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MAKE HOMEPAGE
Every athlete that plays a sport today can benefit from an understanding of how to become faster. You hear coaches describe an athlete by saying, “Goaltender Fleury in the NHL Final for Pittsburgh has fast legs,or Pitcher Doc Halliday for the Blue Jays has a quick release.”
What type of drills would one do to train to obtain more speed, agility, and quickness? There are many new tools in the market today, as well as some standard drills that have been around for a long time. Some coaches even invent a drill to simulate the sport they are training for. Remember the Rocky movie, where he had to chase the chicken in a controlled area? At first he could never catch the chicken, but after repeated practices and effort he eventually was successful. The message here is that in order to become quicker-one must train quickly!
The Parachute
is a training method to add resistance to an athlete who is on a track doing repeat 100 meter sprints. The Sportsplex has an excellent rubberized surface to perform interval training like repeat 100 meter sprints. Make sure you walk back and allow for a proper recovery phase between each sprint. I would use a 1:5 ratio to start. That means for 10 seconds of work there is 50 seconds of rest. This is a good work to rest ratio for all sprinting activities.
Ladders
are very effective to improve foot speed. Some programs invest in purchasing a plastic or material structure called a ladder. When it is placed on the ground, the athlete runs in and out of the squares with a varierty of patterns to make their feet move quickly. Chalk would even work if a ladder was not available.
Cone drills
are always a standard exercise to improve agility. Any device really will work to have a target so that the athlete can run in and around the cones. Reaching down and touching the cones during the drill also adds to the mobility and balance of an athlete.
There are many new trends out there today. Items like BOSU balls, balance boards, and tubing. I hope to observe some of these new ideas in Ontario at the Twist Conditioning Mentorship later this month. If all goes to plan I will be purchasing several of these new training devices and will incorporate them during the IRON KIDS conditioning camp at BU on August 16th.
