Elitefts™ Director of Education Mark Watts explains 3 commons mistakes when performing lateral starts along with a Change-of-Direction deceleration progression. This video is more appropriate for non-track coaches of beginners in a teams setting.

Lateral starts are an outstanding drill as a pre-cursor to agility drills utilizing power cuts and accompany deceleration drills very well. Sprinting at a 90 degree angle is a skill that can have a direct correlation to increased speed and agility on the field and court. Although this is a hard skill (closed skill), the fundamental movements and biomechanical positions are similar for change of direction on the field or court.

THREE COMMON MISTAKES WITH LATERAL STARTS

Mistake #1: Step with the Front Foot

One common mistake to pushing off the back foot in order to step with the front foot. By stepping with the front foot, the initial movement of the athlete does not significantly move the athletes Center-of-Gravity toward the direction they want to sprint to.

Also, by taking a step with the front foot, the athlete also extends their base and does not allow adequate power production from either foot.

Mistake #2: Pivot before stepping

Another mistake athletes make is to have their first movement turning toward where they are trying to sprint to without taking a step.

When testing, the clock usually starts with the first movement. In athletic competition, it is desirable for the athletes first movement to adequately change the athletes COG toward the target area.

Lastly, pivoting on turf, grass, or the hardwood provides unnecessary friction which can slow the athlete down and place unwanted stress on joints and ligaments.

Mistake #3 Crossover step via Hip Adduction

The crossover step will undoubtedly allow the athlete to cover the most ground with a single step. This changes the the athletes COG and forces the athlete to turn his/her shoulder to perpendicular to where they are sprinting to.

The issue with the crossover step is this action can take much longer to execute. One reason being the athlete cannot generate as much power from the front leg when they are "pulling" via adducation with the front leg. In this case, shifting the COG towards the target before executing a crossover step is ideal.

LATERAL SPEED & COG PROGRESSION

  1. Lean & Crossover
  2. Reposition Step with Pause
  3. Reposition Step and Sprint
  4. Shuffle to Start
  5. Shuffle back to start with pause
  6. Shuffle back to start & sprint
  7. Sprint back to start with pause
  8. Sprint back to start with sprint