ALTIS

Many sprint debates break down at the same point.

Coaches chase a single technical model, then wonder why athletes respond differently.

In 'From Categorizing to Coaching', Stuart McMillan lays out a clearer way forward. This free ebook explores how sprint technique exists on a continuum, shaped by individual biases, constraints, and coordination strategies.

You will learn:

• How push, pull, drive, bounce, and climb describe movement tendencies rather than labels
• Why ground contact and flight time vary meaningfully across elite performers
• How categorization improves cueing, decision-making, and athlete buy-in
• Where races are often won or lost during the transition phase
• How to coach technique without forcing athletes into rigid models

This is a framework for coaches who want better questions, cleaner observation, and more precise instruction.

Download the free ebook and refine how you see sprinting.

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A simple coaching check that saves a lot of frustration.

If an athlete shows clean shapes, solid angles, and consistent intent in a three-point, walk-in, or falling start, those qualities should carry into the blocks.

When they disappear, that contrast matters.

As Coach Dan Pfaff points out, a breakdown in the blocks often signals a setup issue rather than a capability issue. Foot spacing, shin angles, hand position, and balance demands can quietly push athletes into positions they cannot express well, especially with younger or less developed athletes.

Use alternative starts as a reference point.
Compare shapes.
Compare angles.

Let what they already do well guide how you build the block setup.

Small adjustments upstream often clean up the picture downstream.

This clip comes from Live Immersion 2 of The Coaching Eye, where real movement problems get unpacked in real time.

Want to learn more about Block Starts - check out Coach Pfaff's 5* rated course - Coaching the Short Sprints.

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Speed at the highest level has a differentiator.

As Stu McMillan explains, the fastest sprinters separate themselves through how precisely they organize ground contact. Strike. Contact. Release. The athletes who coordinate that moment best tend to run the fastest and stay healthier over time.

From a performance and durability lens, the foot-to-ground interaction pattern carries enormous weight. Yet most training time drifts toward hip flexion patterns because they feel easier to see, control, and predict.

Elite sprinting rewards something different: intuitive coordination at the moment force meets the ground.

📽️ Learn more about this pattern and drive deeper into elite sprinting - watch Stu's full presentation 'Hip Extension & Acceleration - Part 1' for FREE on ALTIS Connect - the biggest and best sports performance video library around.

Head here to start your free trial and watch Stu's full presentation: loom.ly/xtFVemY

Speed. Mechanics. Health.

Sprint mechanics sit at the intersection of performance and durability. How an athlete moves shapes how force is produced, absorbed, and repeated over time. When mechanics drift, speed stalls and injury risk rises. When mechanics organize well, performance and health tend to travel together.

That relationship is the focus of our free ebook Speed, Mechanics, & Health: Why Mechanics Matter.

Inside, we break down:

⚡ Why sprint mechanics influence both output and injury risk
🔄 How kinematics and kinetics interact as a single system
🧠 Where current sport science debates miss applied coaching realities
🧩 Why mechanical models still guide sound development, monitoring, and return-to-play decisions
👀 How experienced coaches interpret movement when data, context, and constraints collide

If you coach speed, manage load, or support athletes moving back toward full performance, this is must read.

Download free:

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Last night Coach Pfaff held Live Immersion Session 2 of the current Coaching Eye program, bringing coaches from a range of sports and locations together for a deep, practical look at how movement actually unfolds in real time.

The session centered on acceleration analysis. Coaches worked through sprint footage frame by frame, learning how to zoom out to judge overall effectiveness, then zoom in to assess posture, segment timing, contact strategy, and force direction. The goal was to understand why athletes choose certain solutions and what those choices reveal.

Key themes from the session:

👀 How shin roll, knee drop, and toe drag show up in early acceleration and what they cost.
👀 Why effective movement and efficient movement often look different.
👀 How the same acceleration principles apply across block starts, rolling starts, walk-ins, and field sport starts.
👀 How injury history and strength profiles shape movement strategies.
👀 Why lasting progress starts with whole-system observation, not isolated fixes.

The session reinforced a core Coaching Eye idea: better coaching starts with better questions. The eye is trained through structure, repetition, and honest analysis, not shortcuts.

If you want to develop a clearer process for seeing movement, making sense of complexity, and connecting observation to action, the next Coaching Eye cohort begins May 2026, with registration opening this week.

👀 Interested in being part of Coach Pfaff's next group?

👉 Head here to learn more and register your interest: loom.ly/qtcqnio

👉 Bonus - grab your free video guide on MJ Rudiment here: loom.ly/7INl9H0