Willy Taveras of the Colorado Rockies lead the major leagues in stolen bases this year. This guy is quick, but let’s look at his form for a second to illustrate how perfect his running technique is.
His body is in a perfect acceleration position. You can draw a line from the top of his head down to the foot that is planting into the ground. With this straight and rigid body position, he is able to drive his foot into the ground with no wasted movement or energy. He has complete extension of his right leg at his knee and most importantly at his hip. The powerful muscles of hips and butt are working to produce this hip extension. Also, notice his leg drive (his left leg). He drives his knee up to the optimal height – any higher, he would bend at the waste losing his rigid body position, and any lower and he would lose power when driving his foot into the ground. His foot is in a dorsiflexed position (toe up) which loads the calf muscles and propels him even further when he drives that foot into the ground to push off. His arm action is also perfect; both arms are short and compact. He is driving his elbows back and this motion is taking place at the shoulders, which connects to the powerful core musculature. Finally, his head is looking straight forward, not down at the ground, which would cause his torso position to change and thus slow him down.
To all parents, coaches, and athletes who think perfect running technique is not that important look up how many stolen bases Willy Taveras has this year and then get back to me.
Train Hard-Train Smart