In the sport of Track and Field, the start of a short sprint can set the table for success throughout the rest of the race. The top speed (max velocity) attained in the race is of the utmost importance, but the skill of executing and managing various aspects during the start and initial acceleration, not only impacts performance during the early portion of the race but also can put the athlete in position to maximize the quality and effectiveness of the top speed. In track and field, sprinters may significantly underachieve when they fail to skillfully utilize the starting blocks. There must be an effective teaching strategy because using starting blocks can provide quite a challenge for athletes of all stages of maturity and ability levels.

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Start Doctor Training for Track & Field Sprinters

 

After addressing basic aspects of running/sprinting in general, a major focus of Start Doctor Training is for the athlete to first, without starting blocks and beginning with the standing start position, utilize a variety of positions and drills to work toward maximizing body positioning, coordination, and body balancing to effectively start up the track. When blocks are added, the objectives remain the same, however, with forces now being applied to angled starting block pedals, there are differences that must be addressed in regard to the balancing and positioning aspects during the "On Your Marks" and "Set" positions, during block clearance, as well as for the ensuing steps. 

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Validation

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For those that would like to question the importance that I'm placing on learning proper use of starting blocks and how difficult it is to teach, check out this brief video by Olympic Gold Medalist Maurice Greene. Greene is now a high school track coach. In addition, as for my preference to have the athlete develop competency without blocks prior to a focus on using blocks, I refer you to this quote below from Altis (Recognized globally as a leading authority in sports education, specializing in coaching excellence for speed, power, and strength training).

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"Of note, it has been very interesting for us to collect data on athletes executing relay starts, hanging starts, and 3 point starts by sprinters of all skill levels, genders, ages, under pressure, and in solo attempts, etc. Our findings reveal that when using these methods, a majority execute better in terms of velocities, acceleration curves, kinematic landmarks, and kinetic data points. Perhaps we should study how they run fast from those positions, and somehow transfer those lever positions, angles, balance points, and weight distributions over to the blocks?"

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The previous sentence describes exactly the primary objective of "Start Doctor Training".

 

Starting Blocks Added During Start Doctor Training

 

For sprinters in track and field, to help the athletes to more naturally carry over the skills they learned without using blocks, I like to start with the front pedal down at the lowest angle and have the rear pedal at a bit of a greater angle. A problem, however, is that the vast number of blocks on the market have 45 degrees as the lowest pedal angle choice. Having the front pedal at 45 degrees and the rear pedal at a slightly greater angle than 45 degrees is a great combination to work toward provided that the athlete can execute a fundamentally sound start with those pedal angles. Too often, however, this is not the case, as athletes often settle for "less than great" methods. To effectively start in positions with one or two hands on the track, in conjunction with pushing the feet toward the ground and/or block pedals, there should also be a degree of pushing the hands downward as part of the positioning and balancing of the body, as well as a sweeping type action of the hand(s) that accompanies the "push off" when applying force. The objective should be for the athlete to be poised to react well to the gun and to explosively move effectively up the track. Starting block pedal angles of 45 degrees and greater provide a body weight and body balancing challenge that often distracts athletes from achieving this. My Level One Starting Blocks feature pedal angles of 20, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, and 60 degrees. Gradually increasing the pedal angles can help the athlete to more easily adjust to the demands of loading the legs against starting block pedals and avoid these types of bad habits. I can bring the set of Level One Blocks pictured to the left to training sessions, but they are not yet available for purchase. I will also bring a few sets of blocks that adjust down to lower than 45 degrees. They don't adjust down as low as the Level One Blocks, but they still serve the same general purpose. You may leave your email on the form at the bottom of this page if you want to know when Level One Blocks are available (late Summer-early Fall). 
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Want Start Doctor Training?

 

Those that would like my help with their athlete(s) may contact me at leveloneathletics@gmail.com. I live in Lexington, South Carolina, and besides remote training being a possibility, I am willing to drive in the ballpark of 1 1/2 hours to a session. I welcome coaches and parents that would like for me to watch film of their athletes and communicate my opinions to them. For athletes that are on a team and/or have a trainer of some type, I believe it is important for everyone to be on the same page, so I will seek for there to be communication with the others before prescribing specific workouts.​​ "Speed Training" like anything else, puts particular stresses on the body, and recovery is an important consideration.

 

My method addresses overall fitness at a variety of intensity levels. I also don't want an athlete to come to my Speed Training sessions out of shape, learn a few things that can improve speed, and then want to repetitiously zoom all over the court/field, while ignoring the fact that they are not in shape. Injuries happen that way. In addition, for sports other than track and field, the recognition should be that executing the fundamental aspects of those sports still should be primary, with the goal being to successfully incorporate the improved body control and speed into their game. I address this in my blogs.

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My Blogs

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I provide very detailed information in my blogs. When I coach/train athletes, however, I place a premium on carefully choosing my words and assessing the athlete's performances and deciding how it is best to proceed with that particular athlete. Like most coaches that are serious about what they are doing, I learned most of what I know from others, and I give these people credit throughout my blogs. I also plan to regularly add links to blogs and podcasts from various speed training experts to my blog page.

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