Sprinting in Physical Education: The Practical Handbook with Exercises, Games, and Technique Cards

In this practical handbook you will find exercises, games and technique cards for sprinting in physical education, from primary school to upper secondary school. Learners can cover short distances quickly, react to start signals and learn technical features such as good posture, active arm movement and a powerful push-off. Because the handbook is designed as a modular kit, exercises and games can be freely selected according to the learners' level, age group and objectives, and combined for individual lessons or entire series of lessons.

What is included in the material

• Handout with guidance on teaching sprinting, differentiation and assessing performance in school sports
• Exercise cards for activation and mobilization and for the sprinting ABC, each with an illustration and brief instructions
• Moderate running and tag games for warm-ups
• Games and exercises for sprinting focusing on reaction, standing starts, crouch starts, acceleration and sprinting technique, each with a description, duration and equipment
• Sprinting and relay games for application and consolidation, including templates for bingo relays, dice relays and puzzle runs
• Technique cards for standing starts, crouch starts, acceleration and sprinting strides, each unlabelled, with the most important and detailed technical features – for example, looking ahead, an upright upper body, high knees and landing on the forefoot for the sprinting stride
• Cards for starting blocks and starting bars showing the distances of the blocks from the starting line and the start commands
• Feedback sheets corresponding to the technique cards, with checkboxes for "Yes", "Partially" and "No"
• Assessment sheets by grade level from grade 3/4 to 11–13, plus evaluation sheets for sprint times and a performance overview

Tips for using the material

• Lesson structure: The lesson can begin with mobilization, the sprinting ABC or a moderate running or tag game. This can be followed by a focus on reaction, standing starts or acceleration, and sprinting and relay games can be used at the end.
• Step by step: Sprinting can be divided into reaction, starting, acceleration and running technique. It is advisable to first use playful running and reaction activities, then focus on specific techniques, and to focus on only a few technical features at each stage.
• Short and intense: Technique exercises can always be combined with real short sprints, with sufficiently long breaks between bouts of exertion.
• Make features visible: Important movement features can be worked out together and recorded on a poster or on the board.
• Observe and provide feedback: In many exercises, learners can observe each other in pairs and provide feedback, for example during a two-person start check, where the game leader sets an observation point before each start.
• Experience contrasts: In the contrast exercises, learners can deliberately perform a movement "incorrectly" first and then technically correctly, and identify exaggerated errors in the demonstrated sprint when searching for mistakes.
• Differentiation: Running distances can be shortened or lengthened, starting positions and break lengths adjusted, and the sprinting ABC simplified or expanded. More advanced aspects such as push-off, knee lift, arm movement or frequency can be added.
• Variations: Many games and exercises can be modified using variations, for example with different starting positions, visual instead of acoustic signals or obstacles on the track.
• Not just the time counts: Instead of only assessing the measured time, the assessment sheets can take into account best performance, individual progress and technique.

These competencies are promoted

• Reaction speed through starts in response to acoustic and visual signals
• Starting technique for standing and crouch starts, including start commands and setting the starting blocks
• Acceleration with a clear forward body lean and gradual uprighting of the upper body
• Movement observation and feedback through mutual observation in partner work and the feedback sheets
• Fairness in competition and dealing with success and failure in sprinting and relay games

Organizational notes

Most games and exercises require cones, while some require no equipment at all. Some individual games and exercises require additional equipment, such as starting blocks, soft mats, hoops, balls, dice or resistance bands.

To complement this, there is the Practical Handbook for Long Jump in Physical Education and the Practical Handbook for Shot Put in Physical Education from the athletics series, as well as more sprinting games, relays and races.