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What is The Most Important Element of Speed?
When you look closely at speed training
you realize that there is more than just lining up and sprinting as
fast as possible through the finish line. There are many aspects that
directly affect speed. One is technique. Technique is extremely
important to the performance of speed. If an athlete has sloppy
non-directed technique, performance will certainly be less than
adequate, at least for that individual’s potential. Coordination is
another. Coordination between muscle groups allows one group to relax
and allows the other group to contract and visa versa. Lever length is
a real important component. If an athlete has a really long lever arm
and the muscles which move that lever are not strong or powerful,
chances are the speed of movement will be slow. There are many more
elements of speed that are important as well.
I bet if I asked each one of you to freeze your thoughts about speed
right now and tell me what comes to mind, I bet most of you are
thinking of sprinting or running speed. Well, of course. That is what
most people think of when speed is mentioned. But actually, I am going
to tell you about athletic speed which can be how much speed is used
to throw a shot put, or swing a table tennis paddle, or shuffle
laterally in basketball or volleyball, but I will also touch on
sprinting speed.
After reading this article, you will understand the three important
elements of speed that are not usually mentioned outside of the sports
performance fraternity. These elements are:
1. Reaction speed or time
2. Single muscular movement speed
3. Frequency of movement speed
Let’s first look at reaction speed. When a tennis player initially
sees the ball come off the racquet of the server and the instantaneous
movement to bring the racquet back is his reaction time. The time it
takes once a stimulus is recognized until the actual movement is the
reaction time. A great example of reaction time is in the sport of
skeet shooting.
There are many factors which determine how quickly the reaction time
will be. Without going into great detail, things such as; the age of
the athlete, gender, type of stimuli, awareness, prior experience, and
length of the nerve fibers will have an effect on the process that
takes place during a reaction.
For example, if a young female soccer goalie has little training and
little experience in terms of stopping a shot on goal, the reaction
time will probably be fairly slow. In contrast, if the next athlete is
a veteran track sprinter waiting for the gun to sound and fire out of
the blocks, the reaction time will be much quicker.
The second element is single movement speed. This may be seen more in
skills such as throwing, batting, punching, volleying, and take downs
in wrestling. Basically, the single movement speed deals with the time
it takes to move a body part and or implement a given distance. You
could say that the initial arm action, which is the most aggressive of
the arm actions in sprinting, in the coming out of the blocks is a
single movement speed action. One of the abilities that are important
with regard to the single movement speed is strength. The stronger and
more powerful the limb is the more potential for speed of movement.
Another aspect of single movement speed is the coordination between
opposing muscle groups to allow each one to do their job more quickly.
The last element of speed is frequency of movements. Most literature
states that this element can not be improved; it is a product of
genetics. Well, it certainly does have to do with muscle fiber
composition. If the athlete is predominately fast twitch this will
increase the frequency of movement compared to that of an athlete that
is mostly slow twitch. But I think the frequency of movement can be
improved somewhat. If technique can be improved in a particular sport
that requires a lever to move quickly and the lever can be made
shorter to improve the speed without affecting the skill, why can’t
this improve frequency?
If you look at the cyclical action of a young or inexperienced
sprinters leg, you will see a longer lever due to not collapsing the
leg at the knee joint upon the recover from the push off and before
the high knee position. In experienced sprinters, it is obvious that
they are able to shorten the leg (lever) down by bringing the heel to
the buttocks and hamstrings during the recover phase. It would
certainly stand to reason that the leg frequency would be greater with
proper leg recover technique.
It may be small improvements in frequency but, small may be all it
takes to bring an athlete to a new level of competitiveness.
The important thing for coaches and athletes to be able to acknowledge
in regards to the three elements is look at the speed requirements of
their sport and figure out which elements are most important. It may
be that only one is important, or a combination of two, or all three
may be important for success in a sport.
Don’t forget, in order for these elements to be most beneficial and
the potential to be reached, the technique of the skill must be
practiced and perfected. In other words, if an athlete has an innate
ability to react quickly to the gun coming out of the blocks but the
starting technique is horrible the natural reaction ability is
nullified.
Effortless Speed, Agility and Quickness
- By Lee Taft
A close look at what it really takes to
improve your reaction time, speed, agility and quickness. Without
understanding this concept of training, all the speed and agility
drills in the world won't make you any quicker!
Applying Newton’s Third Law of “Action-Reaction” to Make Your Athletes
Faster.
Maybe it’s time to dust off the old
science books and take a hard look at the science behind speed,
quickness and agility- Nah! All you really need to do is look at Sir
Isaac Newton’s Third Law of Action-Reaction. Simply stated, it says
for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. How does
this apply to speed, quickness and agility? When an athlete makes a
cut or comes out of the blocks, there is a quick force applied in the
opposite direction of travel. The force created into the ground or
blocks, in this example, will be met with an equal force coming back
at the foot. As long as the object the foot is applying force to is
stable and is not giving way to the foot, action and reaction forces
should be equal.
Now, how can this be applied to speed, quickness, and agility or
overall athletic movement in any direction? There are a few techniques
that must take place for the athlete to take advantage of Newton’s Law
of Action-Reaction. The first technique is to use the reaction force
from the ground as quickly as possible by not absorbing with a big
flexion of the knees and hips. For example, if a basketball player is
playing defense and in a shuffling action to stay with the ball
handler, and the ball handler quickly changes direction, the defensive
player must react and quickly apply force into the ground in the
opposite direction of travel to move with the ball handler. If the
defensive player allows his hips to drop significantly or shoulders to
sway side to side or forward, this will have a definite impact on how
quickly the change of direction is made. The reaction force out of the
ground will have been dissipated because of too much absorption by the
hips and/or swaying of the shoulders. The athletes must learn to apply
force with stable joints to take advantage of the reaction from the
ground. This may help you to see the importance of low level, quick
response, multi-directional plyometrics in improving agility and
quickness.
The second technique is to apply force into the ground at an angle
that allows the body to be pushed in the direction of travel most
efficiently, known as the angle of force application. In performing a
lateral shuffle, the angle of the power leg (the leg pushing the body
in the direction of travel) must be positioned such that it doesn’t
create an “up lift” of the body by positioning the feet too far under
the hips, or a slipping effect by positioning the feet on too wide an
angle outside the hips. The angle of application is even more critical
when talking about stopping and changing direction. The angle of the
leg stopping the body must be correct in order to be efficient and
handle forces.
The final technique I like to teach to my athletes in regards to
action-reaction is the influence of the arm action. It is more
commonly seen with sprinting or accelerating in a straight line, but
is equally as important when moving laterally. When the arms are used
properly in linear acceleration there is a coordinated action between
the knee drive and arm action. The more active the arms are the
greater the knee drive can be. Obviously, poor flexibility, crossing
the arms in front of the body, and other biomechanical faults will
hinder speed. If the arms move in too short of a distance in the
forward and backward swing this will limit how high the knees will
drive. This has a definite influence on stride length and speed. More
importantly, the lack of a high knee drive, due to a lack of arm
drive, will directly influence the action of the push off leg into the
ground and therefore the reaction out of the ground. You see, it is
the opposite action of the drive knee that directly influences the
power of the push off leg into the ground. And it all starts with a
well coordinated arm action.
I don’t know how fast Sir Isaac Newton was, but he definitely had a
huge impact on speed. It is important to teach your athletes to apply
the greatest amount of force into the ground as quickly as possible.
This will surely lead to faster and quicker athletes.
Listed below are two simple drills to teach the law of action-reaction
and maybe help your athletes get a better grade on their next science
exam.
1. 555 shuffle drills- Set up two cones that are 5 yards apart. Have
the athletes shuffle from the start to the far cone, back to the start
and finish at the far cone. What you are looking for is acceleration
with the power leg, the hips staying level, and a quick stop and
change of direction with little hesitation. Watch where the plant foot
is positioned. It will tell you a lot about how to correct quickness.
2. Forward and backward sprint- Set up two cones that are 8 yards
apart. Have the athletes start at the first cone and accelerate as
quickly as possible to the far cone. Upon reaching the far cone the
athlete should slow stop under control and back pedal under control
back to the start. When reaching the starting cone the athlete will
immediately stop and change directions and accelerate to the far cone.
Repeat for ten seconds. You are watching the transition from back
pedal to forward more closely on this drill. The angle at which the
back foot is applied should be great enough to stop and start with no
hesitation or slipping. The shoulder must fall forward in line with
the legs and hips to create a straight line. If the athlete positions
his plant leg poorly or positions his shoulders poorly it will be
recognized immediately due to a sluggish take off.
When Can I Fit Agility Training into My Program
- By Lee Taft
I certainly get asked many questions about
my techniques and how I teach agility, but one of the biggest
questions I get asked is when do I put agility in my program. I get
this from the fitness professional but more so from the sport coach.
It is the sport coach that wants to know how to find time to fit
agility into an already packed practice plan. In this article I want
to share several ways I implement agility into any program, and why it
is a must to find time.
Most sport coaches are so excited to practice the newest offense or
defense or implement new drills they discovered. But many of them
bypass one of the most important elements of making a good team-
improving team speed, agility, and quickness. The question that always
comes back to me is when do I fit it in my practice. The problem comes
from coaches that feel you must put quantity ahead of quality. Those
who know me realize I am all about quality. I want great movers. I can
condition them easy enough, but to make them great at moving- it takes
time and attention to detail.
I will give you some times slots that agility training can fit neatly
into a practice and make a big impact. But before I do, let me explain
the mind set that goes into scheduling agility during a sport
practice. If my goal is to improve the movement ability of the
athletes I need to focus on the skill or technique of the movement
pattern. For example; if I am a volleyball coach and I want my players
to move quicker to tipped balls I must teach them how to react quickly
out of the defensive ready position. My focus then will be on a few
things; 1) I want the athletes to have appropriate body positions so
they can move efficiently. 2) I want 100% effort or intensity of speed
when reacting and moving to the ball. 3) I want complete control of
the movement so a counter move can be made if needed.
Now, let’s focus on scheduling agility into a practice. One of the
best times to implement agility is right after the warm up routine.
The athletes are fresh and you can make a big impact on their nervous
system. A great way to implement the agility is to pick a skill that
you want to teach and be really focused on that skill for the 2-5
minutes you allow for training it. Once again, go back to the 3 points
I made in the last paragraph. I want the athletes learning to move
better each and every repetition. I don’t want them to just do work. A
great example of an agility workout I use often is teaching the
crossover technique. I would set it up like this:
1. Have 2-4 athletes performing at the same time (if it was a large
team like soccer or football I would have more than one station with
assistants watching as well. You might have to deal with more than
2-4 athletes if you don’t have any coaching assistants).
2. The exercise should be clearly explained and demonstrated if
needed.
3. It is important to give them a setting in which the skill would
be used in a sport. This helps clarify the purpose of the skill.
4. Give them the distance of travel that should be covered and the
duration of the exercise.
5. Start the exercise from a great starting stance/athletic stance.
6. If you see a dysfunctional crossover technique, address that
athlete by name immediately and give one quick coaching cue to
correct the movement.
7. If you see a consistent theme of poor movements by most of the
athletes, re-demonstrate and continue on with the exercise.
8. Complete 4-6 reps making sure each rep is quality or at least
quality instruction is being given to correct poor patterns.
9. Build a foundation of movement that greater skills can be built
upon.
This way of coaching the skills make the
athlete concentrate 100% of their energy on one skill or combination
of skills. If you teach too many different skills and you run the
athletes through without emphasizing the technique and intensity of
effort, the meaning of the skills is lost. Do exercises to get a point
across and to teach something!
Let’s keep moving along with times to inject agility into a practice.
Another great time to coach agility is just before or after a drink
break. The way that I like to mention it to the athletes is like this;
“Ok guys/gals, before we take our drink break I want you to put all
your focus into an extremely important skill we are about to learn-
then we will take a good breather and get hydrated.” By phrasing it
this way, I have put a sense of importance on the skill and the
athletes better be focused and prepared to give 2-5 more minutes of
attention to the skill.
There is no doubt that the best time to make a big improvement and
impact on the learning of a skill is when the athlete is in a
non-fatigued state. But athletes need to learn how to move efficiently
during fatigued times of a game, like in the final minutes. So the
last time I would like to mention as to when a coach could implement
agility is at the end of the practice. I strongly recommend not
teaching a new skill at this time due to the lack of focus generally
associated with the end of practice.
If the athletes are comfortable with the agility skill to be used I do
feel there is some importance to having them perform it at the end.
But as mentioned already don’t throw a new skill at them and expect
great learning to occur when they are fatigued. Let me give some
important points to implement this method of agility training:
1. Because the athletes are tired and don’t have as much mental
focus left you must give them something to focus on. For example; if
you are coaching them on a hip turn and crossover to defend a
basketball player making an offensive move to the basket you must
talk to them about a defense scheme. In other words you are trying
to coach the skill, but by giving the athletes a scenario that will
occur in the game they will have a built in focus point due to the
game-like setting.
2. Be sure to stop the exercise if the execution gets sloppy. Always
remember the brain is programming the patterns. If they are sloppy
that is how they will be programmed in the brain. Demand great
execution.
3. It is important to ask the athletes what they did wrong if the
execution was poor. This way you are holding them accountable for
their improvement. This is especially important when doing the skill
work under fatigue. You force them to be aware of everything they
do.
So there are a few ways you can implement
agility training into a sports practice setting. Now let me talk about
when agility training should be in the athletic development setting.
Just as mentioned above, the agility can be included in a non-fatigued
state or in a fatigued state. Both are important but must have
protocol. When first introducing the skill it should obviously be done
in the early part of the training session. Once learned and performed
well it can be done in a fatigued state to induce a concentration
element.
Here are a few rules I follow when coaching agility in an athletic
development setting.
1. I will only coach 2-3 agility drills per session. I want the
athletes to learn something and not be inundated with too much
stimulus. When they only concentrate on a couple things they can
absorb them and put a meaning to them. I believe it is important to
always give them a situation the skill would be used in a sport.
This helps them to relate to it much easier.
2. I keep my time frames in the 5-12 second range and demand
intensity of effort or speed. I want effort for a couple reasons:
a. This is how I get a read on their true ability with the skill
b. They learn the skill at full speed. Doing a skill half speed
makes it a different skill in
many ways.
3. I want the athletes to understand self correction on the fly.
This means if the athletes screw the skill up on one rep he or she
can quickly make the needed correction during the set. This is why I
ask them questions about the skills- I want accountability.
4. The total time of agility training is usually around 15 to 20
minutes. This includes coaching time and feedback. I don’t believe
in making an agility session in conditioning. When it is time for
conditioning I will work on low risk exercises that cause an
anaerobic threshold response.
So there you have it. This is by no means
the only way to do this but it is the only way I do it. And it has
worked for many years. The number one message to take from this
article is to teach skills. Don’t waste the athletes’ time with doing
aimless drills without a message. You will do a great job!
How Mental Practice Can Make You
Faster - By Lee Taft
I can remember my brothers talking about
my father’s practices and how he used to talk to the team about
closing their eyes and rehearsing the game in their minds. He wanted
them to have already experienced the game in their minds so that when
it was game time they were totally prepared. This was in the ‘50s and
‘60s.
This is a practice that, if done properly, can benefit any person in
any life situation. We want our athletes to be faster, stronger, and
more powerful. The exercises that they participate in are designed to
improve these qualities. For the sake of this article I am going to
keep my focus on speed development, but this doesn’t undermine the
importance of the other abilities. When I teach a new
multi-directional skill, I spend time explaining when, how, and why to
use this skill. I am trying to empower the athlete with as much
knowledge about the skill as possible so it makes total sense. This is
important because when athletes are in the heat of battle they don’t
have time to think about how to perform the skill; they just do it.
But if they make a physical mistake performing the speed skill, they
need to know what went wrong and how to correct it. Sometime this
decision-making must occur in seconds.
Often times I talk to the athletes about the intensity of speed. When
I address this issue with the athletes I get animated and intense in
my tone and gestures. I want them to see themselves being aggressive
with each and every movement. Don’t confuse this with tightness. I am
not encouraging them to tighten up. I am asking them to apply force
quickly and aggressively so they move efficiently and with speed. Now
when the athlete is preparing to practice the skill and they run
through the skill with intensity and technique in their mind, they are
in essence getting quality repetitions even though they have not moved
physically.
Denis Waitley, author of Psychology of Winning, has researched the
results of athletes practicing their event in their minds. When they
did, he found that the muscles would actually fire as if they were
actually performing the event. This tells us that the mind can
reproduce the exact event to be performed all through imagery.
The next time you are training athletes on a new skill or just
reviewing a multi-directional speed skill have the athletes envision
performing the skill over and over in their mind before they actually
attempt it physically. It is important to make sure they fully
understand the skill before mentally or physically performing it.
Mental rehearsal is something I personally have used for sport and now
when I speak on stage. It gives me a sense of confidence and reduces
the stress that would normally go along with performing. Give it a
shot with your athletes and yourself!
High School Speed Camps
- By Lee Taft
It seems that each summer there are more
and more sports camps being offered. Colleges and high schools around
the country are putting on 2- to 5-day camps either locally and
nationally. Believe it or not, I think more high schools should be
offering athletic speed camps.
Kids are learning to play more sports and learning at a younger age.
This is awesome. The more kids are involved in sports, the better.
Sports give kids a way of staying physically fit, learning how to work
with others, experiencing competition and handling winning and losing.
But I would like to see more high schools offer speed camps geared
toward developing athletic movement skills.
When young kids go out for a sport, they learn how to move for that
sport. But they don’t really learn how to move properly in general. In
other words, a hockey player learns how to skate efficiently for that
sport. They get into positions that are specific to playing hockey and
moving well on skates. The problem is if they never learn how to run,
skip, move laterally, crossover, backpedal, and jump and land properly
on dry land. They are missing some of the most foundational movement
skills all kids should have. Speed camps can be the impetus for proper
movement training in all kids.
Unfortunately, physical education in most states and schools is
missing the boat. They have the great fortune of having a captive
audience of young kids at least 2-3 time per week (at least they
should have them 2-3 time per week, more like 4-5 times should be the
norm) and basic movement skills are not being instructed. However, if
the physical education and athletic coaches would band together and
organize several speed camps throughout the year, they could combat
the lack of movement skills in our youth.
Speed camps can run from one week to 12 weeks. The key is to focus on
youngsters learning proper speed skills. Think about it. If a school
could run a series of speed camps throughout the year for elementary
through high school, you would have one fantastic athletic sports
program. Kids of all ages would learn how to move quicker, be
stronger, be safer, and be more powerful. This would lead to greater
confidence and performance on and off the field.
In order to do this each school should have a lead person. Someone who
organizes the skills to be taught so there is a uniform program. I
would even have some of the older athletes take part in preparing the
camps for the younger athletes. This will lend itself to offering a
student internship program.
You see, a high school speed camp program can be beneficial in many
ways, but most importantly would teach the youngsters how to move so
they can reach their athletic potential and be safe. Have fun and
enjoy the process. If you want a sound resource to build you athletic
speed skills, visit
www.SportsSpeedEtc.com and check out Ground Breaking 2 and many of
the other resources that are beneficial to beginning your program.
Learn Coach Taft’s 4 Exclusive
Cutting Techniques - By Lee Taft
1. Rehearsed Patterning -To learn
proper mechanics of cutting. The purpose of this step is to make sure
the athletes understand the mechanics of cutting. You don’t need to
over coach them- just make sure they have proper foot placement and
body alignment.
a. Slalom cutting -The athletes will make cuts at 45 degrees and at
every 5 yards
b. They are to run ½ speed to the cone and plant the foot sharply with
the toes straight ahead (not turned out) so they can dorsi-flex the
ankles.
c. The hips should remain fairly level with minimal dipping. The key
is to already be fairly low going into the cut so time isn’t wasted
bending down at the cut.
d. Explode out of the cut to the next cone. Perform this exercise 4-6
times at about 6 cones.
2. Random Cutting -This is all done by the coach’s command. The
athlete simply makes a cut when the coach says “cut.” Being more
random will force the athlete to be on balance and under control at
all time. The coach must be careful not to create a pattern though-the
athlete will get use to it and anticipate the cut. Make it random.
a. Make sure the athlete has good control with the shoulders so they
don’t carry past the cutting area.
b. The hips should be strong and not over bent or squatting during the
cut. They should already be in a prepared position to make the cut.
c. The foot needs to be straight ahead and not turned out. If the
athlete turns the foot out- dorsiflexion is lost in the ankle and a
reduction in power will result.
d. Be sure to accelerate to the next cone by driving the cutting leg
into the ground aggressively and leaning the shoulders in the new
direction
3. Jump Stop and Cut -This form of cutting is to deceive the
opponent or to gather one’s balance before changing direction.
a. The athlete needs to land in a 2 foot jump or split stance
position. Immediate cut at a 45 degree angle to the next direction.
This drill can be random or rehearsed.
b. The athlete needs to come into the jump stop under control and
prepared to cut out of it quickly.
c. This is a great way to slow a defender down and think you are
stopping then explode by them.
d. It is also used when you approach a defender quickly and need to
get under control reacting to his or her move or get out of the way.
4. Fake and Cut -This is an excellent way to drive an opponent
away from the direction you wish to go.
a. A great time to use this form of cut is when you know where you
want to go and can set up your defender by faking in one direction and
cutting to another direction.
b. When using this form of cut you must have complete control going
into the cut and out of it.
c. This is a time when the hips may need to drop slightly more than a
normal cut due to the addition of the fake.
d. Just like any other cut, be sure to accelerate out of the cut to
escape the defender.
Special Bonus
Speed Cutting Versus Sharp Cutting
First of all, what is the difference between speed cutting and sharp
cutting? The speed cut is done where minimal change in direction is
needed. The athlete will actually run through the cut only using a
small angled plant to deviate from the original path. The sharp cut on
the other hand is done by the athletes making a cut more angled than
45 degrees. A definite change in speed will be needed to make this cut
successful.
Speed Cut
1. The speed cut is done by planting at a small angle outside the hips
to re-direct the path of travel. The athlete will have minimal speed
change or lowering of the center of gravity.
2. The speed cut is used to blow by a defender and use pure speed
during the move.
3. The speed cut can be made more effective by running at the opponent
or slightly to one side of the opponent and then quickly changing
directions and run past them.
4. It is important to note that the speed cut must done well or the
opponent may stay with you easily and make a defensive play. The
athlete must have speed and a good quick move.
Sharp Cut
1. This is when the athlete needs to gear down and change directions
much more drastically.
2. The athlete will need to drive the opponent off or at least make it
seem like they are going to maintain their speed and get the defender
moving back quickly.
3. Upon the cut the athletes will need to lower the center of gravity
to control the deceleration and make the cut cleanly. I call this
slowing down gather steps.
4. Once the cut is made the athlete will either continue on a new path
and regain speed or settle in on the cut and make a new move.
The key with any kind of cutting is that it is clean and precise. When
cutting, the goal is to get somewhere new quickly and under control.
Making a cut in a sloppy manner will only diminish the effects of the
cut.
Staying in the Tunnel
- By Lee Taft
One of the arts of being a good coach is
using proper verbal cuing. In this article I want to talk about a cue
that you can use that will physically and mentally change how your
athletes move.
Many times we see athletes moving incorrectly and don’t quite know
what to say or do to fix their issues. The funny thing is it is often
a simple fix that is remedied by using the correct words. As a former
physical education teacher and a coach for many years, I understand
the power of proper verbal cuing.
At the Lee Taft Speed Academy, we have athletes of all levels training
year-round improving their athleticism. After several weeks of
coaching, the athletes begin to take on the postures and movement
styles consistent with our training styles. Of course each athlete has
his or her own unique characteristics of movement. Every now and again
an athlete will have a difficult time making a sharp cut or change of
direction move. We might even see them during a game moving less
efficiently than they could. It is my job and my staff’s job to
recognize the missing link and to coach the athletes on what to do.
This is truly the art of coaching.
One of the major issues we consistently see with new athletes and
athletes that don’t like to bend their knees in general is a loss of
efficient change of direction ability. These athletes tend to allow
their center of mass to get out of control. This is a golden rule at
the Lee Taft Speed Academy. Never let the center of mass get out of
control. Because the issue is usually related to the athlete standing
too tall when cutting or changing direction aggressively I use the
term staying down or “staying in the tunnel.” This simple cue makes a
clear mental picture for the athletes to see themselves staying low.
So when the athletes are beginning to engage in a play that will
require them to make quick change of directions we need to encourage
them to “stay in the tunnel” to make quicker cuts.
Why does this work?
In order for an athlete to make a quick change of direction and not
allow the center of mass to get out of control, the legs must find the
correct angle. What do I mean by the legs find the angle? The body is
remarkable at instinctively repositioning its limbs to react during
athletic movements. The legs will naturally move wider to stop the
body during deceleration or change of direction, but this natural
instinct can be less effective if the athletes does not stay in the
tunnel or stay low.
When an athlete is low and an angle needs to be found to decelerate or
change direction the athlete can quickly plant the leg wide enough to
make an efficient cut. Also, the athlete can still have plenty of knee
bend to aggressively accelerate out of the cut. But when an athlete
comes into a deceleration or sharp change of direction move and the
hips are too tall, the legs are too straight during the plant to
aggressively push off. This normally results in a poor change of
direction move seen as loss of balance and poor quickness.
The solution is to teach the athletes to get lower and stay in the
tunnel so they can finish the move efficiently and effectively.
So when observing multidirectional speed skills be aware of how
athletes move in and out of change of direction moves.
The Art of the First Step -
By Lee Taft
What is the most common thing you hear
parents and coaches say they want their athletes to be able to have? A
great first step. In this article I want to share my thoughts on this
and allow you to test them out for yourself.
The first step in athletics is most commonly thought of going straight
ahead. But if you only looked at it this way it would be a big
mistake. You would be missing most of what sport entails-
multidirectional speed.
A baseball player’s most important first step when stealing is
lateral. Tennis players’ most important first steps are lateral and
forward. The most important first steps of a football player on
defensive might be backwards. So, we need to look at first step speed
in the multidirectional plane. Let’s dig into the mechanics.
If you have followed me at all over the past years, you have heard me
talk about a concept of the feet moving from under the center of mass.
They find better angles to drive down and away so the body can move in
its intended direction with quickness and power. There are some cases
when the feet should be aligned perfectly so there is not moving of
the feet from under the body- they simply push and go. This would be
seen in the fore mentioned baseball steal stance and in track and
field sprinting starts. In these cases, the athletes know where they
are going so they can line up accordingly.
The key components to consider when talking first step speed is early
recognition of the play or the stimulus which tells the athlete which
way to go and immediate body alignment and action.
First, when an athlete is playing versus a defender in close quarters
(basketball, football…) or defending a ball (tennis, volleyball…) they
must use their quick reactive ability to move in the direction needed
to make a play or stay in position. Secondly, the athlete, after
recognizing where to go, must aggressively and quickly use the body in
a way that projects it in the new direction. If moving forward, the
body may need to lower more to be in a better acceleration position.
The arms and legs might have to drive aggressively to move faster. One
of the legs will perform a plyo step to gain a quicker start and begin
the proper alignment of the body faster. All these factors are
important but must be performed in the context of the sport and the
position of the sport.
If you have a lacrosse or tennis player, they have to be able to move
quickly, but maintain great position with the lax stick or tennis
racquet so they can perform well. In soccer they must move the body
quickly so the feet can get in position to make a play. In volleyball
the hands have to get in position. First step acceleration is more
than just yelling at the athletes to…MOVE FASTER!
Here are some basic directions you want to consider when looking at
first step speed:
-Straight ahead- use the plyo step when not determined. Use
staggered stance when direction is determined.
-Angular- use plyo step with the opposite foot of the direction you
are traveling.
-Laterally- use lateral plyo step if not determined or a wider
stance if direction is determined.
-Retreating/backwards- use hip turn if the body needs to open up and
run, crossover, or shuffle. Use a back pedal technique if the
orientation needs to stay on the play ahead for short duration of
time.
I don’t want to scare you though. Athletic
multidirectional acceleration is such an innate ability and athletes
do perform it naturally. What I want you to understand is that your
coaching must be consistent with what actually occurs; here lies the
problem.
Even thought the plyo step, hip turn, and directional step are natural
and the crossover and lateral gait system are key components to
movement, we as coaches have tried and tried to stop athletes from
doing it simply because it looks differently then we may have been
taught.
My role as a coach’s coach is to help you understand what really
happens during movement and to embrace it. Use the techniques I have
taught for what they really are- an assessment and evaluation of
movement. You can take these skills, today’s skills are about first
step speed, and use them to correct any mistake an athletes displays.
I spend more time watching athletes move and gathering information on
their movement so I can see consistencies in patterns.
If an athlete’s first step is awesome, and they get the job done
safely and effectively, I leave them alone- even if it looks
different. I understand human make up and realize we all have
different looks to similar patterns. But if I see an athlete
consistently show poor movement then I interject and correct.
I want you to make your athlete’s first step really mean something. I
want it to do damage on the playing field or court. I hope that the
above information helps you to understand what first step really is-
natural and determined.
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