3 Quick Feet Drills for Athletes

No matter the sport, quick feet can be the difference between a good athlete and a great one. There are endless drills that can be done to improve a player's foot speed, and here are a few that will help you in any sport.

Here are 3 quick feet drills that I like to do with my athletes:

Drill #1:The grid- There are endless drills that can be done with the grid and here are just a few. Put some tape on the floor if you are in a gymnasium and make a "T" or a cross. If you are on a field you can use some field paint and paint a square. The there will be 4 quadrants numbered 1 through 4. You will pick numbers to call out and jump from one quadrant to the next. Make sure that your hips and shoulder stay square during the course of the exercise. Perform for 20 repetitions. Rest for 30 seconds between repetitions doing sets of 4.

Drill #2 Tire- You've all seen the old football movies where players are running through tires, athletes can use tires or rings. High-step through tires or outstretched string forces the athlete to get their knees up, be precise with their feet, stay on the balls of their feet and keep their balance. To keep the athlete on the balls of his feet, try having him backpedal back to the starting point instead of just jogging.

Drill #3 The square- Set up four cones in a 10 x 10-foot square. Have the player start by shuffling (side-stepping) from left to right along the outside of one side of the square. Once she gets to the end, have them backpedal, then shuffle back the other way, right to left, and then have her sprint to the front and repeat. Depending on age and ability, have the player do this anywhere from five to 12 times. Make sure the player takes short steps as she shuffles and that she doesn't cross their feet. Also make sure as the player gets tired, that she keeps her knees bent and her torso upright.

Remember, reading these drills will not make you quicker. But actually performing them regularly two or these times a week will provide you with great results and a noticeable increase in your foot quickness and explosion.

If you have trouble at first on some of the drills, don’t worry. Just slow yourself down until you master the movement. Always remember form before speed. It takes over 17,000 times to build a new habit so be persistent.

We Breed Champions!

Charlotte Speed and Strength Coach

Jump Training For Volleyball and Basketball Players: Part 2

This article will describe a basic jump training program with an emphasis on the sport of basketball and volleyball to help those that are coaches and players improve in the area of jumping higher. Even though it is designed specifically for those athletes that play sports such as basketball and volleyball, coaches of other sports that require jumping can also use the information as well.

Very few athletic measurements evoke awe-inspiring glances as a forty-inch vertical jump. While incredibly important when dunking a basketball or spiking a volleyball, the vertical jump test is a standard measurement of one's explosive power; that is, the amount of force one is able to generate in a specific, in this case immediate, amount of time. A high vertical jump requires the athlete to coordinate a whole body movement to drive a downward force onto the ground sufficient to propel the body against the force of gravity and into the air.

Many athletes attempt to improve their vertical jump through gimmicks such as the strength shoes that are marketed on the Internet or in catalog magazines; however, the only true way to increase one’s vertical is through the traditional strength training that is done in the gym through Olympic lifts and jump training exercises.

Jump training is very individual and must be tailored to the specific athlete it is intended for. Every athlete has different concerns and needs. Additionally, injury can result from the incorrect use of it.

Jumping is a complex multi-joint movement that requires muscle coordination best improved by specific skill development. Traditional strength training, explosive types of weight training, jump training and Olympic lifting can be effective for increasing the vertical jump. Before embarking in a jump training regiment, athletes and coaches must consider the athlete’s goal. In addition, they must determine the relative strength and weakness the athlete has at the start of designing a program.


Some program considerations.

As discussed in previous articles, the principle of specificity must govern the training regimen. What this means is the exercises selected for the program must simulate basketball movements in speed, biomechanics and resistance. Train athletes so that they are able to transfer what is being taught into their sport. (This is the reason for them coming to me in the first place.)

Safety and proper progression must be at the forefront of the program. It is better to under-prescribe then to over-prescribe.

Advanced exercises must be reserved for only advanced athletes.

Beginners always want to progress faster than they are capable of. It is the coach’s job to explain, and insist on, proper progression.

Although beginning jump training programs may be performed by most people, to participate safely in an aggressive jump training program many authors suggest that the athlete should be able to squat 1.5 times body weight. Therefore, a considerable strength base becomes imperative when embarking on a challenging jump training program. For most athletes, 8-12 weeks of periodized, resistance training should be sufficient to bring strength levels to adequate levels.

A proper warm up and cool down can not be emphasized enough. The warm-up must proceed from general (e.g. jogging or skipping rope) to specific preparatory exercises (e.g. dynamic stretches similar to exercises being performed). The cool down should focus on flexibility via static stretches and allow the gradual return to a pre-exercises state.

The correct amount of jump training must be provided. High intensity must govern the jump training training session. Quality, not quantity, is the cornerstone of jump training training – all exercises are to be performed at maximal effort. When training, emphasis should be on the athlete training in game time speed so that the muscles train in the manner needed when they are actually in the competition.

However, there must be a balanced relationship between stress and rest. Insufficient rest is the most common cause of injury in jump trainings.

Let me repeat that statement again. Insufficient rest is the most common case of injury in jump training. Too much, too soon.

Athletes should rest 1-3 minutes between sets and 3-5 minutes between exercises within a single training session. Recovery between sessions becomes more complex due to the many variables to consider (e.g. practice schedules, strength training volume, level of athletic development, etc.). It is here where the experience of a trained professional becomes paramount.

Finally, individual program design must be part of the final process. Although a general program can be designed for a team. The coach must “tweak” each program to deal with the specifics of the individual athlete. Adjustments to fit the athlete’s characteristics are always made. Because of individual variations, cookie-cutter jump training programs are a sure way to hurt athletes. Medical history, training age, muscle imbalances, sport and position played are some of the variables that will dictate the specific design of the program. For the sake for simplicity there are three basic categories of jump training exercises.

Jumps, hops and bounds.

Jumps are exercises where you land with both feet (e.g. long jump). The take off can be performed with one foot or two feet. Jumps can be done in place (e.g. jumping jacks) or for distance (e.g. multiple long jumps).

Hops are exercises where you take off one foot and land on the same foot (e.g. single leg hopping). Hops can also be done in place (e.g. stationary single leg ankle hops) or for distance (e.g. multiple single leg hops). Since hops are a single leg exercise, they require much more strength than jumps.

Bounding exercises are exercises where one takes off on one foot and lands on the other foot (e.g. alternate leg bounding). Bounds are usually done for distance. Bounds can be the most challenging of the jump training exercises. However, there is over lap between the categories. For example, a very advance jump exercise can be more demanding than a beginning bound exercise.

Athletes should make sure they seek the advice of a professional who is trained and experienced in this method of training before you embark on a serious jump training routine. A good program put together by a professional strength coach can aid an athlete and improve the athlete's speed, quickness and jumping ability, and these gains may transform the player's playing career.


Charlotte Strength and Speed Coach

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

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

The Need For Quickness Training

As a speed coach, I get asked by parents and coaches if speed and quickness are different, or the same, or if one is more important than the other. Every coach and parent wants the same result, for their athlete(s) to be faster and quicker. I always say that usually athletes need to be quicker to get to one point before their opponent does and then speed to finish off the play. In most sports the average time of a play is a couple of seconds. For example, in football the average play takes about 3-5 seconds. In addition, athletes are required to cover a small amount of distance in a short amount of time. You seldom see athletes that are required to run for a long distance or for a long period of time.

So to answer the question they both speed and quickness are important in order for the athlete to be successful in whatever sport they are participating in.

Quickness training is one of the most overlooked areas in speed training - and sometimes seldom addressed or forgotten.

Just as the myth that some think that athletes are born with speed, the same applies with the concept of quickness. Quickness too can be taught and learned over a period of time if taught properly.

Quickness is how fast someone responds to a stimulus; whereas, reaction time is a part of someone's quickness and can be trained. Quickness training drills can be implemented in an athlete's agility training so that they can also train for speed and quickness during the same session.

Here are some training drills you can use for quickness development:

-Ball Drop
Your partner holds a tennis ball out in one hand. You start in an athletic stance and when the tennis ball is released/dropped, you sprint to the ball and snatch it before it bounces more than once. This is a great drill for first step quickness training.

You can change the distance that you partner stands away from you.

-Partner Mirror Drill
This is like the shadow game that you use to play as kids. This drill is performed between partners. One partner starts moving and the other partner follows and doesn't allowed to be juked. You need to try and mirror the movement and match each reaction.

-Fox and Hound
One person will be designated as the fox (leader). The other will be designated as the hound (chaser). The leader’s/ fox job is to try to elude the chaser/ hound as much as possible without the hound touching him/her. Place four cones in a square and designate the distance between the four cones, with a fifth one in the middle. The fox can run around the cones in any order or direction trying not to get touched. Remember the hound has to follow the same pattern as the fox. Note: have the fox run out about five yards or 5-6 seconds before releasing the hound to make the drill harder for the hound if the goal is to work on reaction for the defensive player. For offensive player, have the hound released earlier to have the fox work harder to elude and cut harder.

Variation(s): Have a third person (coach) with a watch or a whistle to time the two for a designate amount of time during the drill. At the beginning, the coach yells “Go!” and the drills begin for the amount of 20 -30 seconds. Then the coach yells “Stops!” The roles are switch. Points are awarded to each player. If the hound is able to catch and touch the person he/she is awarded one (1) point. If the fox is unable to get caught, he/she is able are awarded two (2) points. Penalties: (1) one point is taken away from the fox if he/she runs outside the designate boundaries. Also if the hound dives, then one (1) point is taken away. Have the loser perform a designated amount of push ups or some other form of punishment in order to make the game or drill better. For a more reaction and situational setting have the coach blow the whistle at unexpected times to change the role from the fox to hound and vice versa.

These quickness training drills with help your athletes become faster and should be added to every sports speed training program.

Speed and Performance Coach in Charlotte, NC