Hurdles: A Little About A Lot Paul Johnson

Transcript:Hurdles: A Little About A Lot Paul Johnson:
Hurdles: A Little About A Lot Paul Johnson hurdles@yahoo.com 49 Years of Hurdling Experience Coaching Stops: Ladysmith HS, Flambeau HS, West Salem HS, Winslow HS, Edgerton HS(32), Whitewater HS Few Hurdle Thoughts It’s a modified sprint with a few obstacles(focus is on maintaining speed throughout the race) Sprinting with rhythm(always trying to increase this rhythm) It’s not jumping….It’s not flying….air time is slow time Choosing Hurdlers Athletes that are athletic…..What does that mean? Speed/Quickness/Strength/Flexibility Tenacious Size? Is there a good size? Watch them in other activities (basketball, gymnastics, skateboarding, parkour, etc.) Strength/Flexibility/Endurance Weight Program/General Conditioning Body Weight/Core Exercises between drills or reps Core Exercises/Med Balls/Heavy Ropes Flexibility/Yoga Sprint Drills/Wickets/Wall Sprints Hurdle Drills Sleds Pulls or Pushes Abs/Steps Ups with weights Warm-up Team Warm-Up…..some sort of active routine, include some form running, A-Skips, B-Skips, arms etc.(Concentrate on being tall, knee up/toe up, good arms), shin exercises (rock-n-roll, ankle alphabet, stair slants) Hurdle Step Overs…..this is good for the whole team not just your hurdlers (we’ll get back to these) Wall or Fence Drills….Leg Swings/A Drives (we’ll come back to Hurdle Wall Drills) Hurdling Get going early….this does not mean pounding hurdles (work on flexibility, learning drills correctly, strength and endurance) Be cautious….different muscle groups than other sports, newbies, leg issues from pounding (hip drills will burn early in the year) Patience….hurdling is a skill and for most takes time (there will be some that can just do it) Hurdle Drills With all drills work both legs, balance of strength and flexibility Do all the drills dynamically and with effort/purpose, muscle memory Find soft places to do them, especially early (grass, rubber mats or runways, wrestling mats, basketball courts, swimming pool) Wall Drills (Both Legs) Lead Leg Walk Ins….hurdles against the wall….Walk into the Lead leg: Cut Step, Knee Up/Toe Up, Arms(never cross centerline of body, keep elbows bent) Trail Leg 1….hurdle square to the wall, about 2’ away: lead w/knee, knee higher than foot. Toe up and out, heel tight to butt, stop knee drive off ground, rock back don’t just windmill, don’t turn hip down and in Trail Leg 2….same as above but turn the hurdles sideways and put one side one notch higher (In both Trail Leg Drills you may need to modify the drill for shorter of less flexible hurdlers with even shorter hurdles or maybe a short plyo box) Step/Walk Over Drills (both legs) Set up 5