Saturday Blog Tip- Retreating With Strong Shoulder Position

In any sport that requires the athletes to have to retreat (move backwards) to keep field or court positioning and still stay oriented with an opponents- the shoulders need to be in a strong position.

It doesn't matter if the athlete is using a straight backpedal, retreating shuffle or crossover, or a retreating continuous hip turn the athlete must keep the shoulders low and forward.

Basically the athlete needs to maintain a good athletic stance while retreating. The hips are back, the shoulders are forward out over the feet and the back is strong and "flat."

When the shoulders get high- all heck breaks loose! the hips start to tuck under the balance goes back on the heels and not on the balls of the feet. The athlete looses control of stopping and starting.

So, if the athlete wants to stop quickly and run forwards, having the shoulders forward allows the athlete to do so quickly. They want to be able to accelerate quickly out of the backpedal. If they are going to open up turn and run out of the retreating skill, having the shoulders forward allow them to immediately be in an acceleration position rather than having to re-adjust the shoulders and hips to be in a better acceleration position.

Start looking at the influence the shoulders are having on your athletes movement- especially retreating movements.

To learn more check out this link, http://sportsspeedetc.com/groundbreaking2.shtml

Yours in Speed,

Lee

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