Let me start off by saying I have been developing the speed of young athletes for many years now and during that time have been privileged enough to work with
some very talented and committed individuals from the academy sides of many
premier league football clubs.
The three most common mistakes I have witnessed during this time are highlighted below (in no particular order). To be honest I have a whole load more I coulda, woulda, shoulda included but I wanted to keep the article quite light hearted and not too technical. With that in mind please enjoy and if you have any further queries please do hesitate to get in touch.
The three most common mistakes I have witnessed during this time are highlighted below (in no particular order). To be honest I have a whole load more I coulda, woulda, shoulda included but I wanted to keep the article quite light hearted and not too technical. With that in mind please enjoy and if you have any further queries please do hesitate to get in touch.
1. NOT ALLOWING
ENOUGH RECOVERY TIME BETWEEN ACTIVITIES.
All too often I see coaches asking their athletes to perform repetition after repetition of sprints safe in the knowledge that practice makes perfect. The sad truth is performing lots of repeated sprints will not improve speed at all as the body needs time to recover between runs. If the body does not have adequate recovery time waste products begin to accumulate and the session soon descends into a conditioning session as opposed to a speed session. As a rough guide (and I do stress this a rough guide) I work on a work: rest ratio of 1:5 or 1:6. So if a particular drill takes 5 seconds to complete, the athlete will then have a rest of at least 30 seconds or so (if not longer) before performing again.
All too often I see coaches asking their athletes to perform repetition after repetition of sprints safe in the knowledge that practice makes perfect. The sad truth is performing lots of repeated sprints will not improve speed at all as the body needs time to recover between runs. If the body does not have adequate recovery time waste products begin to accumulate and the session soon descends into a conditioning session as opposed to a speed session. As a rough guide (and I do stress this a rough guide) I work on a work: rest ratio of 1:5 or 1:6. So if a particular drill takes 5 seconds to complete, the athlete will then have a rest of at least 30 seconds or so (if not longer) before performing again.
2. THE OVERUSE OR OVER EMPHASISE ON SPEED LADDERS.
Now do not get me wrong I do use speed ladders regularly and they have proved very successful particularly at improving running technique and also at cutting down on ground contact time (the length of time each foot is in contact with the ground for). But my biggest bugbear comes when I see coaches spending too much focusing on drills which bear more relevance to the river dance than any sporting movement. Not only that, if the ladders are too long they can actual distort natural stride length. Have a look next time you see someone using a speed ladder, by time they are nearing the end of it having built up plenty of momentum they actually end up cutting the stride length so that in fits within the spaces of the ladder and looks like they are stuttering as opposed to anything akin to running. To combat these issues I keep most of my ladder drills pretty basic and do not get caught up in getting my athletes to perform fancy drills. I also use a range of different length ladders with many being just 4, 5 or 6 rungs in length.
Now do not get me wrong I do use speed ladders regularly and they have proved very successful particularly at improving running technique and also at cutting down on ground contact time (the length of time each foot is in contact with the ground for). But my biggest bugbear comes when I see coaches spending too much focusing on drills which bear more relevance to the river dance than any sporting movement. Not only that, if the ladders are too long they can actual distort natural stride length. Have a look next time you see someone using a speed ladder, by time they are nearing the end of it having built up plenty of momentum they actually end up cutting the stride length so that in fits within the spaces of the ladder and looks like they are stuttering as opposed to anything akin to running. To combat these issues I keep most of my ladder drills pretty basic and do not get caught up in getting my athletes to perform fancy drills. I also use a range of different length ladders with many being just 4, 5 or 6 rungs in length.
3. FOCUSING ON LEAD LEG QUICKNESS.
I often hear coaches telling their athletes to get their feet down quick, which seems to make perfect sense. After all we want to be moving fast; and it is a cue I use myself from time to time if I see an athlete spending too much time ‘in the air’. However it can make some athletes 'wheel spin', in that their feet are 'turning over' really quickly but they are not actually moving any real distance. To counter act this I ask my athletes to lift the knee of their lead leg just a little higher (whilst leaning forward) so that the stance leg or back leg reaches triple extension (a straight leg) or at least somewhere closer to it.
I often hear coaches telling their athletes to get their feet down quick, which seems to make perfect sense. After all we want to be moving fast; and it is a cue I use myself from time to time if I see an athlete spending too much time ‘in the air’. However it can make some athletes 'wheel spin', in that their feet are 'turning over' really quickly but they are not actually moving any real distance. To counter act this I ask my athletes to lift the knee of their lead leg just a little higher (whilst leaning forward) so that the stance leg or back leg reaches triple extension (a straight leg) or at least somewhere closer to it.
Oh, I know I did say 3 but I thought I'd slip in a fourth, and perhaps its the biggest mistake of all...
4. EXPECTING YOUNG ATHLETES TO BECOME SUPERSTAR ATHLETES.
From time to time some coaches expect their athletes to become Olympic and world champions. Heck for that to happen they'd probably have to be on drugs. (Note that I included the word probably in the previous sentence just to ward off any possible legal action from the ever-decreasing number of current or former Olympic and world championships who have not, either failed a drug test or been implicated in a drug scandal). But seriously though expecting massive improvements in speed is a recipe for disaster. Yes speed training, if done correctly will boost performance but it won't make a slow athlete a world beater, yes it will make them faster, a lot faster but it won't make them the next Ussain Bolt!
Thanks for reading,
4. EXPECTING YOUNG ATHLETES TO BECOME SUPERSTAR ATHLETES.
From time to time some coaches expect their athletes to become Olympic and world champions. Heck for that to happen they'd probably have to be on drugs. (Note that I included the word probably in the previous sentence just to ward off any possible legal action from the ever-decreasing number of current or former Olympic and world championships who have not, either failed a drug test or been implicated in a drug scandal). But seriously though expecting massive improvements in speed is a recipe for disaster. Yes speed training, if done correctly will boost performance but it won't make a slow athlete a world beater, yes it will make them faster, a lot faster but it won't make them the next Ussain Bolt!
Thanks for reading,
Matt.
