What Makes for a Great Hurdler
In last month’s issue, I detailed the criteria that I feel make for a great hurdles coach. In this issue I want to list and explain my criteria for what makes a great hurdler. “Great” is a relative term, and to me it involves more than just running fast times, earning major-meet medals, and possessing phenomenal athletic ability. Yes, those are the criteria needed to be named on an all-time greats list. But the point I want to make in this article is that even hurdlers who run average times, who are nowhere near elite, can be considered great if they do what it takes to maximize their own individual potential. Hence, here are my criteria for what constitutes a great hurdler:
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Outstanding Work Ethic
To reach one’s potential in the hurdles, one has to be coachable. That’s true in any event, in any sport for that matter, but it’s especially true in a technical event like the hurdles, in which no matter how much you can figure out by yourself, you can’t figure it all out by yourself. In a hurdler’s early stages, instruction is needed to learn the basics, the fundamentals of technique, of sprint mechanics, of the work ethic required to excel. An athlete who thinks he or she knows more than the coach is bound to get mired in technical flaws that could endure throughout the rest of his or her career. Hurdling involves so many factors – speed, flexibility, rhythm, strength, etc., that mastering all aspects requires an exceptional work ethic. Hurdlers have to be willing to do more, because hurdling requires more. In addition to the main workout each day, hurdlers need to incorporate drills. And they often need to do hurdling workouts in addition to running/sprinting workouts. In the weight room, they need to add event-specific exercises to the usual routine.
Being a Student of the Event
In addition to being coachable and to having a superior work ethic, hurdlers have to be thinkers, they have to be cerebral, they have to study their event upside down and downside up, inside out and outside in, backwards and forward. Hurdling is complicated. And because there is no one-size-fits-all style that can be taught out of a book, hurdlers have to be willing to do all it takes to come upon the style that best suits them. And they have to be willing to make adaptations to their style and to their training, even when things are going well, if the potential is there for things to go better. The best performers in any field of endeavor are lifelong learners. Think of jazz musicians like saxophonists Sonny Rollins and Jimmy Heath who, in their 80’s, having achieved legendary status, are still talking about new ideas for new music, still talking about finding the right sound. Think of the late painter Andrew Wyeth, who was still painting masterpieces well into his 80’s. Think of an athlete like Lebron James, who is adding a new dimension to his already dominant game every season. The greats never settle in, never become complacent. They’re always reaching, discovering, thinking outside the box.
When it comes to the hurdles, think of someone like Allen Johnson, who was winning gold medals while smacking hurdles on his way down the track, and could’ve grown comfortable with his success, but instead cleaned up his race and went on to have one of the longest, most decorated careers in the history of the men’s 110’s. Think of Liu Xiang winning a gold medal and setting a world record 8-stepping to hurdle one, then coming back from injury 7-stepping. The greats are always growing. They never stop becoming students.
Studying for a hurdler means spending a lot of time on YouTube studying the styles of past and present hurdlers. It also means recording and reviewing one’s own practice sessions and races to identify flaws and correct them. It also means engaging with long conversations with one’s coach, studying and picking the brains of one’s opponents, reading up on the literature that is out there on the event, checking out the web pages of athletes and coaches who are teaching hurdling mechanics on their sites.
Being a Well-Rounded Athlete
Hurdlers need to be well-rounded athletes because hurdling involves such a dynamic intermingling of athletic skills. In my coaching career, plenty of my best hurdlers have had backgrounds in gymnastics, the martial arts, soccer, football, basketball, and other sports. Also, within the sport of track and field, hurdlers that I have coached have traditionally been the most well-rounded athletes on the team, able to compete in the sprints and relays, in the horizontal jumps, and in some cases the high jump as well. Participating in other sports and in other events allows hurdlers to strengthen their overall athletic ability. Obviously, at the professional level, it becomes necessary to specialize. But for youngsters, focusing exclusively on the hurdles will stunt their growth as hurdlers. A hurdler needs to be able to run a quality 400, should have the coordination necessary to shine in sports that require shifting direction and moving laterally. Not only does this prevent boredom or staleness, and not only does it strengthen muscles that are used in hurdling, but it also enables the athlete to use these other sports and/or events as frames of reference for hurdling. For example, a hurdler with a soccer background who has to be quick between the hurdles can call on his or her soccer muscle memory to do so. A hurdler with a football background who has to stay aggressive in attacking the hurdles can call on his football muscle memory to do so. A shorter hurdler with a gymnastics background who has to be explosive in pushing off into the hurdle can call on his or her gymnastics background to do so.
The Hurdles Come First
Yes, a hurdler needs to be a well-rounded athlete, but when push comes to shove and it’s time to put the butter on the bread, the hurdles have to come first. They have to be the first priority. Hurdlers don’t run the hurdles to help them get better in other sports; hurdler participate in other sports to help them improve in the hurdles. If you truly want to call yourself a hurdler, and if maximizing your potential as a hurdler is what you’re all about, then it can be no other way. And when it comes to training, a hurdler’s workouts need to centered around his or her hurdle races. Decisions regarding what events to compete in during meets should also be centered around the hurdle races. Yes, the coach is the ultimate decision maker here, but the hurdler needs to let it be known from the beginning that the hurdles are not an extra event, not a side event, but his or her main event.
Runs Every Race Like It’s His or Her Last
Yes, I borrowed the above line from former NBA great Allen Iverson, who, in just about every interview he’s ever done, has mentioned the importance of playing every game like it’s your last. I definitely agree with him on this one. The competitor in you, prideful and confident, must rise to the surface on race day. In practice it’s okay, and even essential in many cases, to be cerebral, to ask questions, to experiment and try different things. It will also be necessary in many workouts to go less than 100% in order to avoid burnout or injury. But when the gun goes off, it’s time to go. Even in “small” meets or “meaningless” meets that don’t matter in regards to qualifying for major meets later in the season, it’s important to give a maximum effort. You want to find out how good you are at this point in the season. You want to find out where you stand. And you want to develop the habit of entering into a higher competitive zone on race day. And to paraphrase Steve Prefontaine, you can’t cheat the gift. Just being healthy enough to compete is a gift, so you never want to treat it with anything less than its proper reverence.
Patience/Persistence
As I always tell my hurdlers, hurdling is 85% frustration, 15% breakthrough. Every hurdle workout, pretty much, falls into that ratio, in that order. You’ve got to stay patient through the frustration to get to the breakthrough. Hurdlers who want progress to come easily will never last as hurdlers. Are you willing to put the reps in? Are you willing to try things that might not work? Can you retain faith in yourself in the middle of a workout when everything is going wrong? Can you keep your composure? Can you learn from your mistakes? These are the questions a hurdler needs to be able to honestly answer yes to if he or she is going to find long-term success in the hurdles. Otherwise, as I like to say, this event might not be for you.
Final Thoughts
So there you have my criteria for what it takes to be a great hurdler. Whether or not you agree with all of these or not, be thinking about what your own criteria would be. That’s what matters most.
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