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Matthew Boling's Rise In Texas Has Caught Eyes OF ExpertsPublished by
Boling's Sensational Performances Have Drawn Widespread Attention By Todd Grasley for DyeStat Houston Strake Jesuit senior and Georgia signee Matthew Boling is likely to be the featured act of this weekend's Texas UIL State Championships in Austin. Video of his blazing all-conditions 100-meter dash of 9.98 seconds to win the UIL Region 3 meet quickly went viral. The time was the fastest ever recorded by a high school male, eclipsing Trayvon Bromell’s 9.99 from 2013. Those inside the sport and outside have noticed. HOUSTON CHRONICLE - Everything You Should Know About Matthew Boling Boling was featured on ESPN’s SportsCenter as well as Yahoo! Sports. NBC track and field analyst and Trinidad and Tobago Olympian Ato Boldon knows a thing or two about the sprints and thinks that 100-meter performance wasn’t even Boling’s best this year.
“His long jump, which should get the most attention, gets the least,” Boldon said. “The (26-3.50) is by far his best performance, and the 100 isn’t even close. The 9.98 converts to 10.16, which is good but not great. That long jump is the seventh longest in high school history.” (A reported mark of 26-6 by Tony Martin in Michigan bumped Boling to eighth all-time). When Boling isn’t tearing up the track or flying over sand, he’s just a normal teenager. “I like to hang out with friends, play video games, and watch Netflix,” Boling said. With a week off between regionals and the state meet, the Bolings received a visit from his future coaches at the University of Georgia, who watched him practice. They also gave some advice about the state championship, handling the pressure of lofty expectations, and media fame. “It was a really good visit,” Boling noted. “We talked about summer plans and plans for next year and the media stuff, too. They said don’t focus on the media and social media fame. Just focus on getting medals and doing your job, basically.” Boling is qualified for the state championships in the 100 meters, long jump, the 4x100 relay and 4x400 relay. So what’s makes him such a standout from the 400 meters down, and especially in the long jump? “His start mechanics could be better, but his acceleration is amazing,” Boldon said. “His top-end speed, because of his 200/400 prowess, is also awesome. He’s going to run faster this year and he will, as a result, jump farther.” Boling, who boasts a personal best of 46.15 in the 400 meters from 2018, has only competed in that event once this spring. He was a member of the U.S. U-20 4x400 relay team last summer in Finland, but says he doesn't exactly miss his former signature event. “I don’t really miss it because it was super tiring,” Boling said. “After I found out I could run the 100 meters and 200 meters, we decided it would be easier to do the 1-2-long jump combination. The transition wasn’t that hard either because I still do the same workouts for the 4x400 meter relay.” Boling seems to have a bright future, at Georgia and beyond. “This kid is not going away,” Boldon said. “We will be talking about him a lot.” What others are saying about Matthew Boling Loren Seagrave (One of the world's leading speed and biomechanics experts): His start isn’t that much superior to the other competitors. They turned the track to run with the wind, so I need to make some assumptions on the distance between track markings. His reaction time was a bit slower than at least one other sprinter. However, by the time he reached step seven (around 10 meters) he was leading the field. He was equal to two others to TD step seven at 1.73 seconds from his first movement, which is solid.
At 3.08 (seconds) to step 13 he was just shy of what would be the end of the 4x4 exchange zone and 18 steps in 4.09 at the normal 100-meter finish line. Somewhere between 18 and 20 usually is the 40-yard dash mark, so between 4.09 and 4.53 (seconds), so very respectable.
Between step 18 and 28 his step time is 2.10 steps/second or about 4.8 steps/second. It would be interesting to know his trochanteric leg length, but he seems pretty y’all, so that is impressive.
Applying Dr Ralph Mann’s Golden Positions, Matthew has a bit excessive dangle time, which means his hip continues to extend when off the ground rather than popping the thigh forward. You can see this also manifested by a flexion at the elbow after shoulder flexion has been completed.
When the thigh reaches vertical, his lower leg is folded past parallel to the ground, which gives a knee angle less than 90 degrees. At Touchdown (TD) his knees are together and he has very good body position.
To me, his most impressive attribute is the negative foot speed he generates and his relatively small frontside distance. This minimizes braking forces and allows him to be straight and strong at the knee joint rather than collapsing and pushing.
He will become stronger and more powerful as he physically matures and his training age increases. He has a very solid neuromotor program but can continue to refine this also.
Marvin Bracy (Ran 10.05w at the USATF Junior Outdoor Championships as a high school senior): Well for starters, he looks to be at least six feet tall. He has a nice cadence, but most importantly his maintenance phase is untouchable. His 9.98 was an incredible race! I've seen a few of his races and the kid is crazy talented. With all of the new found fame and expectations, I'd just say to continue focusing on one race at a time because now every time he steps on a track people will expect fireworks, and for a high school kid that can be a little overwhelming. Future coach Petros Kyprianou (University of Georgia): He is a very talented runner with solid mechanics and explosiveness that separates him from others as he grows up. Obviously, he has good coaching and it is evident. What do I think he can improve? His coordination. Everyone can improve his/her speed once they master how to apply most forces to the ground at a minimal amount of time. That simple! It seems he’s improving a lot in that aspect. That’s also huge for his long jump technique. Coach Lance Brauman (adidas coach who coaches some of the world’s best sprinters, including Noah Lyles): I think the kid is doing a good job what he’s doing. Ignore the hype, train hard but smart and keep enjoying the process. My guess is right now he’s a consistent 10.15-10.20 guy, which is phenomenal. More news |
