What Hurdlers Can Learn from Stephen Curry
by Steve McGill

In each issue of The Hurdle Magazine, I try to include one article that’s a little outside the box of track and field discussion, as many of my personal influences in regards to how I coach have come from outside the realm of track and field. Listening to jazz music has taught me the importance of trusting my instincts and being creative in the moment; studying Taoism has taught me the importance of fluidity and ease of motion and staying centered in the self; watching the TV show “The Dog Whisperer” has taught me the importance of teaching my athletes to always stay calm and to not react emotionally to mistakes; and reading the book Sacred Hoops by basketball coach Phil Jackson taught me the importance of empowering my athletes to think on their own instead of always looking to me for approval. I’m always on the lookout for non-traditional sources of learning how to coach more effectively, and for how to get more out of my athletes. 

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I’ve always been a big fan of NBA basketball ever since my childhood, when my dad and older brother used to take me to the Spectrum in Philadelphia to watch the 76ers. My favorite player, like everyone else’s back then, was Dr. J — Julius Erving. But the player I most liked to watch on those 76er teams of the late 1970’s and into the early 80’s was point guard Maurice Cheeks. His game was more subtle, but quite fascinating. I used to marvel at how, on defense, he could anticipate where the ball was going two passes before it got there, and he’d be right there in the passing lane to make the steal. On offense, even though his main role was to distribute the ball to the team’s stars, he could score six points in a row when he sensed that the team needed a boost, or that the stars were wearing down. He had a “feel for the game” that was uncanny, and that really established the way that I learned to watch basketball games. Even with star players, I’m not just looking for the highlight-reel plays. I’m looking for the subtler elements, and I’m looking to see how the athlete I’m watching is a reflection of who that athlete is as a person. 

Which brings us to Steph Curry. On December 14th, Curry broke the all-time record for most 3-point shots made in a career. And considering he still has plenty of tread left on the tires, he should take the record far beyond where it is now. When watching Curry play basketball, and watching how remarkably talented he is at shooting a basketball, I find myself asking the same question I asked as a beginning hurdler watching Renaldo Nehemiah’s world record 12.93 race in 1981: How does anyone get to be that good at what they do? 

Well, to be that good, it has to start with genetics. We call such athletes “generational talents” for a reason. The natural athletic gifts have to be there. In Curry’s case, his dad, Del Curry, was a lights-out shooter for many years in the NBA, mostly with the Charlotte Hornets. Even as an older player with the Toronto Raptors, he could just flick his wrist from anywhere on the court and you could pretty much be sure the ball was going in the basket. Steph’s younger brother Seth also inherited an exceptional ability to shoot a basketball, as he is one of the top shooters in the league as well, although he’s not as great of an overall player as Steph is.

So, getting back to the title of this article, asking the question of what hurdlers can learn from Steph Curry, the answer is a simple one: it’s all about the reps. Not just a lot of reps, but a lot of quality reps. Because quality reps ingrain efficient technique. And once your technique is efficient — once you’ve learned to minimize wasted motion and extraneous effort — you can perform the movements over and over again without worrying about fatigue sabotaging your efforts. Shooting a jump shot and clearing a hurdle are both actions that require a high level of technical skill. Repetitive action that ingrains those skills and that develops proper muscle memory will lead to the ability to execute the movements instinctively, without thought. 

Curry is a game-changer. Game-changers are rare. You can literally draw a line in regards to how professional basketball was played before 2015 (Curry’s breakout year, when he won his first MVP award) and how the game has been played since 2015. You can’t really compare a team even from as recently as Kobe Bryant’s era to a modern-day NBA team, and that’s almost exclusively because of Curry, who has made long-range shooting the norm, as other players and other teams have followed the model he created. Why is he a game-changer? How has he been able to change the game? Two things: the first is the obvious — his shooting ability, the second is the not as obvious — his I-don’t-give-a-damn attitude. Curry, through the example he has set, has shown that the rules don’t have to be followed if you’ve trained yourself to push beyond the parameters that the rules have set. He shoots when he’s off-balanced because he’s practiced those shots religiously. He shoots from the logo because he’s practiced those shots and he knows he can make them. He shoots with a super-quick release because he’s practiced doing it so many times that it doesn’t even feel all that quick to him. 

For hurdlers, the quickness of the release is similar to getting into hurdling position quickly after pushing off, or of getting the feet down quickly between the hurdles. 

• To summarize, what can hurdlers learn from Steph Curry? 
• Get your reps in. Get a lot of reps in, but make sure they are quality reps. 
• Be efficient with your movements, so that you can execute the movements over and over again with minimal effort.
• If you’re putting in the work, trust the work. 

Those are my biggest take-aways. 

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