Beyond the Static Start: Step-Level and Segmental Kinematics of Pickup Acceleration in Team-Sport Athletes

Pickup acceleration, sprinting from a moving start, is common in team sports. Purpose: This study compared video-derived step-to-step kinematic changes between faster and slower athletes at walking (1.5 m/s) and jogging (3.0 m/s) entry velocities. Subjects: Twenty-eight male athletes (19.1 ± 5.1 years; 1.83 ± 0.07 m; 80.1 ± 16.6 kg) were classified as fast or slow by their maximum acceleration (amax). Methods: Two trials per entry velocity were completed, with kinematics measured via position encoder and 2D markerless video. Between-group differences were assessed using independent-samples t-tests (p < 0.05) and Hedges' g (Bonferroni corrected at p < 0.01). Results: At 1.5 m/s, faster athletes achieved greater amax (3.38 ± 0.18 vs. 2.99 ± 0.18 m/s²; p < 0.001, ES = 2.18), with shorter Transition step length (−7%; ES = -0.47), longer Pickup 1 anterior touchdown distance (~38%; ES = 0.68), longer flight time (~25%; ES = -0.46), higher step acceleration (~16%; ES = 0.50), and shorter Pickup 2 ground contact time (−20%; ES = -0.70). At 3.0 m/s, faster athletes ( amax = 2.56 ± 0.15 vs. 2.14 ± 0.16 m/s²; p < 0.001, ES = 2.74), were characterized by shorter anterior touchdown distance (−28%; ES = -1.03; p = 0.004–0.005), greater step acceleration (~22%; ES = 0.90; p = 0.004) across all steps, shorter ground contact time on Transition (−12%; ES = -0.56) and Pickup 1 (−5%; ES = -0.78), and smaller shin angle at touchdown (−10%; ES = -1.28; p = 0.01 to <0.001). Conclusion: Faster athletes exhibited distinct kinematic profiles; these findings enable a better understanding of the technical determinants of pickup acceleration, which may inform coaching strategies aimed at improving this ability.