The Importance of Reaction Training and Speed

Sports are made up of many different components as it relates to speed and quickness. One must not only be able to initiate enough power and strength to start and stop their bodies against momentum, but they also must be able to maintain their speed during the designated time they are in play. In addition to these concepts, many people forget that there is one more skill that needs to be addressed that could improve one’s speed in sports. Miss this one and even a player whose considered fast can be considered slow.

Reaction Time.

Reaction time is paramount when one looks at speed training.

Reaction is defined as the interval time between a stimulus and muscle contraction. In layman terms how long it takes the body to respond to a particular cue i.e. gun blast in track and field, the signal to hike the ball and start of the play in football, the reaction to jump after a rebound in basketball, or the cue to run after the ball is hit in softball or baseball. Overall reaction ability is something that be trained over time with practice like all the other components of speed and agility. As with all the rest of the speed components, coaches and athletes need to analyze what type of reaction is needed for their sport in order train and improve their reaction.

Coaches need to consider these concepts when addressing reaction:

• Detecting the cue - in a sprint start, focusing on the starter's voice and the sound of the gun and separating this from background crowd noise and negative thoughts
• Detecting relevant cues - a goalkeeper learning to analyze body language at penalties
• Decision making - working on set pieces and game situations
• Change in attention focus - being able to switch quickly from concentration on the opponent to concentration on the field of play in invasion games
• Controlling anxiety - which slows reaction times by adding conflicting information
• Creating optimum levels of motivation - 'psyching up'
• Warm up - to ensure the sense organs and nervous system are ready to transmit information and the muscles to act upon it

When I train my athletes, I tell them to always anticipate the cue that is being used to start and engage them in their exercise or drill i.e. the whistle being blown or me giving them a cadence. Anticipation is a strategy used by athletes to reduce the time they take to respond to a stimulus i.e. the defensive lineman that anticipates the center snapping the ball, or the receiver that anticipates the snap by looking at the ball instead of paying attention to the snap count at the start of the play has a better chance of getting off the ball and making their opponent react to them as oppose to starting at the same time as everyone else. In these scenarios, the player has learned to detect certain cues early in the play and has predicted when the start of the play will begin. I teach all my athletes to respond to the cues. What I mean by this is they are able to anticipate and react to the early sound which gives them a greater lead and advantage over their opponents.

I am not only an advocate of reaction but I have my own experiences as to how reaction has helped open up opportunities for me as well. In college, reaction time was the factor that helped me get on the travel squad my freshman year for special teams (punt team) because in practice time and time again I would beat my opponents off the edge and block the punts. What distinguish me from my teammates was that I didn’t concentrate on the snap count; I was more focused on when the center moved the ball. Every time I lined down I would look directly at the ball and when the center moved the ball slightly, I would take off putting the offensive guy on defense because now he had to react to my momentum instead of vice versa.

Finally, as mentioned previously, the objective of reaction speed drills is to improve your reaction time to a stimulus. The drills can include the control of an object (e.g. football or hockey puck). The cue for the reaction to take place can be visual (movement of an object) or a specific command (voice) or sound (starter's gun). The cue should be appropriate to your event or sport - starter's gun for a sprinter. Take these suggestions and work on them so that it improves not only your speed but also can improve your overall athleticism.


Charlotte Speed Coach

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