A progressive guide for coaching junior hurdle athletes

A progressive guide for coaching 

junior hurdle athletes 

Stephen Cowburn

Table of Contents 

Coaching Hurdles 

1. Safety ........................................................................................................... 4 

2. Introduction .................................................................................................. 5 

3. Coaching Progression & Model Technique .................................................. 6 

Regular stride pattern ................................................................................... 7 

Leg Action .................................................................................................. 10 

Trail Leg ..................................................................................................... 13 

Arm Action .................................................................................................. 16 

Strides between hurdle ............................................................................... 19 

Position 'on the hurdle' ............................................................................... 20 

Breathing .................................................................................................... 22 

When is enough? ....................................................................................... 23 

Progress ..................................................................................................... 24 

4. Drills ........................................................................................................... 26 

5. Exercise & Practice .................................................................................... 56 

6. Conditioning & Preparation ........................................................................ 63 

Warm Up .................................................................................................... 63 

General Strength ........................................................................................ 71 

Core Strength ............................................................................................. 76 

Speed Development ................................................................................... 81 

Flexibility..................................................................................................... 86 

Cool Down .................................................................................................. 89 

7. Distance Hurdle Races .............................................................................. 90 

Distance Hurdle Exercises ......................................................................... 95 

8. Common Errors and How to Correct .......................................................... 99 

9. Acknowledgements .................................................................................. 101 

Appendix A - Typical coaching/training phases for a VLAA calendar year ... 104 

Appendix B – Hurdle configurations for VLAA competition .......................... 105 

Page 3 of 106

2. Introduction 


Hurdling is a sprint event. To be successful in a hurdle race the athlete must 

first be successful as a sprinter. However there are distinct differences 

between the requirements of a sprinter and the requirements of a hurdler. 

How many world class sprinters are world class hurdlers, or vice versa? 

A sprinter, put simply, has a specific distance to cover in a short a time as 

possible. The sprinter has complete freedom on stride length and frequency 

and no specific demands on flexibility or rhythm. 

The hurdler, like the sprinter, has to cover a specific distance in a short a time 

as possible however on the way has to negotiate several barriers as efficiently 

as possible minimising any loss of speed. This places specific demands on 

the hurdle athlete in terms of flexibility (low hurdle clearance) and stride 

pattern (rhythm). 

In essence the critical success factors for a Hurdler can be summarised as: 

Hurdle Efficiency and Stride Cadence. 

Hurdle Efficiency -. The basic aim of the hurdle action is to get off the ground 

and get back on the ground as quickly as possible with as minimum disruption 

(loss of speed and technique) to the regular sprint style as possible. 

This means a minimum hurdle clearance which in turn places demands on the 

athletes flexibility. 

Stride Cadence - Take an 80m hurdle race for example. The first hurdle is 

12m from the start, there are 9 hurdles each 7m apart and the last hurdle is 

12m from the finish line. Almost without exception the required stride pattern 

for success in this event is 8 strides to the first hurdle, 3 strides between the 9 

Hurdles (24 strides) and 7 to the finish line, a total of 39 strides. 

The athlete that can complete the 39 strides the quickest will win the race. 

Stride length therefore is not an important attribute for the hurdle athlete as 

this is dictated by the position of the hurdles. Stride cadence (speed or 

frequency) is the second key attribute for the successful hurdle athlete. 

This manual aims at providing a sequence of skill acquisition, coupled with 

drills and exercises that assist in coaching a novice hurdler to becoming an 

accomplished hurdler. 

Photos are used extensively throughout the manual as a way of showing the 

action under discussion or the setup/apparatus required to perform the action 

however they should be viewed in context with the descriptive text 

accompanying the photo. 

Page 5 of 106

Trail Leg 

12. 

13. 

Figure 9 – Hurdle Sequence 


The trail leg should remain ‘compact’ – short levers move much faster than 

long levers - with the heel of the trail foot close to the athlete’s bottom. The 

lower trail leg (knee to foot) should be basically flat over the hurdle with the 

trail foot slightly below the trail knee. The trail foot should be dorsiflexed. 

The trail knee continues to rise after clearing the hurdle and will almost 

touch the athlete’s chest. The trail leg, after clearing the hurdle, should 

return to the front of the athlete. 

Key points 

1. 2. 

3. 

6. 

11. 

7. 

Referring to Figure 9 – Hurdle Sequence the action of the trailing leg: 

• The trailing leg drives the body at the hurdle as the lead leg rises [5, 6]. 

• The recovery of the trail leg must begin from well behind the body if the 

drive is to be completed. 

• The athlete should feel the trailing knee sweeping wide and flat over the 

hurdle [6, 7]. 

• As the leg crosses the hurdle the foot must be cocked (dorsiflexed) at 

the ankle so that the foot does not hit the barrier [9, 10]. 

• After crossing the barrier the knee continues to rise and comes round in 

front of the body [10, 11, and 12]. 

• Many young athletes have a tendency to drop the trail leg off to the side 

after it has crossed the barrier. This has the effect of making the first 

stride very short and pulling the athlete off balance. The trail leg must 

8. 

4. 

9. 

14. 

Page 13 of 106 

5. 

10. 

15.


be pulled through high and fast so that the first stride is fast [12, 13, 

and 14]. 

The trail knee is always higher than 

trail foot. The trail foot remains 

dorsiflex throughout motion. 

The athlete aims to pull the trail leg 

through as quickly as possible. 

The trail foot stays close to hurdle 

whereas the trail knee will continue to 

rise after clearing the hurdle. 

This position is often likened to a dog 

taking a leak. 

Figure 10 – Trail leg position, Knee/Foot relationship 

Figure 11 – Trail leg position, high knee 

The trail leg rotation completes with 

the trail leg in front of athlete and 

knees high as in sprint motion. As I 

the ‘B’ skip the lower leg then extends 

and the foot strikes the ground while 

travelling backwards. 

Page 14 of 106

Figure 12 – Trail leg position, in front 


Trail leg plant comes from a vertical 

‘in front’ position. 

The trail leg action can be best taught by breaking the action down into 5 

stages as shown above. The stages are (1) the trail leg is lifted off the track 

but remains straight, as in the push off from the previous stride, (2) the trail leg 

foot is everted and dorsiflex, (3) the trail knee is pulled through to the side, 

trail foot remains below the knee, (4) trail knee is pulled to a ‘vertically in front’ 

position, note high knee, (5) trail foot actively returns to the track while 

travelling backwards (like in the ‘B’ skip). 

Have the athlete sequence through the 5 stages pausing at each stage to 

check correct position. Gradually reduce the pause until the action becomes a 

continuous fluid motion. 

Figure 13 – 5 Stages of Trail Leg Action 

Page 15 of 106


Next are several exercises that assist the athlete to develop a constant Centre 

of Gravity over the hurdle. 

‘The Hedgehog’ 

Here the athlete is using a ‘hedgehog’ 

to gauge clearance over the hurdle. 

The hedgehog is simply a hurdle that 

has 150mm long flexible plastic 

fingers protruding from the top edge. 

The athlete is aiming to pass the lead 

foot through the fingers. 

When successful the athlete can feel 

the fingers and gain the positive 

feedback on their hurdling height. 

The athlete in the photo is only just 

skimming the top of the fingers and 

should lower her action to improve 

hurdle speed. 

Figure 19 - Feedback on trail leg height using ‘Hedgehog’ 

The hedgehog in use again here to 

gauge the height of the trail foot. 

The athlete is aiming to pass the trail 

foot through the fingers. 

When successful the athlete can feel 

the fingers and gain the positive 

feedback. 

Figure 20 – Feedback on lead leg height using ‘Hedgehog’ 

Page 21 of 106

Spider Drill 

Figure 33 – Spider drill 


Similar to the Walkover Drill the 

Spider Drill aims at developing the 

athlete’s awareness and coordination 

of the lower limbs while hurdling. 

The hurdles are set close together 

(around 0.5m) and slightly lower than 

normal so that the athlete can 

comfortably straddle the hurdle. 

The athlete steps over each hurdle in 

turn with only 1 foot touching the track 

between hurdles. 

Each leg performs a trail leg 

movement. 

For variation have the athlete perform 

this drill backwards. 

This same drill can be performed 

while carrying a Medicine Ball high 

above the athletes head. This 

heightens the awareness of the 

shoulders and promotes a feeling of 

high hips and feeling tall. 

A further progression can be achieved 

by increasing the space between 

hurdles requiring the athlete to add a 

small skip in order to reach the next 

hurdle. 

Emphasis in all variations of this drill 

is to keep the hips square to the 

direction of travel as much as possible 

i.e. do not let the hips turn sideways 

as the athlete negotiates the hurdle. 

Page 38 of 106

Figure 35 – ‘20/20’ Drill 


‘20/20’ Drill 

Cones are placed on 

the track 40m apart. In 

the middle, two hurdles 

are placed in adjacent 

lanes facing the 

opposite way to each 

other. 

The athlete is required 

to set off from one 

cone, hurdle the hurdle 

in the lane, continue to 

the second cone, turn 

around move, to the 

adjacent lane and 

repeat. 

This drill is aimed at 

developing ‘Spatial 

Awareness’ required for 

the 200, 300, 400m 

hurdle athlete who 

need to be able to 

judge distance and 

timing to the hurdles. 

Repeat while moving 

the cones and/or 

hurdles +/- 1m between 

rotations 

For sprint hurdlers this 

same drill can be 

performed with 2, 3 or 

even 4 hurdles in 

adjacent lanes – in this 

example the hurdles 

would be placed on the 

correct spacing for the 

event. See Figure 54 – 

3 Hurdle Turnaround 

Page 40 of 106

3 Hurdle Turnaround 


Hurdle and cones are set out as shown below. The ‘Run In’ distance and 

distance between hurdles should be as for the event specification. The 

example below is for the 80mH. 

This exercise compresses the normal hurdle distance into half and includes 

twice as many acceleration phases. Primarily it is an Acceleration exercise 

however if repeated can also act as an endurance exercise. 

Start with 4 rotations per set with a short, say 30sec rest, between rotations. 

Repeat 2 or 3 times or until the athlete lose form. 

This same drill can be performed with 1 to 4 hurdles in each direction. 

Circular Sprint Hurdle 

Figure 54 – 3 Hurdle Turnaround 

Hurdles are set out as shown below. The hurdles should be placed on the 

correct marks for the event. Height should be 1 height below normal 

competition (68cm for 76cm competition). 

The ‘run’ phases are performed near 100%. The walk phases are for recovery 

hence performed at a slow walking pace. 

This exercise provides 2 acceleration and 2 top speed units per rotation. It 

also assists develop spatial awareness by having the larger than normal gap 

between the first and second hurdle grouping. However if repeated several 

times can also act as an endurance exercise. 

Start with 2 rotations per set with a short, say 2 min rest, between rotations. 

Repeat 2 or 3 times or until the athlete lose form. 

This same drill can be performed with a variety of hurdle combinations (1+1, 

2+2, 1+1+1, 2+1+2…) to keep the exercise interesting. The example below is 

a 100mH 2+2 variation. 

Page 61 of 106


Over Under 

A good warm up 

stretching exercise 

targeting the adductors. 

4-6 hurdles are 

arranged approx 1m 

apart. Hurdle height 

alternate from a low to 

height setting. In the 

photo example from 

68cm to 76cm (adjust 

depending on the 

height of the athlete). 

The athlete walks to the 

first hurdle and 

performs the normal 

lead leg action over the 

hurdle. 

The lead leg clears the 

hurdle and touches 

down on the exit site. 

The trail leg is pulled 

through and fed under 

the next hurdle. 

The athlete then 

crouches under the 

hurdle pulling the lead 

leg through and over 

the next hurdle. 

The athlete continues 

to the end of the 

hurdles 

The athlete should 

perform the same drill 

alternating the initial 

lead leg. 

Note only 1 foot contact 

between each hurdle. 

Page 66 of 106

While in the seated hurdle position have the athlete 

perform the arm actions as if in a sprint hurdle race. That is 

swinging the arms as if running. The lead arm reaches for 

lead foot as the trail arm remain compact. Count 1, 2, 3 as 

the arms swing in a normal running action then repeat the 

lead arm reach. The athlete’s upper body should lean 

forward with the lead arm reach. 

Repeat 10x then change legs and repeat. 

Figure 80 – Seated leg stretch 


Seated Leg Grab 

The athlete sits on the 

track in the hurdle 

position (lead leg 

straight in front, trail leg 

to side, heel to bottom). 

The athlete leans 

forward and grabs the 

lead foot with both 

hands and holds the 

position for 5-10 

seconds and repeats. 

Aim to get the athlete’s 

chest as low as they 

can if possible touching 

their upper leg (head 

touching knee). 

Repeat several times 

for both legs. 

Where the athlete is 

unable to reach their 

toes, hold as far down 

the leg as possible. 

There should be no 

bouncing. The 

important thing is to 

‘hold’ the position. 

Progress to have the 

athlete lean over the 

Trail leg and again try 

to get as low as 

possible. 

Lastly have the athlete 

lean between the Lead 

and Train and try to get 

their head as close to 

the track as possible. 

Page 87 of 106

7. Distance Hurdle Races 


While in principle the basic hurdle technique remains the same regardless of 

the race distance, the distance hurdle races (200m, 300m & 400m) require a 

slightly different approach. 

As the race is much longer the athlete needs to develop the ability to maintain 

speed over the longer distances. It is unusual for an athlete to be able to 

maintain a regular stride pattern over the full race distance and the athlete 

should develop a race plan for when this ‘change down’ in strides will occur. 

However the athlete also needs to be able to adapt to the prevailing 

conditions on race day. Wind strength and direction in particular can dictate 

when the athlete has to modify their plan. 

A factor that can help an athlete overcome the stride pattern variation, 

between hurdles is the ability to hurdle with both legs. An athlete’s hurdle 

technique may not be as good with the non preferred leg but it is essential if 

the athlete is to avoid hesitation (stuttering) at the hurdle. 

As the longer hurdle races obviously involve hurdling on the bends a left leg 

lead can provide some advantage. On the corner the athlete will lean slightly 

to the inside of the track (left) to counteract the centrifugal forces pushing 

them wide. The right trail leg therefore has a greater space with which to 

complete its action. Also by leading with the left leg the athlete is able to stay 

close to the inside line. 

A right leg lead will tend to push the athlete wide of the lane (after the hurdle) 

hence adding distance to the race. Also a right leg lead requires the left trail 

leg to complete its action while slightly under the leaning body of the athlete – 

to compensate a right leg lead athletes will often run wide in the approach to 

the hurdle so as to attach the hurdle ‘straight on’ 

In order to maximise the left leg lead advantage however care needs to be 

taken on the placement of the lead leg on landing. Ideally the left leg lead 

should land on the left of centre of the lane. Otherwise the athlete will run wide 

in the lane and be off balance. To make this happen the athlete need to push 

their right arm and hips to the left while negotiating the hurdle. 

As a guide to hurdle efficiency and performance, an athlete’s 400mH time will 

be approximately 4 seconds greater than their 400m flat time. 

Page 90 of 106

Axis Title 

7.20 

7.00 

6.80 

6.60 

6.40 

6.20 

6.00 

5.80 

Speed (m/s) Trend for 400mH Target Times 

Example 60.00s 

H1 H2 H3 H4 H5 H6 H7 H8 H9 H10 F 

Figure 90 – Speed Curve Example 400mH 


Cumulative Speed (m/s) 

Interval Speed (m/s) 

With the longer hurdles top speed is achieved at H1 due to the much longer 

run in (45m for the 400mH). Also as a consequence of the longer distance the 

rate of decay is greater. The dash to the finish is also longer and usually 

facilitates a slightly higher speed finish. 

Page 94 of 106

Distance Hurdle Exercises 

Alternate hurdle pyramid 


This is a good exercise for the 200m (10 hurdle) event. 68cm hurdles are set 

on the 200mH H1 to H7. All runs commence from a standing start and are 

completed at slightly sub maximum speed. This is largely a speed endurance 

exercise but has elements of acceleration and top speed. One set consists of 

7 runs as described below. 2 sets are quite demanding and should only 

continue as long as correct hurdle form can be maintained. 

Figure 91 – 200m Pyramid 

1 st run – to H1, walk back to start 

2 nd run – to H3, walk back to start 

3 rd run – to H5, walk back to start 

4 th run – to H7, walk back to start 


6t h run – to H3, walk back to start 


Only minimal rest between runs. 

As a progression include all hurdles rather than every other hurdle: H1, H2, 

H3, H4, H5, H6, H7, H6, H5, H4, H3, H2, H1 

Page 95 of 106

8. Common Errors and How to Correct 


This section will attempt to address some common problems found in the 

sprint hurdles and suggest possible reasons and corrections. 

• Problem - Too far from the first hurdle 

• Possible Cause - Sprint strides during initial acceleration from 

blocks are too short. Blocks may be set too close together 

resulting in too short of an initial stride. Arm action in 

acceleration to first hurdle may be too passive. 

• Correction/Solution - Develop athletes contractive strength 

required to drive from the blocks with sufficient stride length to 

make the 12m distance in 8 steps. Move blocks to medium 

spacing and check body angles in start position. Lengthen arm 

action and increase the amplitude of arm movement. 

• Problem - Too high over the first hurdle 

• Possible Cause - Athlete is too close to the hurdle at takeoff. 

Takeoff foot planted on heel. Non-existent or non-active cut 

step. Lead leg not folded tightly until thigh reached parallel or 

above. Athlete afraid of hurdle. 

• Correction/Solution - Keep athlete in sprint acceleration posture 

longer. This will keep strides shorter and help the athlete attain a 

higher velocity. Make sure the athlete is accelerating in a pattern 

of acceleration and not overstriding. If the athlete is planting their 

takeoff foot like a long jumper this will make the last stride before 

the hurdle too long and result in placement too close to the 

hurdle. Practice a tall posture, making the cut step active and on 

the front of the takeoff foot. Rehearse proper lead leg mechanics 

and body posture going into hurdle. Also examine what the 

takeoff foot is doing. If it is planted on the heel than the lead leg 

will tend to open up too soon. Use hurdles in practice that are 

constructed of soft, flexible materials or constructed to be 

forgiving. If the hurdle is not a threat to life and limb, the athlete 

will gain the necessary confidence to run through the hurdle with 

the velocity necessary to perform efficient technique. 

• Problem - Off balance coming off the hurdle 

• Possible Cause - Lead leg and opposite arm are driven 

inward/outward and not parallel to the direction of travel. 

• Correction/Solution - Have athlete work on keeping the lead leg 

mechanics as described above so as to enable the athlete to 

more easily keep their actions in line with the direction of the 

run. Use sprint arm action into the hurdle and not across the 

body. Also, the athlete may be too close to the hurdle. 

• Problem - ‘Jump’ hurdles 

• Possible Cause - Athlete may not have flexibility to ‘flatten out’ 

over hurdle. Lower trail leg not flat over hurdle. Taking off too 

close to hurdle. 

Page 99 of 106

A progressive guide for coaching junior hurdle athletes

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