to be significant enought to point it out relative to his other guys. Since we can’t see it we can only go by that statement and guess how much of it exists or if it is a real problem or normal.

Maybe he could post a video.

The elbow out/hand up has been a help to some of my guys in the past as well as making sure they are lined up/squared up properly.

The arms, as you say, can most definitely help to keep all of the athlete’s forces moving forward if executed properly.