Su Bingtian - Raising the Floor

Stuart McMillan explains how coach Randy Huntington targeted force production and ankle stiffness to improve sprinter Su Bingtian's performance.

When Randy Huntington began working with Su Bingtian, the Chinese sprinter was already one of the fastest men in Asia. His exceptional step frequency was a major part of what made him successful. But Huntington believed Su had reached a point where continuing to develop his existing strengths would produce diminishing returns. The bigger opportunity lay in addressing what was holding him back. Specifically, two physical limitations: force production and ankle stiffness. As Stuart McMillan explains in this extract, there are times when developing an athlete's strengths is the right approach. But there are also times when those strengths have been developed sufficiently, and the greatest opportunity for improvement comes from raising the floor. In Su's case, targeted work on those limiting capacities helped him progress from 9.99 to an Asian record of 9.83 seconds over four years. The coaching challenge is knowing when to build the ceiling and when to raise the floor. And that starts with understanding the individual athlete. 🎓 This extract comes from The Su Bingtian Case, one of Stuart McMillan's Month 6 modules in the ALTIS Team Speed Coach Certification. Developed in collaboration with Les Spellman and Danny Foley, this six-month certification connects the science, practical application, and health considerations involved in developing speed for team sport. ⏳ We start October 19th — just 8 days away! Final registration is now open, with limited places remaining for our next cohort. 🔗 loom.ly/u1Uvkgg