From 33 to 39
by Steve McGill
Hurdling is the only non-field event in the sport of track and field in which there are transitional stages of development. While throwers in the field events have to toss heavier weights as they move up the ranks, hurdlers have to clear higher hurdles as they move up from youth to high school and then college. For male hurdlers in particular, the challenges are particularly daunting. While female hurdlers are clearing 33-inch hurdles from 9th grade all the way to the international level, males have to make continual transitions until they reach the collegiate level.
[am4show not_have=’g5;’]
[/am4show][am4guest]
[/am4guest][am4show have=’g5;’]
For males, the most challenging transition occurs at the age of 15. In USATF and AAU youth track, the 13-14 year old boys run 100 meters over 33-inch barriers – the exact same race as the women’s international race. Upon turning 15 (which is also the year that most males enter high school), the race extends to 110 meters and the hurdles raise six inches higher (two clicks). The increased spacing between the hurdles is a huge challenge that they will never have to face again, and that no hurdlers ever face except earlier, when moving from the 80 meter hurdles of the 11-12 year old age group to the 100 meter hurdles of the 13-14 year old age group. But when turning 15, the challenge is even more daunting due to the 6-inch increase in height.
This past season, I coached a young male hurdler named Matt Garrett, who finished 2nd at the Junior Olympics in the boys 100m hurdles. Alex Nunley, who finished first, is another athlete of mine who I coached regularly a few years ago before I moved three hours away to a new job. Though I still work with Alex on occasion, Matt is the one I’m working with on a regular basis. Matt is only 5-8 as of this writing, which means he was a great height for the 100m hurdles, but is quite short for the 110m hurdles. One of the first things I said to him when we began the journey toward making this huge transition was, “there is no such thing as too short. We’re gonna figure it out.”
And that’s what we’ve been doing for the past three weeks, and that’s what we’ll continue to do as the season goes on.
When I first started with Matt in the fall of last year, we spent a lot of time drilling, drilling, drilling, so sthat he could ingrain efficient hurdling mechanics, develop a fluid rhythm, and grasp an understanding of body positioning and angles. Fortunately, because we did so much of that work in last year’s off-season, we don’t have to do nearly as much of it this off-season. Because his hurdling mechanics are already very efficient, we don’t have to spend any time learning how to hurdle. Instead, all we need to do is adapt what he was already doing to the higher, further spaced-out race that he now must run.
Usually in the offseason I do either no block starts at all, or very little. I usually save block work for the indoor season; it’s kind of the last piece of the puzzle to put in place. Once the technique and rhythm are in place, then it’s time to add the speed. But because Matt and I are dealing with this major transition, I’ve taken a different approach. With each workout that we’ve done so far, we’ve started with drilling, and ended with block starts. I try to keep the drilling to a minimum volume-wise so that Matt still has relatively fresh legs for the starts.
Step one in the first session was to: 1) get used to the height and 2) get used to the longer approach to the first hurdle. The video above shows some reps of the quick-step drilling we did, as well as block work. Because the hurdles go up six inches this year, we first spent some time quick-stepping over 36’s. In the block work, we put the hurdle very low–at 33 inches–so that he could focus on the longer drive to the hurdle instead of focusing too much on the hurdle itself.
From there, we’ve just continued to progress. The video above is from the second session, where I had him do quick-steps over six hurdles, with the odd-numbered hurdles at 39 inches and the even-numbered hurdles at 36. In week one he had been tilting to the lead leg side when clearing hurdles, but by week two he had almost completely eliminated that issue. Into the third week, which was last week, the progression continued. In the second week, we were able to get over three hurdles out of the blocks over 39, with the second and third hurdles moved in two feet. Last week, with more of a headwind in his face, I loved the second and third hurdles in three feet. To me, the key is not merely to three-step, but to do so with good speed and a good take-off distance. I don’t want to create any bad habits of taking stretching and reaching strides between the hurdles.
To adapt to the height, our most important rule is a very simple rule: push off the back leg with more force. That’s the way to make the 36 feel like a 39, and to make a 39 feel like a 36. The push off the back leg raises the hips without making the hips continue to rise after take-off. So, the athlete is able to “be tall” without floating. As long as the hips push forward at exactly the same time as the back foot pushes off, the hurdler will get the necessary hip height and get a forward-momentum boost that will help him to maintain or even increase speed coming off the hurdle.
In addition to the more forceful push off the back leg, we exaggerate all the other actions as well. The lead arm will rise higher than it did when clearing 33’s. The lead leg knee will rise higher before the foot extends forward. The forward lean will be much deeper, and will be held a little longer.
So, again, we’re not doing anything new or different from what we were doing before. We’re just doing it all to a greater degree. Of course, though I’m making it sound simple, it’s not simple at all. In these early sessions, he’s been tilting, as I’ve said before, and he’s also been hitting hurdles on occasion, just because he isn’t accustomed to leaning so deeply, pushing off with so much force, holding the lean for so long, etc. Also, it’s been harder for him to get the trail leg knee all the way to the front by the time the lead leg lands. That’s simply because the trail leg not only has to push off more forcefully now, but also because it has a farther distance to travel to get to the front.
I’m confident that all we need to do is keep doing what we’re already doing. The body will continue to adapt, and the movements will continue to feel more natural. As that occurs, his speed between the hurdles will improve. In the meantime, hopefully, he’ll continue to grow as well, as that will certainly speed up the learning curve.
[/am4show]
