Should a hurdler come up out of the blocks the same way a sprinter does?
A sprint block start and a hurdles block start are judged against the same drive-phase number, and coaching them identically is where it goes wrong.
Coach a hurdler out of the blocks with the same cue you give a flat sprinter, stay down, drive, do not stand up early, and you will eventually get a hurdler who is still folded low at the point they need to be rising to clear hurdle one. The block start itself is not a different skill. What it is building toward is.
Why the two starts are not the same problem
A 100m sprinter has roughly 20 to 30 metres of open track to extend the drive phase before anything else matters. A hurdler reaches the first barrier in somewhere around seven or eight strides, which means the drive phase has to resolve into an upright, hurdle-ready posture far sooner than a flat sprinter's does. Staying down for the same number of steps a sprinter would is not more disciplined. It is late.
What the Film Room's start setting actually checks
- Drive-phase trunk lean, and whether the athlete stands up early, the same measure for both events.
- Whether the hips climb instead of driving out, which matters just as much for a hurdler as a sprinter.
- Back-leg extension at clearance, which is about the push, not the event.
The measures do not change between a sprinter and a hurdler, and that is exactly why reading the number without the context is a mistake. A hurdler who rises earlier than a sprint coach would like, on purpose, to get the trunk upright in time for hurdle one, is not showing the same fault as a sprinter popping up out of habit with a hurdle nowhere near. The number can look identical. The reason behind it is not.
What to look at instead
Count the steps to the first hurdle and film the start and the hurdle one approach in the same clip if you can. A hurdler's drive phase should be judged against where hurdle one actually sits, not against a generic sprint standard. If the rise happens with enough room left to set up a clean lead leg, it is early on purpose. If it happens because the athlete lost the drive position and had nowhere else to go, that is the fault worth coaching.
This is coaching guidance from a pose analysis, not a diagnosis. The camera reports trunk lean and timing. Whether an early rise was a choice or a breakdown is something a coach reads from the whole approach, not from one number.
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Related
How far apart should you set the blocks?
Bunch, medium and elongated block settings are not a matter of taste, they trade power against time, and most blocks on a track are set the way they have always been set.
Read →Why does my sprinter react fast off the gun but still lose the first ten metres?
A quick reaction out of the blocks and a strong drive phase are two different skills, and the block start setting only grades the second one.
Read →How far forward should a sprinter lean?
A lot out of the blocks, very little at top speed, and never by bending at the waist, which is the version that gets taught by accident.
Read →Try it: Sprint timer app: 40-yard dash and flying sprints with one phone