Getting quality shots of moving subjects is relatively simple using a DSLR. Here are some tips.
Shoot in RAW, it means you can fine tune the white balance later, as well as have more leeway in finding details in shadow areas and avoiding clipped highlights.
It was a bright sunny day so I was able to shoot @ ISO 100 and still have a high enough shutter speed. If it's a bit dull or less light consider increasing the ISO to raise the shutter speed.
Set the camera to AI servo mode, this tracks moving subjects and keeps them in focus so long as you keep your finger half pressed ont he shutter buttton.
Set your camera to high speed burst mode and rattle off shots of the moving subject.
Don't start shooting too soon though, remember you are shooting in RAW and the buffer may fill up before you get to the real action you want to record.
Take a look in your manual to refresh your memory on how many shots your camera can take per second in high speed burst mode and how many shots in RAW will fill the buffer, causing the shot rate to drop.
Import the shots into your viewer (I use Lightroom) select the keepers and flag those short of the mark for deletion. You can then convert the RAW file as you wish, playing around with teh sliders or using a preset. I opted to use an x=equals preset called warm storm. This has given a great separation of the subject fromt he background and really accents the bright sunny day that we had on the beach.
