Acceleration Drills; observations from Fever v. Sting

youthsports wrote:Acceleration

As the summer track season nears, I have been busy catching up on the latest speed training techniques. One prominent researcher on speed training emphasized that acceleration is more important to sports than speed is.

So here are a few techniques to increase your kids acceleration. 1. Run bleachers. 2. Find a hill (15 degrees or more incline is optimal), short sprints from a seated (forward and backward) or push up position. Also, don't forget that walking lunges, step ups, strengthen the muscles that help you apply more force to the ground. At a recent speed seminar, the researcher stated unequivocally that to run faster you must apply more force to the ground. These drills will help you apply more force.

mommabear wrote:

youthsports wrote:Acceleration

As the summer track season nears, I have been busy catching up on the latest speed training techniques. One prominent researcher on speed training emphasized that acceleration is more important to sports than speed is.

So here are a few techniques to increase your kids acceleration. 1. Run bleachers. 2. Find a hill (15 degrees or more incline is optimal), short sprints from a seated (forward and backward) or push up position. Also, don't forget that walking lunges, step ups, strengthen the muscles that help you apply more force to the ground. At a recent speed seminar, the researcher stated unequivocally that to run faster you must apply more force to the ground. These drills will help you apply more force.



This is very interesting. My dd has this problem...bad. She has great skills and an awesome shot...but she only has one speed...slow. She is a big girl...at 10 yrs old, nearly 5' and 100lbs. I put her in speed & agility but after 2 classes, they dropped it because there weren't enough participants. She will make a great move, use her awesome skills and then just mosey on towards the goal...I have tried to tell her after making a move and gaining possession...she needs an explosion of speed after or the other player will just take the ball back...I don't know if she is capable of an explosion of speed. She reminds me of those basketball players you see that are like big giants...how they run. I can't think of a way to describe it...I always called them a big galoot. I am not being mean at all...she is who she is and I am very proud of her for all the work she does and her passion for the game. Just trying to figure out if I can help her get faster or will she hopefully grow into her big body? Do you have more info on what type drills could help her?

youthsports wrote:DT4L, your statement is correct only for elite sprinters. However, for everyone else you are absolutely wrong. Remember we are not talking about speed here just acceleration and reaction time (playing fast). Those can be increased significantly.

Usain Bolt is great sprinter because he maintains top speed longer and can run the 100 meters in 41 steps as opposed to Gay, who takes 49 steps to run the 100 (but still ran sub 10.0). However, Bolt ran the 40 in the same time as 6 other sprinters. So his speed advantage is negated in the acceleration phase of a short race.

My point is that on a football or soccer field, acceleration is more important than speed and that anyone can improve acceleration. Give me two weeks with your Dallas Texans team and i will make you a believer.

coachr wrote:Give me Bolt and I'll beat any team you teach.

DrSoccer wrote:If your dd runs track then by all means spend your free time on speed drills, but for soccer players speed training is an absolute waste of time. Find a skills coach that implements quickness and fitness into his drills, become the most skillful player you can at speed with a ball.

DrSoccer wrote:If your dd runs track then by all means spend your free time on speed drills, but for soccer players speed training is an absolute waste of time. Find a skills coach that implements quickness and fitness into his drills, become the most skillful player you can at speed with a ball.

DrSoccer wrote:If your dd runs track then by all means spend your free time on speed drills, but for soccer players speed training is an absolute waste of time. Find a skills coach that implements quickness and fitness into his drills, become the most skillful player you can at speed with a ball.

youthsports wrote:

DrSoccer wrote:If your dd runs track then by all means spend your free time on speed drills, but for soccer players speed training is an absolute waste of time. Find a skills coach that implements quickness and fitness into his drills, become the most skillful player you can at speed with a ball.

DrSoccer,

Gareth Bail, Wayne Rooney, Van Persie Arjen Robben, Messi, Nani, Etoo and many top world soccer players have excellent speed and many of them employ top speed trainers for conditioning.

I agree that skill is number for one soccer but quickness is a close second. Stanford won the women's national championship last year and three of their top forwards were high school track stars. Soccer coaches are starting to understand how track complements soccer.

Soccer is played on a big field, and those players who can cover the most ground in the shortest time have an advantage. I know that old school soccer coaches believe in speed ladders and running laps for fitness but they will be left in the dust as more advanced coaches start to adapt to new training methods.

Good point. Skills in soccer is definitely at the top. However, Someone that has the gift of natural speed along with skill can't be touched. speed and agility training allows one to enhance and harness speed. For those blessed with gift of natural speed, yes, there will be more focus on acceleration and skills. I've seen soccer games at a high level, and I must say , the game is graceful, but they are moving on that soccer field. There is an old saying in all of sports " speed kills" and there is a lot of truth to that.

Gunners wrote:While gains from SAG can happen, they are at best marginal. Anyone who says players such as Messi, RvP, Bale, have SAG training to thank for their speed should not be trusted. Especially if they claim to be a SAG coach.