Note: photos taken from a video therefore, its a real time sequence.

We often talk about top speeds, however, to me, in any sport but for running; take off is the backbone of athleticism. In many field sports, it could be termed as peak fitness. This is the reason why we keep seeing bulkier players every now and then even at the highest level.

What is a take off?

Depending on what postural position are at; a good take off is essentially getting into your best running position. How fast you get into it determines if you are a good athlete for the sport.

A sport like ‘cricket’ requires it the most. Why? Quite a few reasons:

a) Push to stance movements
b) The amount of distance a cricketer has to cover before he stops
c) A cricketer could be asked to take off in any direction at any angle

Therefore, the better their take off is, the quickly they would cover the distance.

Example: some cricketers make difficult catch look easy. And some make easy catch look very difficult. Same distance, same position…and yet, so much difference? tAKE oFF……

Ques: Can this be improved?

Of course…

Also, reflex is imbibed in take off. One can’t have good take off and bad reflex. They are ONE since its the CNS at play and it would play when our anatomy is trained to respond.

#takeoff #training

Let us look at it from a straight angle which essentially becomes stance-to-push movement. Imagine the game of cricket and then visual how much a fielder has to run to stop the ball or a batsman stealing a single and then ask – whether this lead can help a cricketer or not?

We are made to believe that running doesn’t play an important role in a sport like ‘Cricket’ and it is more about hitting sixes. However, as you can be seen and visualised, a player’s take off can make so much of a difference. Yes, the difference between a brilliant fielder and ordinary one.

This is the reason why a few fielders make a catch look easy whereas, another field would make the same catch look tough.