Several years ago, I was fortunate enough to see footage of a lecture by Tom Tellez on his approach to coaching the sprints. This article covers the notes that were made, outlining what he identified as the key priorities for each stage of a 100m and the verbal cues that he used.

Tom breaks the 100m and 200m down into five phases:

• Block Position / Reaction Time (In the blocks)

• Block Clearance (Initial Strides)

• Efficient Acceleration (5m - 70m)

• Maintenance of Acceleration (70m - 85m)

• Lessened Deceleration (85m - 100m)

Block Placement

• Strong leg should be forward in the blocks

• Weight of the body should be balanced between the hands and the knee on the ground

• Front foot should be placed so there is approximately 3-5cm of the foot resting on the track

• Toe of the rear foot should be just touching the track.

On Your Marks

• Look for a balanced and relaxed position.

• Verbal cue : “Focus on your breathing”

  Set

• The centre of gravity raises as high as practical.

• 90-degree angle in the front knee.

• 130-135 degree angle in the rear knee.

• Centre of gravity slightly forward of the base of support.

• Verbal cue: “Listen for the gun”

  Gun

• ‘Drive’ off the front block with the leading leg.

• Knee of the rear leg leads the foot.

• The trunk, heads, and hands begin to move upward, to create a straight line from rear leg to head at 45 degree angle to the ground.

• Verbal cue: “Run off the front block”

• ~45 degree angle from ankle of planted foot to the head

• Foot-strike under the athlete’s centre of gravity.

• Landing on the ball of the foot, with the heel not touching the ground on the first three strides.

• Big split of arms and legs

• Verbal cue: “Stay on the balls of your feet”

• Verbal cue: “Lean from your ankles”

• Verbal cue: “Picture a broomstick strapped from your head to your ankle”

• Verbal cue: “Feel the feet behind you”

• Verbal cue: “Push the ground away”

The body should begin to gradually rise throughout this phase.

• The ankle joint remains neutral.

• Heel begins to make light contact with the ground.

• Shank is 90-degrees to the ground.

• Athletes should aim to accelerate up to the 60m-70m mark.

• Verbal cue: “Push yourself tall through the hips”

• Verbal cue: “Accelerate through the 70m”

Between 70 and 85 metres for elite athletes, the objective should be to maintain speed.

• The athlete should switch from contraction to relaxation, while trying to maintain the force produced during each stride.

• Look for a high knee recovery, relaxation in the face and shoulders.

• Verbal cue: “Relax and ‘Guide the Missile’”

• Verbal cue: “Balance a book on your head”

• Verbal cue: “Stay tall through the hips”

The key to success in the final part of the race is the athlete’s anaerobic endurance, that can be trained with sufficient speed endurance work.

• Trying to increase speed during this phase of the race can induce rapid fatigue and actually increase deceleration.

• Focus on maintaining rhythm and trusting your training.

• Verbal cue: “Maintain your rhythm”

• Verbal cue: “Focus 5m past the finish line”

What cues do you find work successfully with your athletes? Let the community know in the comments below.