Lateral Speed Development

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that speed is imperative in an athlete being successful in whatever sport that he or she participates in. More and more parents, coaches and athletes are implementing some type of speed training into their workouts to gain that extra edge or just plain keep up with the competition. Even though I have in recent blogs, posted the importance of straight ahead speed and first step quickness, lateral movement and being able to change direction is just as if not more important. In must sports, change of direction can mean going home or going to the next round! Usually in most sports, the athlete must first have to elude their opponent or obstacle before being able to get in the clear open field or court to demonstrate their straight ahead speed. Like I tell my parents and athletes, the emphasis should not just be on teaching sound technique, but also on being able to translate what is taught onto the court or field. Let’s face it, that’s the main reason why parents, coaches, and athletes seek out performance consultants to enhance their current level of performance! To do this successfully, training should focus on footwork transitions and shifting from a straight ahead movement to a side to side movement and vice versa efficiently. I stress with my athletes when teaching speed training to master the technique before adding speed!

LINEAR VS LATERAL SPEED

So that we are all on the same page let’s define a few definitions as it pertains to speed. Linear speed refers to running forward and backward with movement mechanics focusing on the sagittal plane. Lateral speed refers to side to side movement in the frontal plane, while diagonal drills are the combination of both. Barry Saunders was a great example of linear and lateral speed in motion. If you watched one of his games, it was like he was possessed and had two brains operating in two separate parts of his body. He was able to stop on a dime and without breaking his stride, generate top speed in the new direction.

Speed is not as simple as people think. When I talk to parents and coaches, I try to explain to them that there are many aspects to consider when their athlete comes to me for speed work. When one is learning the basic mechanical movements of speed, they must consider a lot of factors such as: the starting position, stride mechanics, leg turnover, and arm action, as well as other factors such as leg and hip strength and torso, hip, and ankle rotational speed. Each of these factors, when controlled and properly trained, will improve overall sport speed.

BODY POSITION AND ARM MECHANICS

Every sport has the same mechanical movements however; they serve for different reasons. For example, lateral movement and change of direction in football can be seen as important for a running back trying to elude a defender. In baseball, a runner may use lateral movement to steal second and third base. Likewise, in basketball lateral movement may be beneficial for a defender that is shuffling over quickly to take a charge from a guard that is driving the lane. Even though each player in the scenarios is using lateral movement and change of direction in their sport for their own purposes, their bodies are all doing the same thing in essence.

To successfully implement the lateral movement for each player in each scenario, their body should be in its sport-specific position, with weight on the balls of the feet and the head and chest should be up and looking forward. The arm action should originate from the shoulder with arms at about 90o of flexion. During movement, the arms should pump back and forth rather then opening up as in a triceps extension. I usually tell my athletes to envision their arms moving more so at the shoulder and doing more of an elbowing back motion and upper cutting forward motion instead of extending as if they are playing the drums. Even in lateral drills, the arms should not move across the body. Again, I tell my athletes to imagine them having a zipper that runs down the middle of their body from head to toe. Everything on the right side stays on the right side and never crosses over to the left and vice versa.

When warming up for lateral movement, emphasis should be placed not only on linear movement but also on movement that is in the sagittal plane preparing the athlete for all lateral movement work. During the dynamic stretches to prep the athlete for lateral movement, the muscles that should be highly concentrated on are the abductor and adductor groups. And as always with any dynamic warm-up the emphasis should be specific to the demands of the activity.


LATERAL MOVEMENT TRAINING (LMT) PROGRESSION

Lateral movement training has the same myths facing it as that of linear speed. Coaches and parents think that both are natural born traits that can’t be taught, however this is not true at all. Lateral movement training is a combination of agility and coordination that can be taught and should be taught at an early age starting at ages 6 or 7. Mike Boyle in his book Functional Training for Sports states that there are three things that every parent, coach, and athlete should take into consideration when it comes to change of direction and the essence of lateral movement.

1. Do you have the single leg strength necessary to not only stop movement, but to restart movement after a stop? Single leg strength is the major key to developing agility. Without single leg strength no amount of agility will allow athletes to make cuts at top speed.
2. Can you decelerate? Eccentric strength is the real key. Think of eccentric strength not as the ability to lower a weight, but instead as the ability to bring the body to a rapid stop. Eccentric strength is the ability to put on the brakes.
3. Can you land with stability? Is the proprioceptive system prepared to create a stable landing?

When teaching my athletes I like to use a technique called the plant, push, and reach in which it teaches athletes that in order to move from one direction to the next laterally, they must push off with the opposite foot to go in the new direction. In order for the athlete to be able to successfully and efficiently perform the plant, push and reach, they must have strong gluteus maximus and minimus muscles so that they are able to generate enough power to decelerate and push into the new direction. In addition, athletes need strength in the glut group as well so that they are able to stabilize their whole body on that one limb before moving into the new direction. When training the athletes the main focus is on technique as stated earlier. We concentrate on the footwork and proper body mechanics and movement in order to become faster, more agile, and quicker on the court and field. The plant and push leg’s insole should have majority of the pressure. In addition, their new directional leg’s knee and shin must be pointing in the new direction that they want to go. We start each athlete off with a step drill in which we emphasize how the foot should be placed and how it should feel when the athlete executes the plant push and reach successfully. Then we progress to adding another step in the new direction making sure that the trial leg’s shin and knee is pointing in the direction that the athlete wants to go. Finally we then progress to the full movement with drills such as the clock drill. During all drills, emphasis is placed on keeping the hips low so that the athlete can change direction as well as wanting them to move their feet quickly, accurately, and low to the ground.


Charlotte Speed Coach

Jump Training: What is it, When and Who Should Use It?

Over the course of the last couple of weeks, I have found myself running into parents that are interested and are requesting that their athletes get involved in some type of jump training program designed to increase their jumping capability and prepare them for the sport that they are to participate in. As a performance enhancement consultant, it has been my experience that “jump” training better known by some as plyometric training or plyos, is one of the most requested forms of training by athletes.

Majority of the readers reading this article has heard a little about jump training and some benefits of its use in training. If you haven’t you wouldn’t be reading this or it wouldn’t have sparked any interest to you to read this article.

Plyometrics is the formal word that we in my industry use to describe jump training. It originated as a training method in the secretive eastern block countries where its common name that you are familiar with originated. As the eastern block countries rose to become powerhouses in sports, plyometric training was credited for much of their success. In the 1920s, the sport of track and field was the first to employ a systematic method of using plyometric-training methods. By the 1970s this methods of power development was being used by other sports that required explosive power for successful competition.

Plyometrics can best be described as “explosive-reactive” power training. This type of training involves powerful muscular contractions in response to a rapid stretching of the involved musculature. These powerful contractions are not a pure muscular event; however, they are a series of events put together. They have an extremely high degree of central nervous system involvement. It is a combination of an involuntary reflex (i.e. a neural event), which is then followed by a fast muscular contraction (i.e. voluntary muscular event). Sound complicated? Well it’s not. Let me break it down with some illustration to help you understand what was just wrote.

Every person that has been to a physician has experienced a plyometric event. When the doctor tapped under your kneecap, causing your leg to jerk, what do you think he/she was checking? The tapped caused a sudden stretch of the tendon that connects to all of the quadriceps (i.e. the muscle involved in extending the knee). Small receptors within the quadriceps create a stretch reflex, which makes the quadriceps responded by contracting explosively. The stretch reflex that caused the leg to extend is called the “myotatic reflex” and is the basis of plyometric physiology. A great illustration that I use with my youth athletes is to visualize a bed box spring coil. When someone pushed down on the coil the energy is stored in the coils ready to be released. When that person, releases their hand off the box spring, it explodes and pops up. It is that stored energy in the box spring coil that produces the force that causes it to spring up the way it does. The same occurs during plyometric training.

The most common human movement, running, is completely a plyometric event. Other common plyometric events include throwing, swinging a golf club/bat, jumping and skipping!

This stretching of the muscles, prior to the explosive contraction that follows, is often called “loading”. In our box spring illustration this would be equivalent to the person pushing down on the spring and the energy being stored inside the springs. The faster and greater the load, the more powerful the reflex and subsequent contraction. In our box spring illustration, the more the person pushes down on that spring, the more height the spring will pop up when it is released from under the person’s hand.

Another good example of this is watching any basketball player jump. They jump higher when they take a drop step. The reason for this is that the few steps create momentum. This momentum is used to create a bigger and faster “load” on the leg plant prior to jumping. The response to this greater load is a greater contraction by the legs and a higher jump height. The same phenomenon exists with all explosive actions.

Many times people confuse some forms of power training for plyometrics. Plyometric training is only one form of power training. A true plyometric exercise must contain a very fast loading phase. That is, for the stretch reflex (i.e. myotatic reflex) to invoke a powerful contraction, it must occur extremely fast.

Going back to our doctor analogy, if the doctor pushed on the tendon below the kneecap, instead of quickly tapping it, would the knee involuntarily jerk up? Of course not, no matter how fast the doctor pushed on that tendon. Therefore, a jump (i.e. from an athletic position) onto a 24-inch box is a power exercise, but not a plyometric exercise. To make it a plyometric exercise one can jump off a 6-12-inch box, hit the ground and immediately jump onto the 24-inch box. Remember our box spring, the energy has to be stored in the coil in order to generate power for the pop. The landing from smaller box loads the legs quick enough to create the stretch reflex needed in plyometric training. This is very demanding – don’t try it without consulting a professional!

By now you should have a better understanding of what constitutes a plyometric exercise. Hopefully, they are not as mysterious as you once thought they were. You should realize that everything we do fast has some plyometric component in it. That’s how come we can do it fast! This is why you parents are looking for it to be implemented into your child’s training regiment.

So, who can participate in plyometric training? The answer is everyone! With proper supervision and progression, everyone can partake in plyometric training, from children to the senior population. If you want to see the real kings of plyometric training, go to any playground and watch children play. Some of the athletes I train have performed many exercise “stolen” from six-year olds. Does the games hopscotch or hopping on one leg ring a bell?

Since I’ve harped on proper progression, let’s define it as it pertains to plyometrics. First and most important, the proper strength base must be developed to support the increased force production that results from the stretch reflex. Remember that the reflex involved in plyometric training allows you to contract your muscles with greater force then you could through a voluntary contraction. Therefore, we must make sure that the musculature can support this increased force production. Secondly, a higher degree of balance and stability are also needed for the quick loading phase. Although a specific body part may seem exclusively involved, the percussive shocks that bring about the myotatic reflex are felt throughout the entire body – all structures must have good integrity to support this training. Third and last, simpler skills must be mastered before progressing to more difficult exercises.

Jump training has received some bad press. Inappropriate use of plyometric training has been associated with various forms of “over-use” injuries, especially in the lower extremities (e.g. patellar and Achilles tendinitis and plantar faciitis). This type of training, especially when done at a very high intensity, is a high-risk endeavor (i.e. high returns but at high risk). Like any other high-risk maneuver, high intensity plyometrics should not designed or performed without the supervision of a professional overseeing the training, and response, to the exercise protocol.

Finally, everyone should understand that like speed training, plyometric training is a continuum. We are all involved in plyometric events everyday. Regardless of the level of intensity, the key to safe participation in plyometrics is proper progression.


Charlotte, NC Performance Enhancement Consultant

The Importance of Agility Training and Youth

Recently I have had the opportunity of the last month and a half to train a plethora of youth during the speed programs that I am operating both male and female ranging from ages 5 years to 15 years of age.

Today we're going to talk about the importance of agility training in speed programs for youth athletes.

'Agility' is defined as quality of being agile; the power of moving the limbs quickly and easily; nimbleness; activity; quickness of motion; as, strength and agility of body. Agility is one of those words that when asked, has a lot of different responses to what it is. When people talk about agility, most often they are talking about an athlete's ability to make cuts and change directions quickly. In my opinion, the primary components to improved agility are through the development of BALANCE, COORDINATION, and TIMING WITH RHYTHM.

What is balance? Balance is the ability to maintain equilibrium when stationary or moving (i.e. not to fall over) through the coordinated actions of our sensory functions (eyes, ears and the proprioceptive organs in our joints). There are two different types or categories of balance:
1. Static Balance - ability to retain the centre of mass above the base of support in a stationary position
2. Dynamic Balance - ability to maintain balance under changing conditions of body movement. Dynamic balance is what most of the parents and athletes that are reading this article are interested in with their speed training.

Agility rhythm is the coordination of balance and body control. Every agility drill and exercise has its own timing and rhythm. Timing and rhythm helps develop what is needed in improving special athletic skills. Sports specific training with athletic gain requires that agility of the movement be practiced to make the movement of the exercise be as close as possible to the actual sport's movement.

Before you introduce any complicated drills that have athletes going in multiple directions over the course of a time period, one must take a step back and address the athletes' level of coordination, balance, and rhythmical patterns.

In my experience, even the best athletes have problems in these areas.

The thing about agility is this:

The earlier this issue is addressed, the better the long-term results. If your athletes don't begin developing their balance, coordination, and rhythm until their mid-teens, they will be limited in the amount of development they can make.

That's why I train kids as early as possible, preferably before pre adolescence.
I'm not saying a 18 year old senior can't improve their agility to a significant degree, but then if they had started when they were 5, they'd be much better off. See the video!



Just something to think about for those coaches who work with youth at an early age.

OK, here is what to do...

STEP 1: Improve balance, rhythm, and coordination

My favorite way to both expose an athlete's lack of balance and coordination and also develop it is through the use of an agility ladder.

You can do an infinite number of drills that focus on single leg movement, double leg, linear, lateral, backward movement, change of direction - The list goes on and on.

All of these movements are sport specific because it trains their body to imitate the movements that they will go through during their competition.

As we get those down, we implement the traditional cone drills that allow for more instruction on movement patterns that are more applicable to game situations.

I always preach to my athletes that technique comes before speed when doing any agility ladder drill. The emphasis should not be placed solely on how fast someone completes the drill, but if their technique is sound and they are able to perform the skill correctly.

Transfer of sport

As stated earlier in this article, I use agility work with all my athletes no matter what type of sport they participate in field or court. Transfer of the timing and rhythm is necessary for improvement. The separation of the good athlete from the great athlete lies in developing the creative characteristics of timing and rhythms in agility. Each sport and each athlete of that sport has a synchronized timing and rhythm which defines their relationship to each other. The more specific the agility drill is to the actual sport's task, the more benefit will come from the drill and exercise. From the practice field, court, mat, or diamond, the physical and mental rehearsal is the trigger to accomplishing the most difficult movements.

Repetition of the Agility Drills

By practicing repetition of agility drills and exercises, the athlete is better able to:
• Limit wasted motion;
• Limit wasted movement;
• Develop a natural flow and athletic grace;
• Become more competent in agility of speed and strength;
• Become more efficient in movement - eliminate incorrect arm action, etc.

RAQ-Reaction, AGility, Quickness Speed Training in Charlotte, NC

“KNOT” being the Best Athlete that You can be?

Here are a couple of things to help you improve and enhance your athletic performance…

Did you know that by receiving Sports Massage Therapy and stretching can prevent sports injuries and enhance your performance no matter what sport you participate in? Let’s first begin by explaining what Sports Massage Therapy is and then why stretching is so important.

What is Sports Massage Therapy?

Sports Massage Therapy (SMT) is a type of massage that uses specific massage techniques that enhance or relax the muscles for your specific sport or event. Sports massage therapy is essential for optimum treatment of certain injuries and becomes part of an athlete’s conditioning. This applies to Olympic athletes, professional athletes, and college athletes. They incorporate this into their athletic regimens; so why shouldn’t you do the same?

What are the benefits of SMT?

Several benefits to receiving Sports Massage Therapy

1. Improves flexibility and elasticity of muscles
2. Reduces the tightness and/or soreness
3. Boosts power and performance
4. Decreases the chance of injury
5. Speeds up recovery time
6. Improves range of motion (ROM)
7. Restores mobility to injured muscle tissue
8. Increases the flow of blood and nutrients
9. Helps eliminate muscle cramps and/or muscle spasms

How can SMT specifically help you as an athlete?

Between practicing, working out, training and then playing a sport, your body is put under a lot of strain as you push your muscles to their limit. When muscles become overwhelmed they can cramp up or spasm and if left untreated you could end up with a sport injury. Then something even worse may happen, you get injured and you’re on the bench or worse yet, out for the season. Massage therapy helps break up the “knots” and/or scar tissue as well as releases the toxins within the muscles. Once the muscle releases and become loose, there is an improved range of motion (ROM), flexibility and the chance of injury has decreased. The best part of receiving a sports massage, as you begin to run, cycle, play football, basketball, soccer, baseball, tennis, swimming, hockey etc. is your improved and enhanced performance, which allows you to be the best athlete you can be. When receiving a sports massage it can even lengthen your gait. Because your muscles now have the capability to extend further you are able to have a bigger gait allowing you to run faster. Examples: if you are a football receiver, you can run down the field faster; if you are a baseball player you can run to home plate faster; if you are a soccer player you can out run your opponent to score a goal; if you are a basketball player you can run faster to make that layup shot; if you are a runner, you can decrease your finish time. I think you get the picture. The benefits for each sport and muscle group just go on and on…

Why is stretching so important?

Now that you know the importance of receiving a sports massage, it is also and just as important to stretch. Stretching is something that is easy that you can do on your own once the correct stretches are shown for each muscle groups. Keeping your muscles flexible and mobile is the key in reducing the chance of injury. Stretching should be a part of your athletic regimen every day just as you are on a specific nutritional diet, exercise, strength training, receiving sports massage therapy treatments and meet with a trainer or coach. You do all of these things to help you achieve your athletic goal. Why not add stretching as another tool to help you? Olympians, professional athletes, and collegiate athletes all stretch every time they practice, hit the field, court, pavement etc. and most of them receive a sports massage therapy. Why? Because it helps to improve and enhance their performance and helps prevent sports injuries.

Sports Massage Therapy and stretching can improve and enhance your performance, decrease recovery time and keep you at your peak allowing you to achieve maximum results time and time again. So get the “knots” out and be the best athlete you can be! Receive a Sports Massage today and feel the benefits and let us help you become a better athlete.

You can learn more about Sports Massage Therapy and about the massage therapist by checking out this website www.thesportsmassage.com or by calling 704-277-4169.

Jessica L. Marriott, NCTMB, LMBT



Jessica L. Marriott, NCTMB, LMBT is a nationally certified and licensed by North Carolina. She has been a therapist for over 12 years. She loves to watch and play sports. She has always been an athlete and has played some type of sport most of her life. She love helping people especially athletes. She has worked on professional athletes such as the Pittsburgh Penguins and Carolina Cobras as well as the "every day athlete". She helped athletes in a variety of sports ranging from hockey, football, soccer, basketball, baseball, golf and tennis as well as dancers, gymnast, runners, cyclist, and tri-athletes. As your sports massage therapist she strives to help you become a better athlete by helping you achieve your goals and help improve and enhance your performance.


Charlotte Licensed Sports Massage Therapist

Charlotte Leading Strength/ Speed Coach Expert and Personal Trainer