Coach ,

Since the relay race is a true test of both individual speed and teamwork, having relay handoff drills and techniques nailed down is paramount for any coach. 

In his ‘Relays the Visual Way: Handoffs with Visual Cues’ clinic from THSCA clinic, Jonathan Downey (track and field coach at Christoval High School) reveals multiple steps and drills for relay handoffs that you need to know to perfectly execute handoffs and have your team never drop the baton again. 

This is why we’ve taken two of his strongest insights about perfecting the relay handoff and are including them for you below. 

4x200 - Look It In

4x200 - Look It In

Coach Downey discusses how in all of his research watching and studying the world’s best relay racers, he has noticed how every single 4x200 relay utilizes the same placement when figuring out where the exchange the baton.

He says that they start in the International space on the track, an entire 10 steps in front of the exchange zone. From there, the runner will put their back foot even with the 10th step. 

This is an effective strategy because, in a meet, a runner won’t need a visual cue, and instead can just take their 10 steps and know they’re in the correct position. 

As soon as the runner gets into the International size, the one waiting for the baton is going to break out at a full-speed sprint. Their hand will go backward as soon as the big arrow of the exchange zone is still in front of the runner. 

One tip that Coach Downey swears by during this aspect of the exchange is that he wants his runners to imagine that there’s a string running from their chin to their hand so that the two are acting in accordance with each other. 

In this case, the head turn during the exchange will occur in tandem with the hand reaching out and receiving the baton from the previous runner.

The Handoff

The Handoff

Coach Downey asserts that the most important aspect of getting a relay right is making sure that the runner isn’t going for longer than they need to before handing the baton off. 

This is why it’s crucial that placement is key, and that the runner who’s receiving the baton isn’t starting too far away from where the runner is going to be. 

Another important due that Coach Downey alludes to comes down to hand placement. While some track and coach coaches say that they want their runner’s hand to be close to parallel with their shoulder, there’s no way that a runner is going to know whether that’s the case in the heat of a race. 

Rather, Coach Downey suggests that a runner’s hand should be placed at the same height where their hands naturally go during the course of their 200m race. Therefore, this is a natural hand position that won’t force the runner who’s handing the baton off to over-exert themselves or slow down to execute the handoff. 

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