The Waterfall - The OLD Starting Technique
Before the change was made to a new starting technique we used a start called the "Waterfall". Basically, the Waterfall has you start by falling forward (generally from your tippy-toes). Once you get to a desirable forward-learning angle (roughly 45 degrees) you explode outwards/upwards to begin the approach.
What I came to realize is that this start is widely inconsistent in the fact that athletes were never catching themselves at the same angle when falling forward, and the percentage of intensity when they landed on that first step changed daily.
Many people think that an approach should be about rhythm (which I agree with - to a point). When they use the word "rhythm" they are referring to the athlete's ability to find not only "rhythm" in their sprinting mechanics but also to rhythmically adapt to the lane and make adjustments on the fly.
What many either disregard or simply don't understand is the fact that there are very few athletes that are able to develop proper "rhythm" during their high school years. It takes a great deal of experience for this to happen and is generally only seen at the collegiate or post-collegiate (professional) levels.
The "Waterfall" rests (in my opinion) fully on a "rhythm approach." It asks that athletes come out with some intensity and purpose but advocates for slowly developing approaches and thus is improper for high school athletes.
For that reason, I highly suggest if you have an athlete using a Waterfall approach you teach them the next technique - The Crouch Start. If they are successful with the Waterfall and your feel as though they are performing the approach properly with the correct intensity then changing may not be in the athlete's best interest. This is where constant reflection and collaboration between coach and athlete comes into play!