Kevin Watson Hurdling Sequence
As some of you already know, I'm working with Kevin Watson this year in his bid to qualify for US Outdoor Nationals in 2007 in the 110m hurdles. Kevin, formerly of UNC-Chapel Hill, has moved to Raleigh to train with me, and we've already gotten started on our mission. On October 2, 2006, I had Kevin do a modified version of the quick-step workout, in which the hurdles are set up six yards apart. We set up five hurdles, and started at the 39-inch height, then moved up to 42 inches. This was Kevin's first time going over 42's in over a year, but he looked pretty good. Below you will find some photos from this practice session. In all the photos, he is clearing 42-inch hurdles. The photos were taken by one of my English students, Mason McNair, who is also a very good photographer.
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Photos 1-3: Dive into the hurdle. Here, Kevin
begins his take-off dive into the hurdle. Take note of his lead arm. It reaches
full height in Photo 1, where the thumb brushes the forehead. The elbow is
bent at an angle that ensures the hand will not cross over to the trail-leg
side of the body. In Photo 2, the lead arm is already beginning its pull backward,
even before the lead-leg foot has reached the crossbar. In Photo 3, the lead
arm continues to pull back. The thumb stays pointing up, and the elbow swings
straight back, opening up only enough to give the trail leg room to drive
upward underneath the armpit. Now take note of the lead leg. In Photo 1, the
knee is driving forward, with the toe pointing up. The foot is already ahead
of the knee, as the take-off foot has left the ground. In Photo 2, the toe
stays pointing up, the knee stays partially bent, and the chest begins to
push down over the thigh. In Photo 3, the knee is as close to locked as it
will get, as the slight bend will allow for a quick snapdown and a quick return
to sprinting form upon touchdown. Meanwhile, the toe remains pointing upward,
and the chest pushes further down. Throughout all three photos, the alignment
of the toe, knee, thigh, and chest remains consistent.
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Photos 4-6: On
Top of the hurdle. Here, Kevin has reached full height. In Photo
4, the lead arm is pulling back, staying close to the body, and it continues
to pull back tightly in Photos 5-6. The chin stays up throughout hurdle clearance,
as do the eyes. All "lean" comes from the lower back, as the chest
pushes down over the thigh in Photos 4-5, and begins to uncoil in Photo 6,
as the lead leg begins to snap down. Again, the alignment of foot, to knee,
to thigh, to chest, remains consistent. By Photo 5, the trail leg is beginning
its ascent underneath the armpit. Notice that the trail leg does not swing
widely; groin width is kept to a minimun. Though it may seem in Photo 5 that
Kevin is clearing the hurdle too high, notice that the heel of the lead foot
is grazing the crossbar, and the bent knee will allow him to land very close
to the hurdle, which will increase his acceleration even before he touches
down. The toe of trail leg could be a problem here, as it is pointing downward,
and might clip the crossbar. By Photo 6, the trail-leg toe is at a better
angle, but still dipping low a little bit. The trail arm is not ideal either.
In Photo 4, you can see the hand hanging down, instead of resting on the hip.
He could potentially hit the hurdle with that hand, based on its position
in that photo. By Photo 5, it is in a better position, ready to punch back
up upon touchdown.
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Photos 7-9: Touching down. Here,
Kevin begins his descent back to the ground. Most noticeable in these photos
is the rotation of the trail leg. In Photo 7, the lead arm is giving the trail
leg just enough room to squeeze through. The wrist of the lead arm remains
locked in a position that keeps the thumb of that hand pointing straight ahead,
as opposed to pointing across the body. The elbow of the lead arm continues
to pull back into its natural sprinting position. You won't have to worry
about Kevin hitting an opponent with a wide lead arm! Again, the toe of the
lead leg remains pointing up so that he will land on the balls of his feet.
The knee of the lead leg never completely locks. The eyes and chin remain
up. The chest begins to rise as Kevin returns to sprinting motion, enabling
the trail leg the room it needs to come up high so that it will be in a power
position when he touches down. He did clip this hurdle with the toe of the
trail leg, either because the ankle wasn't quite flexed enough, or because
the hips didn't rotate quickly enough.
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Photos 10-12: Touchdown.
Here, Kevin completes his flight over the hurdle and fluidly transitions back
into sprinting motion. In Photo 10, he shows excellent
alignment of the lead foot, knee, thigh, and chest, landing on the ball of
his foot. The knee of the trail leg is high and tight, where he will have
complete control over how long he wants the first stride off the hurdle to
be. His facial muscles remain relaxed, revealing that he managed to stay relaxed
throughout hurdle clearance and didn't exert any wasted energy. In Photo 11,
the trail leg is an excellent position. Toe up, ankle flexed, knee high and
tight, facing the next hurdle. There is some imbalance in the arms, however,
as the trail arm is slightly pointing across his body, and the lead arm is
pulling back further than necessary. There seems to be a slight imbalance
in the hips as well. In Photo 12, Kevin is back into sprinting mode, staying
relaxed, but staying aggressive.
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Photos 13-15: Head-on angle.
Take a look yourself from this angle, and see what you're able to pick up.
