Bring a Team Steve Hurdling Academy to Your School

From 2017-2022, I and my staff conducted 6 Team Steve Speed and Hurdle Camps and 3 Team Steve Hurdle Academies. These two-day events featured intensive training on sprint mechanics, hurdle mechanics, block starts, and long-hurdle work. Now that I am serving as head coach for both country and track and field at the school where I teach, I am looking to downsize what I do in terms of camps and private coaching. If you are a high school or youth track coach and would like me to come to your school to work with your hurdlers, I offer the following packages below. Further down on the page you’ll see names of athletes I’ve coached in the past and their best times, and links to a few YouTube videos from my YouTube channel.

Camp Options & Private Training Options

Four-hour camp at a school for that school’s hurdlers

Maximum 10 athletes

My fee: $600, plus travel & hotel expenses (if I must travel by flight, or if I must drive more than 4 hours from my home in Mooresville, NC)

Schedule:

9:00am-1:00pm
9:00-9:30 — Dynamic warmup
9:30-10:00 — Sprint drills (A marches, A skips, high-knee cycles) to teach sprint mechanics
10:00-12:00 — Hurdle drills (marching popovers, cycle drill, quickstep drill)
12:00-1:00 — 3-point starts, 4-point starts, block starts over 1-2 hurdles

If you are interested in hosting a camp, email me at smcgillhh@aol.com so we can discuss details.

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Four-hour camp hosted by a school, with hurdlers from other nearby schools welcome to attend.

Maximum 20 athletes

My fee: $600, plus travel & hotel expenses (if I must travel by flight, or if I must drive more than 4 hours from my home in Mooresville, NC)

Schedule:

9:00am-1:00pm

9:00-9:30 — Dynamic warmup
9:30-10:00 — Sprint drills (A marches, A skips, high-knee cycles) to teach sprint mechanics
10:00-12:00 — Hurdle drills (marching popovers, cycle drill, quickstep drill)
12:00 – 1:00 — 3-point starts, 4-point starts, block starts over 1-2 hurdles

If you are interested in hosting a camp, email me at smcgillhh@aol.com so we can discuss details.

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One-day two-session camp at a school for that school’s hurdlers

Maximum 10 athletes

My fee: $1,000, plus travel & hotel expenses (if I must travel by flight, or if I must drive more than 4 hours from my home in Mooresville, NC)

Schedule:

9:00-3:00

9:30-12:00 — Session One
12:00-12:30 — Break
12:30-3:00 — Session Two

Morning Session Details:

Dynamic warmup
Evaluation of hurdle technique
Sprint drills (A marches, A skips, high-knee cycles) to teach sprint mechanics
Hurdle drills
- Side walk-overs lead leg
- Side walk-overs trail leg
- Marching popovers
- Cycle drill
Afternoon Session Details:
Shorter dynamic warmup
Quickstep drill
Three-point starts
Four-point starts
Block starts
Block starts over hurdles

If interested in hosting a camp, email me at smcgillhh@aol.com so we can discuss details.

***

One-day two-session camp hosted by a school, with hurdlers from other nearby schools welcome to attend.

Maximum 20 athletes

My fee: $1,000 up to 10 athletes, $1,500 up to 20 athletes, plus travel & hotel expenses (if I must travel by flight, or if I must drive more than 4 hours from my home in Mooresville, NC)

Schedule:

9:00-12:00 — Session One
12:00-12:30 — Break
12:30-3:00 — Session Two

Morning Session Details:

Dynamic warmup
Evaluation of hurdle technique
Sprint drills (A marches, A skips, high-knee cycles) to teach sprint mechanics
Hurdle drills
- Side walk-overs lead leg
- Side walk-overs trail leg
- Marching popovers
- Cycle drill
Afternoon Session Details:
Shorter warmup
Quickstep drill
Three-point starts
Four-point starts
Block starts
Block starts over hurdles

If you are interested in hosting a camp, email me at smcgillhh@aol.com so we can discuss details.

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One-day 300/400H camp at a school for that school’s hurdlers.

Maximum 10 athletes

My fee: $1,000, plus travel & hotel expenses (if I must travel by flight, or if I must drive more than 4 hours from my home in Mooresville, NC)

Schedule:

9:30-12:00 — Session One
12:00-12:30 — Break
12:30-3:00 — Session Two

Morning Session Details:

Dynamic warmup
Evaluation of hurdling technique
Alternating drills
2-step drill
- 4-step drill
- 8-step drill
3-stepping with weaker lead leg
- Over low hurdles and discounted spacing
- Hurdle heights and spacing will increase on an athlete by athlete basis
Curve hurdling drill
- Five hurdles on the curve at random spacing
- Spacing and hurdle heights will vary from athlete to athlete

Afternoon Session Details:

Shorter warmup
A few reps of Back & Forth Workout
Starts over the first hurdle
Starts over the first two hurdles
Starts over the first three hurdles

If you are interested in hosting a camp, email me at smcgillhh@aol.com so we can discuss details.

***

One-day 300/400H camp at a school for that school’s hurdlers, with hurdlers from other nearby schools.

Maximum 20 athletes

My fee: $1,000 up to 10 athletes, $1,500 up to 20 athletes, plus travel & hotel expenses (if I must travel by flight, or if I must drive more than 4 hours from my home in Mooresville, NC)

Schedule:
9:30-12:00 — Session One
12:00-12:30 — Break
12:30-3:00 — Session Two

Morning Session Details:

Dynamic warmup
Evaluation of hurdling technique
Alternating drills
2-step drill
- 4-step drill
- 8-step drill
3-stepping with weaker lead leg
- Over low hurdles and discounted spacing
- Hurdle heights and spacing will increase on an athlete by athlete basis
Curve hurdling drill
- Five hurdles on the curve at random spacing
- Spacing and hurdle heights will vary from athlete to athlete

Afternoon Session Details:

Shorter warmup
A few reps of Back & Forth Workout
Starts over the first hurdle
Starts over the first two hurdles
Starts over the first three hurdles

If you are interested in hosting a camp, email me at smcgillhh@aol.com so we can discuss details.

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Two-day Hurdle Camp

Maximum 25 athletes

9 am – 4 pm both days

My fee: $2,000 plus travel and hotel expenses (if I must travel by flight, or if I must drive more than 4 hours from my home in Mooresville, NC)

SATURDAY SCHEDULE
9-9:30 two laps, static stretching
9:30-10:00 dynamic warmup, sprint drills
10-12: marching popovers, cycle drill,
12-1: break
1-1:30 dynamic warmup, sprint drills
1:30-3:00 individual block start work
3-3:30 cool down, static stretching
3:30-4: wrap-up discussion

SUNDAY SCHEDULE
9-9:30 two laps, static stretching
9:30-10:00 dynamic warmup, sprint drills
10-12: quickstep drill, block starts over first hurdle
12-1: break
1-1:30 dynamic warmup, sprint drills
1:30-2:30: block starts over 2-5 hurdles
2:30-3:30 long hurdle work or competitive starts
3:30-4: cool down, wrap-up discussion

If you are interested in hosting a camp, email me at smcgillhh@aol.com so we can discuss details.

***

Private Training

One-day or weekend sessions during school year
From 2 days up to one week during summer
Can meet once a week for locals throughout the year
Fee for private sessions is $100 per session
A typical session will last 60-90 minutes

If you are interested in private training, email me at smcgillhh@aol.com so we can discuss details.

Details

Pay me upon arrival or beforehand. I have Zelle, CashApp, Venmo, and PayPal accounts. I also accept school-issued checks.
Refund policy: if we must cancel due to rain, just don’t pay me. If we must postpone, hold off on paying me until we actually conduct the camp.
Travel and hotel expenses are relevant only for camps that are require me to drive more than four hours to the location from my home in Mooresville, NC.
Formats/schedules are not set in stone. I’m willing to accommodates needs of a particular host school and/or of particular athletes.

If you are interested in hosting a camp or in coming to North Carolina for private training, email me at smcgillhh@aol.com so we can discuss details.

My Background & Experience

I’ve been coaching hurdlers at the youth and high school levels since 1995, and my philosophy and approach have evolved over the years. I now teach a style of hurdling that I refer to as “downhill” hurdling. The idea is to position your body in such a way that you are looking down on the hurdle and feel like you are hurdling on a downhill angle, which, which executed properly, helps to create acceleration off the hurdle with minimal effort. Therefore, hurdlers who execute this style are extremely efficient in clearing hurdles with minimal airtime, and they don’t suffer from fatigue late in races, as they are not expending energy needlessly. Hurdlers I’ve coached over the years who’ve competed at an elite level are listed below. In parentheses are the year they graduated and the fastest time they ran in high school.

Malix Mixon (2022), (13.28)
I worked with Malik beginning in his sophomore year. Because he lived in Georgia and I lived in North Carolina, he could only come up about once a month, and even less during the Covid quarantine days. But that was enough time for him to learn the downhill style, which he says was a key to his success in his senior year. Malik currently attends the University of Southern California as a freshman.
Brandon Johnson (2021), (14.21)
I worked with Brandon extensively throughout his high school years. He was injured often, but still managed to win a state championship despite injuring his ankle and battling the Covid virus in his senior year. Brandon currently attends the University of Cincinnati as a sophomore.
Joshua Brockman (2019), (13.61)
I worked with Josh extensively during his last two years of high school. He currently attends North Carolina State University as a senior. Last year, as a junior, Josh broke the school record at NC State in the 110 hurdles with a 13.55.
Jacklyn Howell (2015), (13.79)
I coached Jackie extensively during her last three years of high school. She went on to compete for the University of Kentucky for four years, where she had an excellent career and was teammates with another of my former athletes, Keni Harrison.
Kendra Harrison (2011), (13.49)
Keni is probably the most well-known of all the athletes I’ve coached. When I first started with her in her junior year of high school, she didn’t even know how to three-step. She went on to become the best female hurdler I’ve ever coached. Keni went on to run collegiately at Clemson University and then at the University of Kentucky, where she won an NCAA championship in the 100m hurdles and was runner-up on the 400 hurdles. In a dazzling professional career, she has set a since-broken world record in the 100h, and has won an Olympic silver medal in 2021.
Wayne Davis (2009), (13.01)
Wayne was one of the athletes I worked with while coaching for the HurdlesFirst track club back in the day, which was run by Aaron McDougal, an outstanding hurdle coach and youth coach. Wayne won several age group national championships and post-season national championship races. He went on to compete for Texas A&M University, where he won an NCAA title in the 110h his junior year. He also competed internationally for Trinidad in the 2013 World Championships.
Booker Nunley (2008), (13.41)
Booker was another member of that crew back in the day, although he joined us later in his career. I coached him during his last two years of high school, and in his senior year, he raced unattached in several collegiate meets over 42’s. He, like Wayne, ended the year as the #1 ranked high school 110m hurdler in the nation.
Johnny Dutch (2007), (13.46)
Johnny, or Dominique, as we called him back then (his middle name) was the “OG” of that hurdle crew in the late 2000’s. He was equally proficient in both hurdle events, and remains to this day the most intelligent, instinctive, fluid hurdler I’ve ever coached. Johnny went on to run at The University of South Carolina under Curtis Frye, and won an NCAA national title in the 400m hurdles. He went on to run the 400h professionally, and finished his career with a personal best of 47.63.
Cameron Akers (2001), (14.21)
Cameron was the first hurdler I ever coached who competed on a national level. He didn’t even run track until his junior year, and in a few short months he went from never hurdling before to running 14.40 at the state meet, and then dropping down to 14.23 at the youth regional meet, where he defeated future professional Dexter Faulk of Georgia (who beat Cameron at Nationals a couple weeks later, but it’s all good). Cameron passed away at the age of 28 in 2012, and I have dedicated everything I do hurdle-related to keeping his memory alive. Hence the image of him hurdling on the Team Steve T-shirts that we give to campers at our camps, and the photo of Cameron on the cover of my book, The Art of Hurdling.

Social Media Links

Here’s the link to my YouTube channel, where you’ll find plenty of workout videos and and instructional videos.

In the YouTube video below, I discuss the approach to the first hurdle. And the video features footage of Brandon Johnson and Malik Mixon training together.

The YouTube video below features Josh Brockman doing the marching popover drill that I created several years ago as a way of forcing hurdlers to rely more on the back leg instead of reaching out with the lead leg too much. This is a drill I teach to every hurdler I coach, whether it’s an athlete on my school team, an athlete I coach privately, or an athlete who attends one of my camps/academies.

The YouTube video below is a hype video made by photographer/videographer Jordyn Green at our most recent Team Steve Hurdling Academy last June in Western Maryland. BELIEVE THE HYPE. Hurdlers who come to our camps/academies get better. Their confidence soars and their times drop.

You can also find me on Instagram where I am @artofhurdling. I don’t post as much there, as I’ve been on YouTube for much longer and still prefer it. But Instagram is all right too.