First step: Identify and address inefficient movement patterns. Once we create a solid foundation of movement, the process of acquiring strength and then speed begins. That’s right, you need to acquire strength first before you can become fast.  Athletes simply need to first build a solid strength foundation. As you can see from the video below, many of our athletes arrive with less then adequate movement patterns. These patterns must be fixed before strength can be applied!

No so fast!!  The repetitive pounding of high volume running and jumping (plyometrics) can be very dangerous to the long-term health of a young athlete. When an athlete is sprinting, the ground reaction forces that travel through the body is approximately 4-6 times the athlete’s bodyweight. An untrained 135lb athlete is now sending forces of 540-810lbs of force into a single leg (ankle, knee and hip joint) during each stride (let alone how much these forces are increased when jumping is included!).

Eccentric strength training (the ability to lower a weight under control) leads to a more dramatic increase in strength while learning movement patterns. It is much harder to handle a load while decelerating it, as opposed to pushing it back or moving fast. This given load can begin as bodyweight and progressively increase with external resistance until the athlete is ready to move the load at a faster pace. Single leg eccentric strength is the key!! From our junior athletes to the advanced collegiate athletes, the philosophy remains the same. Single leg strength first.  Speed second.  

An athlete’s speed will increase as they get stronger. I have parents and coaches tell me their kid's feet are moving so fast but they aren’t going anywhere. This example indicates that the athlete does not have enough relative strength. This is a very simple concept that is often been made all too complicated by a “have to have it now” population looking for a “magic drill.” Here it is in simple terms:

It all comes down to force production. The best solution to slow feet is to get stronger legs (one leg at a time!). Single leg strength to be specific.

In order to propel yourself forward, you need to be able to push back into the ground. The harder you push, the farther you go; the stronger you are, the harder you’ll push; the stronger you are, the faster you will be. Notice the pattern here? In every sport (except track) the athlete needs to be able to decelerate, change direction on a dime and repeat this for an extended period of time.

So why do some facilities advertise “Speed and Agilty Camps? And why do some programs spend so much time on “Speed and Agility”? The simple answer is money. You can cram a lot more kids into a group and run them around some cones, hurdles, ladders and “perform speed drills.” This is much less coaching intensive. Less staff, more kids equals more profit. The process of getting a kid strong, safely takes not only time, but a variety of exercises, individualized cues, progressions and more individual coach-to-athlete interaction. “Speed camps and clinics” just won’t get the job done. At Conca Performance, I will not let the business model dictate how we train our athletes. 

A great example of how to spend your time and $$ and

NOT get faster!

Depending where the athlete is in their stage of development and physical maturity, they may or may not need much movement training. Athletes can increase his/her speed without even performing any wild plyometrics or spending time on the agility ladder. Don’t get me wrong, the agility ladder is a great tool for developing the brain to muscle connection which is a piece of the neural puzzle. But don’t waste your time using the ladder as “the tool” to increase speed.  Pushing a sled is much more effective!

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