Sprint Events. Introduction Sprinting depends on: –The coordination of both nerves and muscles. –The ability of the central nervous system to eliminate.

Sprint Events

Introduction

• Sprinting depends on:

– The coordination of both nerves and muscles.

– The ability of the central nervous system to eliminate as many braking and friction movements as possible.

Sprint Performance Characteristics

• Qualities and Characteristics in Sprinting

1. Coordination2. Speed3. Strength/power

4. Flexibility 5. Endurance

6. Psychological7. Reaction

Time

Talent in Sprinting and Control Tests

In the USA, mass identification of sprinting talent comes as a result of spotting “raw” talent through observing athletes performance in team games, community activities, and PE classes.

Athletes should be exposed to training in a disciplined program before any real conclusions can be drawn regarding their true sprint potential.

Commonly used tests for identifying talent for the sprint

events:

• 30m flying start• 30m crouch start• 60m crouch start• 150m standing start• 300m standing start• 600m standing start• Standing triple jump• Standing long jump

Developing Coaching Objectives for the Sprints

Developing concise coaching objectives is prerequisite to your coaching effectiveness. In order to develop

practical and concrete objectives, one must first closely examine the key ingredients involved in improving sprint

performance. To that end, use the following chart:

Technique

SPRINT PERFORMANCE

Stride Length

StrengthCoordination

and Speed

Stride Frequency

Flexibility

Specific Endurance

Sprint Posture

• Hips Tall– Pelvis up

• Butt tucked under

• Up on balls of the feet.

• Head Level

• Shoulders down, not hunched

• Relaxation in face & shoulders

Sprint Striding Phase

• A foot that is moving backward under the body upon landing (sometimes referred to as active foot plant or negative foot speed).

• High heel recovery as the drive foot leaves the ground.

  Sprint Striding Phase

• A support foot landing that touches down as close as possible to a point under the center of mass.

• The ankle of the forward swinging leg should cross the support leg above the knee.

  Sprint Striding Phase

• A very tall posture with a slight forward lean from the ground, not from the waist (lean will be directly proportional to acceleration; the greater the acceleration the greater the lean, so once top speed is achieved forward lean should not be very noticeable.)

Sprint Striding Phase

• Arms that swing backward as if reaching for the hip pocket.

•  Arms bent at the elbows. (bent less than 90 degrees on the upswing but greater than 90 degrees on the downswing.)

  Sprint Striding Phase

•  Relaxed hands (some coaches advocate extended fingers to create a longer lever of the moving forearm. This longer lever creates a larger moment of inertia of the moving forearm that helps to put more force into the ground as the athlete drives off. Be sure not to create tension, however.)

• Arms that swing forward to the chin high position into the midline of the torso but do not cross the midline.

• Relaxed shoulders, neck, jaw, and face.

Sprint Striding Phase

• A dorsally flexed ankle joint (toe up) just prior to the foot landing.

• Head is erect and eyes are focused on the finish line.

• Sprinter runs in a straight line throughout the race with very small amount of lateral movement

Sprint Drills-Ankling

Sprint Drills-A’Skip

Sprint Drills-B-Skip

Sprint Drills-Butt Kicks

Sprint Drills-Fast Leg

Sprint Drills-St. Leg Bounds

Sprint Drills

• Main Sprint Drills: Start at 5m and work to 30m.

Curve Running

Place your chin two lane lines inside. This will allow the upper body to turn just enough to allow free arm swing.

Starts

• Straight-Away

• Curve

Starts-Straight-Away

Starts-Curve

Start Learning Progression

1.      Jump off of both feet2.      Jump out from both feet3.      Jump out from both feet & switch feet4.      Jump out from both feet & switch feet & landing on one foot5.      Jumping out, switching feet, landing on 1 foot & take 4 bounds

Start Learning Progression (cont.)

6.   add sprinting to step 5 (take 8 bounds then sprint remainder of 30m)7.   Repeat with 7 bounds & sprinting remainder of 30m8.   Repeat with 6 bounds & sprint9.   Repeat until bounds are eliminated (may go 8-6-4-2-0)10.  Repeat step 6 with 3 point stance (repeat the sequence)11.  Repeat step 6 from blocks & follow the sequence.

Acceleration Phase

Acceleration is achieved by driving or pushing with the drive leg. This requires a good forward lean—from the ground up, not the waist.

Acceleration Phase

The free leg will drive low and fast to place the foot down under the body and may even fall behind the center of mass depending on how quickly the athlete accelerates. Without proper acceleration the athletes will stumble since they are leaning so far forward.

Acceleration Phase

The heel recovery of the drive leg will be very low coming out of the blocks in order to get the foot down fast in order to drive again and overcome inertia.

Acceleration Phase

With each succeeding drive step, the athletes’ speed grows until they reach their top speed. As speed increases acceleration decreases, so you should observe a continuous lessening of body lean. Upon reaching top speed, posture should be very erect.

Acceleration Phase

Along with the stride-by-stride decrease in acceleration, you should observe the athletes’ heels rise higher as they get into their normal sprint stride.

Acceleration Phase

The arm action during the acceleration phase is similar to the sprint striding phase. However, in the early phases of the start the hands will be driven very high and forward relative to the athlete’s torso.

As the athlete moves from the acceleration phase into the normal stride, you will want to focus upon the technical model for the sprint striding phase discussed earlier.

Training for the Sprint Events

• NO one component can be trained in isolation

• BALANCE the volume and intensity of the work to meet individual needs and circumstances

Training for the Sprint Events

• Maximum speed requires maximum recovery.

• Speed training should be maintained throughout all phases of the annual plan.

• External restoration means should be applied a minimum of twice a week though out all phases of the annual plan.

Training for the Sprint Events

• Speed sessions should be followed by weight work on the same day, not before.

• Competitions act as specific training.

• The volume of training should decrease as the intensity is increased during the competitive phases of the year.

Training for the Sprint Events

• As the sprinter progresses from the pre-competition phase, the distance of accelerations should increase.

• Heavy weight training should be maintained though out the pre-competition & competition phases ending 10-14 days from the seminal competition.

Training for the Sprint Events

• Execute specific speed drills throughout the year

• Stretching should be part of a sound program.

Training Distances

• 50m-The best choice for start work because it combines the starting acceleration & the element of transition to normal sprinting.

• 100-150-200-250-Develops the capacity to cover the second half of the distance faster than the first.

Training Distances

• 100-150-Stimulates the development of stride frequency.

• 200-250-Develops stride length.

Weekly Workouts

• Sprint training during all phases has to be mixed and not employed sequentially.

Weekly Workouts

• Workouts are one directional, but weekly cycles are mixed. – Don’t conduct more than 2

consecutive workouts that use sprint training.

– Don’t conduct 2 consecutive workouts aimed at the development of the same component of sprinting (accel./blocks, etc.)

Weekly Workouts

• The weekly volume changes from stage to stage (up or down) but may stay the same within the same stage, especially in later stages.

Intensities

• Sprinting speed should increase from run to run.

• Sprinting speed must be higher in the second set of repetitions.

• The highest sprinting speed should occur in the last run.

• In runs up to 200m, the second 1/2 should be covered faster than the first half.

Training Energy SystemsSpeed Endurance

• Distances-vary from100-600m. • Volume-figured by multiplying the

race distance two & a half times• Recovery is usually around 10

minutes. • Examples to help the lactic acid

energy system:– 10x100m Rest=5-10 minutes– 6x150 Rest=5-10 minutes– 5x200 Rest=10 minutes– 4x300 Rest=10 minutes– 3x350 Rest=10 minutes– 2x450 Rest=10 minutes

Training Energy SystemsTempo Endurance

• Distances-vary from 100-600m• Recovery-usually around 2-3

minutes.• Examples to help increase oxygen

uptake (to shorten recovery time), allow athlete to do more work, develop rhythm, and help to train the body to increase production of phosphate, which is a prime energy source.– 8x200 Rest=2 minutes– 6x300 Rest=5-10 minutes– 50-100-150-200-300-350

Rest=Walk the same distance

Training Energy SystemsStrength Endurance

• Activities last longer than 10 seconds.

• Intensity-high

• Volume-similar to speed endurance.

• Examples– 6x150m uphill– 6x60 stadium steps– 6x15 sec. rope-resistance runs

Training Energy SystemsEndurance Training

• Aerobic Running. Continuous runs of 15-45’ at a steady-state speed. More appropriate for 400-800m runners – Fartlek– 15’ at steady-state speed– 30’ fartlek run– 6x800m on cross-country course

w/3 min recovery

Training Energy SystemsSpecial Endurance

• The runner runs different distances at a predetermined race strategy in order to learn to work on different aspects of running the race. Can also be called segment running.

• Examples for 400m runner– 3x300m Run first 50m all

out. Next 150m, run w/a relaxed, floating action.

– 2x450m The 1st 200, 300, 400 & final 50m all timed

– 1x350m Quality run, w/each segment run as if in 400m

Training Energy SystemsSpeed

• Vary in distance from 30m to 80m. Work at full-speed. Rest is long and full.

• Total volume not to exceed 500m.

• Examples– 6x40m starts– 6x60m flying starts– 6x60m sprint-relay handoffs

Training Energy SystemsPower Speed

• These workouts emphasize speed of muscle contraction. Usually less than 10”/rep.

• Examples– Short-hill runs of about 60m– 10x30m harness runs– 10x10 sec. fast rope jumps

Training Energy SystemsStrength

• Both general and specific

• Examples– General-weight lifting, Specific-

plyometrics– 30’ traditional lifting session– Explosive jumps for development

of starting power & acceleration– 3 sets of 10 hops, each leg– Fast 50m bounding runs w/barbell

200m Potential

• Take the athlete’s best 100m and double the time & add.4 to that time to determine the athlete’s potential.

400m Potential

• Take the athlete’s best open 200m & double the time & add 3.5-5 seconds to that time to determine the athlete’s potential.

400m Race Pattern

• 1st 50m near top speed.• Next 150m relax upper

body actions & maintain speed.

• Increase the actions of the arms & start to drive the knees through the second turn. This is a controlled pick-up.

• The final 100m learn to stay relaxed & concentrate on good technique.

Constraints Perspective To

Training Sprinters

• Psychological

• Physiological

• Mechanical

• Environmental

Psychological

• Arousal

• Confidence

• Feedback and Communication

Physiological

• Coordination

• Speed

• Strength

• Flexibility

• Endurance

Mechanical

• Posture

• Technique

• Movement Patterns

• Cues

Environmental

•Weather•Topical Forces

•Competition Setting

Conclusion

Starting Drills

• Driving Sprint Accelerations

• Cadence Sprint Accelerations

• Stick Drill Accelerations

• Harness Accelerations

• Sled Accelerations