Speed for Every Event: A-Skips, Acceleration, Flying 20s, and Your First Block Starts

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Sprinters, hurdlers, jumpers, and vaulters all win or lose on the same runway. Speed is the engine for every one of you.

The A-series

Do these every speed day. They teach your foot to land under your hip.

• A-march: "toe up," "step over," "down under."

  

• A-skip: "knee up, toe up," "snap down," "under the hip."

  

• Dribbles: "ankle," "calf," "knee," climbing one height at a time.

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Acceleration: push out, stay low

• Wall drives: "lean 45," "knee up, toe up," "switch."

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• Falling start to 15 m: "tall," "lean," "push out," "stay low." Lean from your ankles, never your waist.

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• Hill or sled drive: "push long," "punch the knee," "arms."

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Flying 20s, Session 4 only

Build up over 20 to 30 m, then float through a 20 m fly zone at top speed. "Build," "float tall," "relax." Save these for Session 4, when your legs have had 12 weeks of base.

Block starts in Session 4: three skills first

Earn the blocks. Learn these in order, two or three sessions each:

1. Falling start.
2. Push-up start.
3. Three-point stance with the first-step freeze: "set," then "split, drive, freeze."

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Then take your first block starts, two or three sessions a week, two to three days apart. Our rule.

What the first week of practice looks like

Practice opens with sprint mechanics and acceleration for every event group. Run the experiment now: film one falling start in week 1 and one in Session 4, and compare.

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