Why I Stopped Coaching "High Knees" (And What I Coach Instead)
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Quick answer: "High knees" points an athlete at the knee, and the knee is a joint that opens and closes, so the moment a kid focuses on it they start adding variation to their steps and lose their rhythm. We don't have a high-hip drill or a high-ankle drill, so why a high-knee drill. The fix is a focal-point switch: cue the thigh, the biggest, heaviest part of the leg. When an athlete thinks about lifting something that big, they recruit more, think stronger, and put more power into each step, and the knee quietly defaults to where it is supposed to go.
The cue coaches keep saying, and why it misses
Walk onto any field, court, or track in the world and you will hear it. Coaches yelling "knees up." Parents yelling "lift those knees." Athletes drilling "high knees" as a warm-up.
The cue is everywhere. I stopped using it years ago.
The knee is a joint. It opens and it closes. Extension and flexion. That is what it does. When you tell an athlete to focus on their knee, you are pointing their attention at a part of the body that is constantly moving and changing angle. And the second a kid locks onto that joint, they start manipulating it. They start moving their body in odd little ways to chase the coaching cue. Each kid interprets it differently, and each step picks up variation. You lose the one thing running rhythm depends on, which is consistency.
Think about it this way. We do not call it the high-hip drill. We do not call it the high-ankle drill. So why is it the high-knee drill? Of all the parts involved in lifting the leg, the knee is one of the least useful to focus on.
Where the lift actually comes from
The leg does not lift from the knee. It lifts from the hip.
The real work happens at the hip joint, where the hip flexor connects into the lower core and the obliques. That connection is what drives the leg up. A strong hip flexor and a strong core are what pull the leg off the ground. The knee just comes along for the ride.
So when we coach the lift, we want the athlete thinking about the part that is actually doing the lifting, and the part that is big enough to generate real power.
Why "thigh" beats "knee"
This is the switch. Instead of "lift your knee," I say "drive your thigh."
It sounds small. It changes everything.
Ask an athlete what it takes to lift their knee. The knee is small and adjacent. The brain treats it like a minor task. Now ask them what it takes to lift their thigh. The thigh is one of the biggest, heaviest parts of the entire body. The brain treats that like a real job. The athlete recruits more. They think bigger. They put more intention and more power into getting that big piece of the body up.
Same leg. Same motion. Completely different output, because you changed where the athlete is focused and how much they think it weighs.
And a bonus comes with it. The moment the knee stops being the focal point, it stops getting manipulated. It defaults to where it is supposed to go on its own. You fixed the variation problem and the power problem with one word swap.
Quick sidebar while we are here. I keep a tin of Neuro Gum next to my keyboard when I write these posts. One piece, a few minutes, and the fog lifts before the first sentence lands. Caffeine and L-theanine, no crash. You can find it here: Neuro Gum. (Affiliate link. I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.)
The pro tip most people miss: the foot
The unlock almost nobody coaches is the foot and the ankle.
The ankle and foot are the furthest things from your core. If they are loose and sloppy, the whole leg feels heavy, and your hip flexor has to fight to drag that heavy leg up. But if you keep a stiff ankle with the toes pulled up (dorsiflexion, or toes to the nose), the foot can trampoline off the ground. That bounce returns force back up the leg. Suddenly the leg feels lighter and stronger, and the lift becomes easy.
Stiff ankle. Toes up. Let the foot bounce. It makes everything above it easier.
The bands that train it on you, not in your head
Knowing the right coaching cue is one thing. Getting your body to default to it under load is another. The second you start moving, your old pattern shows up again. That is movement DNA. Wired deep.
This is what Two8 Bands are built for. Worn in Athlete Mode, the set lets your body feel the right firing pattern under light resistance, so the new motion takes root without you having to think about it. The Movement Band teaches the path. The Super Band adds load. Together they turn good mechanics into your default.
Built by coaches. Athlete approved.
Want every coaching cue I use and cut?
This blog covers one. The book covers all of them.
If We Knew Better, We'd Move Better: The Seeds of Movement lays out the cues I have built or replaced over 20 years of coaching, in plain language. If you coach, parent, or train anyone, this book changes the words you use.
Go deeper. The thinking in this post comes straight from my book, If We Knew Better, We'd Move Better. And when you are ready to train these patterns with the tool built for them, feel the difference with the Two8 Bands set. You can also grab the set on Amazon.
Some links in this post are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you.
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