My high school coach, Ed Sediego, has a novel way of identifying a potential hurdler's lead leg. Instructing the athlete to stay put (or to count to 10) before he abruptly calls the hurdler to come forward. The first foot which made the first step is, naturally, the lead leg (and the front leg at the crouch start).
With this standard in mind, my natural lead leg is the right. But for some peculiar reason, I lead with my left leg! Back in college, my coach noticed how smoothly I executed the lead leg action with my right leg - in stark contrast to the wilder, jerky movement of my left leg. We tried to shift lead legs, but then again, things did not really work out.
Reading about how Rafael Nadal's uncle trained the Mallorcan to play left-handed, a wild thought hit me: What if one teaches a right-footed (right lead leg) hurdler to lead with the left? One obvious benefit would be the trail leg action. With the dominant leg assuming the more complicated trail leg motion, a smoother trail leg clearance is bound to happen.
Looking at my past photos and videos, I've always liked how my trail leg moved. Rarely did I hit hurdles with my right, trail leg. The right knee squares perfectly under the shoulders, with the foot clearing the hurdle smoothly - almost parallel with top bar. Although my overall hurdling form is a million light years away from being perfect, I'm damned proud of my trail leg.
Article by Joboy Quintos
With this standard in mind, my natural lead leg is the right. But for some peculiar reason, I lead with my left leg! Back in college, my coach noticed how smoothly I executed the lead leg action with my right leg - in stark contrast to the wilder, jerky movement of my left leg. We tried to shift lead legs, but then again, things did not really work out.
Reading about how Rafael Nadal's uncle trained the Mallorcan to play left-handed, a wild thought hit me: What if one teaches a right-footed (right lead leg) hurdler to lead with the left? One obvious benefit would be the trail leg action. With the dominant leg assuming the more complicated trail leg motion, a smoother trail leg clearance is bound to happen.
Looking at my past photos and videos, I've always liked how my trail leg moved. Rarely did I hit hurdles with my right, trail leg. The right knee squares perfectly under the shoulders, with the foot clearing the hurdle smoothly - almost parallel with top bar. Although my overall hurdling form is a million light years away from being perfect, I'm damned proud of my trail leg.
Article by Joboy Quintos
