Australian Running Coach

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Australian Running Coach

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G'Day! Click LIKE to receive updates from my page. Visit my website at www.JacobAndre.com As a little kid, I wanted to know how things worked.

I was most interested in life - how living things functioned. As I became older, I became more interested in the human mind and body. I wanted to know how it all worked and how it could function at it's optimal. My passion for the brain and body led me to study teaching, sport and exercise science, and psychology in three separate courses at university. When I realised I wanted to be my own boss, I turned that passion into a blog, and that blog into a lifestyle. Now I consult, coach, teach, lecture and speak on how to achieve optimal performance of the mind and body. I'm a running coach and movement specialist, known for my ability to break down movement and prescribe specific exercises appropriate to one's level of competence. Physical literacy is the same as written, read, heard and spoken literacy. You wouldn't expect a student to read a novel without first learning the alphabet. I love movement patterns and that includes teaching people how to run optimally. I often get asked for advice on fitness, nutrition and mindset and appear regularly on radio and as a guest on other podcasts.

23/09/2026

🔥Follow to maximise your performance 🚀

🏉 FOOTBALLERS: WANT TO EXPLODE OFF THE MARK?

Your acceleration starts BEFORE your first step!

Before I get athletes sprinting, I make sure their body position and angles are right. The wall drill is one of my favourite ways to establish and reinforce effective acceleration mechanics.

🔥 HOW TO SET UP:

1️⃣ Body Position: Stand one arm’s length from a wall. Take a big step back, lean forwards at approximately 45°, then bring your feet together. Keep your arms straight out from your shoulders.

2️⃣ Ankle Position: Keep your heels slightly elevated with your ankles at approximately 90°. No calf stretches or calf raises!

3️⃣ Foot Placement: Step forwards with one foot dorsiflexed, keeping the sole parallel to the ground. Place your toes directly beneath or slightly behind your knee. Both shins should be parallel.

4️⃣ Groove the Movement: Complete 10 controlled repetitions on each leg, focusing on consistent body position and foot placement.

🔬 WHY IT MATTERS:

✅ Develops the body positions required for effective acceleration.

✅ Reinforces appropriate shin angles and foot placement.

✅ Helps athletes direct force horizontally to accelerate faster.

Remember, speed starts with technique, but you still need to practise sprinting at speed!

📌 Save this drill for your next speed session and share it with a teammate who needs to get faster off the mark! 🚀

21/09/2026

Australian S&C Association networking event exploring career pathways in S&C in the NT. Thanks to Rob Moore for organising and asking me to be a panelist.

16/08/2026

WE WON 🥇

Massive congrats to K y r a B r o w n s e y for WINNING the Christmas Island half marathon today!

I’ve been training Kyra, who is based in Port Headland, for the past 12 weeks.

I’ve trained Kyra before, but when she reached out this time, she said the Christmas Island half marathon was going to be on while she was there and that she wanted to train for it.

Her goals were all time related.

However, when she arrived, she knew it wasn’t going to be a fast time.

She said it was like an old school cross country track with water, mud, hills and 100% humidity!

But she did it. And she won!

I am so proud of her!

This is what Kyra had to say…

“Thanks so much for all of your help. I genuinely felt so much more relaxed and stronger while running compared to the previous one I did, was refreshing!”

The second photo is what she experienced at the start but said this was the least concerning creature on the course 😂

06/08/2026

Whether you’re an aspiring strength & conditioning coach, a current practitioner, a student, or work in an allied profession, this is a unique opportunity to connect with the people shaping high-performance sport in the Northern Territory.

Join the ASCA in Darwin on Saturday 19 September at Michael Long Centre, TIO Stadium for a morning of panel discussion and networking, bringing together experienced strength and conditioning practitioners from sport, government, defence and private practice to discuss career pathways, current opportunities and what it’s really like working in the Territory.

The event is FREE for ASCA Members and Registration is essential.

Meet the panel, view the event details and register via Australian S&C Association page.

14/06/2026

City 2 Surf 📍Darwin 2026

My first time! Thank you…
fitness for having me in your team
for the amazing socks
for the encouragement
for your support…always!
for putting on a great event

Taking recommendations for the next event 📥

13/06/2026

I love when I get to meet the people I train online in person.

I trained for last year’s City2Surf in Darwin while I was in Melbourne.

Looking forward to running it together this year.

11/06/2026

🔥 Follow to maximise your performance 🚀

In the last reel, I introduced the Quick Switch drill to teach athletes how to create force while maintaining the positions required for acceleration.

Now we’re progressing to the next step:

The 1-2 Switch. 🚀

This drill builds on everything we’ve already established—the setup, body angles, shin angles, foot position, and hip lock positions—but introduces greater speed and coordination.

🔑 Why It Matters:

Acceleration isn’t only about moving your legs quickly.

It’s about applying force into the ground in the right direction.

The 1-2 Switch teaches athletes to repeatedly hit strong acceleration positions while maintaining rhythm, timing, and posture.

✅ Reinforces front-side mechanics

✅ Improves force application

✅ Develops acceleration-specific coordination

✅ Enhances hip stability and control

✅ Bridges the gap between isolated drills and sprinting

🔥 How to Perform It:

1️⃣ Start in your wall acceleration position with one knee up and your foot dorsiflexed.

2️⃣ Perform two rapid switches.

3️⃣ After the second switch, hold the position in a strong hip lock.

4️⃣ Focus on maintaining the same body angles throughout the movement.

⚠️ Common Mistake

Many athletes fail to drive the knee high enough during the first switch.

The result?

Poor positions, reduced force production, and less effective acceleration mechanics.

🎯 Aim for equal knee height on both switches.

And remember:

❌ Up and down

✅ Forward and back

Think Punch and Drive.

👊 Punch the knee forward aggressively.

🚀 Drive the stance leg back into the ground.

The goal here isn’t necessarily to move your feet quickly.

The goal is to apply force efficiently while maintaining the positions that produce speed.

Master the positions first.

Then build the speed.

💬 Comment RUN for FREE access to my FootyFit Speed System: Quick Start Guide ✅

10/06/2026

🔥 Follow to maximise your performance 🚀

In the last reel, I showed you how to set up the ideal acceleration position using the wall drill to create the correct body angles, shin angles, foot position, and posture.

Now it’s time to progress to the next drill: the Quick Switch.

This is where athletes start learning how to apply force rapidly while maintaining the positions that underpin acceleration performance.

🔑 Why It Matters:

The first few steps of a sprint can make the difference between winning or losing a contest.

The Quick Switch teaches athletes how to create force quickly while maintaining the body positions required for efficient acceleration.

✅ Improves acceleration mechanics

✅ Develops front-side mechanics

✅ Reinforces optimal shin and body angles

✅ Strengthens the hip stabilisers through hip lock positions

✅ Improves force application into the ground

🔥 How to Perform It:

1️⃣ Start in your wall acceleration position with one knee forward and your foot dorsiflexed.

2️⃣ Quickly switch the legs. Early on, I simply cue athletes to think “forward and back”.

3️⃣ As they improve, I progress the cue to “punch and drive”.

👊 Punch the knee forward aggressively.

🚀 Drive the stance leg back into the ground.

4️⃣ After every punch and drive, pause and hold the position for 2 seconds.

This is known as a hip lock position.

Holding the position helps strengthen the co-contractions around the hip while reinforcing the ideal lines and angles needed for powerful acceleration.

🎯 Don’t rush to sprinting.

First, groove the positions.

Then build speed.

The athletes who accelerate best are the ones who can consistently get into the right positions and apply force efficiently.

💬 Comment RUN for FREE access to my FootyFit Speed System: Quick Start Guide ✅

09/06/2026

🔥Follow to maximise your performance 🚀

Acceleration 101: The First Step

Most footballers want a faster first step.

The problem?

They jump straight into sprinting without first learning the positions that create efficient acceleration mechanics.

As a coach, I always start by getting athletes into the correct setup position before worrying about speed.

Why?

Because acceleration is all about applying force into the ground in the right direction.

🔑 The Setup:

✅ Stand approximately one arm’s length away from a wall, fence, step, or any immovable object.

✅ Take one big step back and lean forward so your body forms a straight line at roughly 45 degrees.

✅ Step the other foot back so both feet are together.

✅ Arms should be straight out from the shoulders, creating approximately 90 degrees at the armpits.

✅ Heels should be slightly elevated.

❌ Not flat on the ground (calf stretch).

❌ Not high in the air (calf raise).

✅ Ankles should sit around 90 degrees.

🔥 The First Step:

1️⃣ Lift one leg with the ankle dorsiflexed.

2️⃣ Keep the sole of the foot parallel to the ground throughout the entire movement.

3️⃣ Step forward and place the foot on the ground.

4️⃣ The toe should be directly under the knee or slightly behind it.

5️⃣ Both shins should be parallel.

That’s it.

Simple.

But incredibly important.

I call this “grooving the movement.”

By repeating this drill for 10 reps each leg, athletes develop the positions, coordination and movement patterns required for effective acceleration.

Whether you’re a junior footballer learning the basics or an elite athlete chasing marginal gains, mastering these positions is one of the fastest ways to improve your acceleration mechanics.

Remember:

You can’t express power efficiently if you can’t get into the right positions first.

Position creates movement.

Movement creates performance.

💬 Comment RUN for FREE access to my FootyFit Speed System: Quick Start Guide ✅

08/06/2026

Contact - Bec Wescombe: +61 419 825 463 | Andrew Harding: +61 408 108 698

Address

Community Bank Nightcliff Oval
Nightcliff, NT
0810

Website

https://www.jacobandre.com/

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