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Simple science applied to human athletic movements
Simple science applied to human athletic movements (0)
Coaches of combined events,
please take this test. Write out your thoughts and analysis completely. Then e-mail to Decathlon 2000 or better to my website CoachHarryMarra.com
Coach Marra won't grade each exam... each individual coach can do that themselves based upon this following parameter... coach Harry Marra will in 3-4 weeks time send back his expert analysis and instruction as to the correct answers and teaching methodology for each question.. then each coach can match up their response and see how it fits.
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By Coach Harry Marra
October 2, 2021
Jakarta, indonesia
THE SIMPLE SCIENCE OF MOVEMENT APPLIED TO ANY NUMBER OF ATHLETIC SKILLS IN THE SPORT OF TRACK AND FIELD ( ATHLETICS ).
SPECIFIC TOPIC :
A LESSON IN JUST ONE ASPECT OF HOW SPORT SCIENCE CAN AND NEEDS TO BE APPLIED TO ALL ATHLETIC SKILL TEACHING / COACHING.
STATEMENT OF FACT:
IF AS A COACH YOU ARE NOT USING THIS APPLICATION IN FIGURING OUT HOW TO BOTH DO AND / OR TEACH A SKILL, THEN YOU REALLY SHOULD FIND SOMETHING ELSE TO DO IN YOUR LIFE. YOU ARE DEFINITELY HURTING THE FULL AND COMPLETE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ATHLETES YOU ARE COACHING. AND THAT, QUITE FRANKLY, IS NOT ACCEPTABLE IN MY BOOK.
SCENARIO AND BACKGROUND
SCENARIO AND BACKGROUND
1. The athlete is sprinting down the Long Jump runway toward the take off board.....he / she completes the Penultimate step and last step as the T/O begins...
2. The athlete is initiating his glide / rotation across the Shot Put/Discus circle....
3. The athlete has just planted his / her foot for the Take Off in the High Jump....and is about to T/O the ground...
4. The athlete is just about to plant their front foot/leg prior to impulsing the Javelin....and then apply forces accordingly in throwing the Javelin...
5. The athlete is just about to put his / her foot down at the take off into the Hurdle...and then leaves the ground as hurdle clearance commences...
6. The athlete has just reacted to the impulse ( gun ) at the start of a Sprint Race while beginning to exit the starting blocks....
7. The athlete, while running the 400M, makes his/her final acceleration move with 150m to go in the race....
8. The athlete, with the final 300-400m m to go in the 1500m race, begins his / her "kick" to the finish line....
These are JUST 8 scenarios in a myriad of possibilities in the sport of Track and Field ( Athletics ). Many principles of science ( Biomechanics, CNS, Human Physiology, Psychology ) could be entered here to explain the happenings during these activities. But for today, let's just focus on one aspect of science as applied to a successful outcome of these activities.......BIOMECHANICS / MOVEMENT PATTERNS.
Here then, let's just focus on the 3 Major Planes of the Human Body and the role they play and the ACTION that occurs during the above activities. These planes of the body are:
1. SAGITAL PLANE
Cuts the body into Left and Right halves.
2. FRONTAL PLANE
Cuts the body into Front and Back halves...side to side movements.
3. TRANSVERSE PLANE
Cuts the body into Top and Bottom halves.
OK....I just gave you people HALF the answer...I defined the planes for you. That really is the simple part and a part that EVERY COACH / TEACHER at every level of our sport should KNOW, UNDERSTAND and be able to APPLY as they are teaching a skill to their student / athlete. Think of that last statement that I just wrote when you are sitting on your couch watching TV after practice....if you are NOT fully engaged as a coach to the desired outcome of self improvement each day, then how in the heck can you expect / demand the same from your athlete!!! HOW!!!!! Get real people will you. Life is a two way street....... and you as a coach have an important responsibility. Do your homework...do your job. It's called ACCOUNTABILITY. Have a little pride, would you please.
Now here's the QUESTION for EACH of you.....
REGARDLESS OF WHAT EVENT(S) YOU COACH ON A DAILY BASIS, TAKE EACH OF THE ABOVE EVENT SCENARIOS AND WRITE AND EXPLAIN FULLY, CORRECTLY AND COMPLETELY EACH AND EVERY MOVEMENT FROM THE START OF THE SKILL THROUGH THE VERY END OF THE SKILL AS TO JUST HOW THE 3 PLANES OF THE HUMAN BODY ARE INVOLVED, WORK / MOVE WITH EACH PARTICULAR MOVEMENT FROM THE START TO FINISH IN EACH EVENT!!! BE DETAILED HERE. STATE CLEARLY HOW YOU WOULD, USING THIS APPLICATION OF HOW THE 3 PLANES OF THE BODY FUNCTION, EXPLAIN/TEACH THE ATHLETE YOU ARE COACHING HOW TO SPECIFICALLY PERFORM THE MOVEMENT YOU ARE TEACHING. USE THE EXACT TERMINOLOGY / WORDS YOU WOULD SPEAK TO THE ATHLETE.
My guess is that you are looking at maybe 4-6 pages of hand written explanations for EACH of the skills listed above. ( My notes will be shorter...maybe one-two pages as I am an expert and have been doing the same for 60+ years ). For certain there is not just one simple answer here....many / all of the planes are engaged in a variety of both equal and opposite actions and resultant forces. You must carefully THINK about each movement and the role/involvement of the Sagital, Frontal and / or Transverse planes of the body and the role they play.
WHY AM I ASKING YOU TO DO THIS????
Quite frankly, there is simply NO OTHER WAY to learn, improve and become a better coach UNLESS you sit down and think, write, theorize and plan about what it is you do each day. EVERY GOOD coach works HARDER and LONGER MENTALLY than do the athletes they coach. If your penchant is for the easy life, please go find something else to do. Don't daemonize our profession and clutter up the track with your laziness. The athletes will see right through you if you can't TEACH or are making up some VOODOO idea for them to do.....you won't be able to fool them.
Each of you will be evaluated on this project. To assist you and give you a model of what it is that I am looking for, I will take scenario number 1 and write my response below. You guys do each of numbers 2-8...EVERY ONE. You'll have one and a half weeks to complete this task. That's an event a day or so for the 10 days allowed. A couple of days allowed for planning / thought.
Finally....after you complete this project, submit to me for GRADING and EVALUATION....DO THIS PROJECT EACH AND EVERY YEAR JUST AT THE CONCLUSION OF YOUR SEASON AND JUST IN FRONT OF THE START OF YOUR SEASON. YOU, like the athletes you coach, MUST PREPARE and be ready.
COACH HARRY MARRA analysis of scenario # 1....LONG JUMP APPROACH AND TAKE OFF ( T/O).
The athlete is positioned / standing at the back of the runway....
1. POSTURE...
The athletes posture is that of a perfect sprint mechanics start...HEAD UP, CHEST UP, ARMS/HANDS IN CORRECT SPRINT ALIGNMENT...show/demonstrate this position...potential CUE words: core tight,pelvic alignment, STG, etc.
a. Since this is a STATIONARY POSITION, NO SPECIFIC BODY PLANE is coming into play here quite yet.
2. INITIAL FIRST MOVEMENT...
a. Involvement : TRANSVERSE PLANE ( LOWER ASPECT )....front foot pushes straight down into the ground beneath the CG / COM of the athlete....
b. Wording to the athlete..." remain tall ( head up,chest up )...do not allow the knee of the front foot to pass a line perpendicular to the toe of the front foot" ( PUNT STEP is the CUE word here ). Now show this skill to the athlete (demonstrate correctly this movement ).
c. TRANSVERSE PLANE ( UPPER ASPECT )....arms ARTICULATE through the shoulder axis here..Coach shows/demonstrates this articulation.
3. FIRST MOVEMENT IN FULL MOTION...
a. Involvement: TRANSVERSE PLANE...LOWER AND UPPER ASPECT...
b. Lower plane...land on the ball of the foot on each of the first 3-4 strokes out of the back and continue to push DOWN and BACK as you begin this initial aspect of the approach. After stroke 3-4, PUSH STRAIGHT DOWN...Transverse Plane and Sagital Plane in Harmony here..
c. HOW?....Force being applied DOWN is the Transverse plane...stopping of the arms in front and back per correct sprint mechanics is the Sagital plane...EFFECT...this stopping of the arms creates more force into the ground and accelerates the athlete down the runway at his/her maximum speed potential.
d. Upper plane...the shoulder of the opposite leg of initial action swings through a correct sprint ROM, being sure it comes UP in the back... Coach demonstrates this movement....be certain this movement is CORRECT on step one!!
4. FIRST 4-9 LEFTS ( or rights...depends on T/O leg ) OF THE APPROACH...
a. Involvement: TRANSVERSE PLANE / SAGITAL PLANE..see letter c and d above...exactly the same concept....HOWEVER...
b. The entire length of the approach MUST go from slow to fast...the fastest being at the moment of T/O. MAXIMUM CONTROLLABLE SPEED at the Moment of T/O.
5. MOVEMENT INTO THE PENULTIMATE STEP ( L leg T/O here ).....
a. Involvement: ALL 3 PLANES !!!!
HOW ?.....*****
b. PUSH off second last L into the penultimate...TRANSVERSE LOWER.
c. PENULTIMATE R...TRANSVERSE LOWER, SAGITAL RIGHT SIDE LOWER, SAGITAL L SIDE UPPER...some FRONTAL PLANE involvement here too...
d. FINAL STEP ON TO T/O BOARD...TRANSVERSE LOWER L SIDE, SAGITAL R SIDE UPPER, TRANSVERSE LOWER AND UPPER through the T/O board.
***** NOTE: *****
Read letters b, c and d again...!! Look at ALL the HARMONIES that come into play here relative to body planes. That takes WAY TOO MUCH THOUGHT for the ATHLETE...WAY TOO MUCH...SO....the simple CUE WORD to get the athlete to perform all of these movements simply is: "STAY PERPENDICULAR".
e. Coach responsibilities and words here:
Show/demonstrate to the athlete what PERPENDICULAR is/means.
Words: Keep your upper body exactly over the lower body at all times in this phase of the technique.
Demonstration: show correctly the L,R,L final 3 steps with FLAT, FLAT in final two foot placements.
Words: " Check " with R UPPER side ARM at moment of T/O...premature stoppage here...
Demonstration: show this technique as you move through the board.
SUMMARY OF THIS ANALYSIS:
We know that 92-96% of the success in the LJ is in the proper execution of the approach and T/O. The above summarizes what needs to be:
1. UNDERSTOOD
2. SAID ( Coach to Athlete )
and
3. DONE
to complete a smooth teaching and communication of the skills necessary to successfully complete this phase of the LJ.
SUMMARY OF THIS TOTAL PROJECT THAT ALL PASI COACHES MUST COMPLETE:
The interrelationships among all the events are many....the foundations of EVERY EVENT IS BASED UPON THE SCIENCE OF SPRINT MECHANICS....hence, each of you, if you are to grow as a specialist coach, MUST GAIN A FULL AND COMPLETE understanding of the movements in ALL EVENTS TRACK and FIELD. This is MANDATORY. THERE ARE NO EXCUSES ACCEPTED. NONE WHATSOEVER.
Put your work clothes on and get to it. Due to Agus via email ( see above ) by October 25th.
Harry Marra
NIKE Coach of the Year, 2012
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