Acceleration Drills; observations from Fever v. Sting

by youthsports 20/03/12, 10:15 am

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.

Fever vs. Sting. I watched the first half of the game and I want to point out that both teams failed miserably in the warm up phase. How can a coach expect his players to accelerate and play fast without warming up the leg muscles properly?

The game started with both teams playing sluggish, until their legs warmed up. Then the Fever athleticism started to make a difference. Technically, both teams were about equal. I learned that Fever won the game, which didn't surprise me.

I am thinking about finding a mid level team and working with them on acceleration and reaction time drills for the entire month of May, all for free. It is important for parents to understand that all of your daughters can significantly increase their reaction time and quickness through proper training. I can't guarantee that the team I work with will play good soccer, but I can guarantee that every girl on that team will have acceleration and reaction speed to rival any of the top girls in their age group.

by Guest 20/03/12, 10:38 am

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?

by DT4L 20/03/12, 10:42 am

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?

Sorry to tell you but you cant teach speed. Some kids have it others do not. Just work on her fourm, meaning the way she moves her arms while she runs. Small fix in your forum can make a huge difference.

by Ronaldhinofan 20/03/12, 11:01 am

In what league did the game between Fever and Sting occur? What age group?

by youthsports 20/03/12, 11:13 am

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.

by coachr 20/03/12, 11:46 am

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.

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

by DrSoccer 20/03/12, 01:14 pm

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.

by butt3r 20/03/12, 01:23 pm

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

You are such a moron, dogs cant play soccer - well maybe in PPL, but not in LHGCL. I saw the video before the season!

Acceleration Drills; observations from Fever v. Sting Bolt-1

Acceleration Drills; observations from Fever v. Sting Bolt-1

by Bagman00 20/03/12, 01:34 pm

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, I completely disagree with you. My dd has seen enormous improvement in her game by doing speed training on the side. She went from being very average to one of the fastest players on her team, and it has made a huge difference in her game. Ball skills are still the most important part of any game but the very little time coaches put into "quickness" drills does not reap benefits.

by JeffM 20/03/12, 01:56 pm

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.

Not if you are looking to make an ECNL team. Look what the one guy talking to ECNL coaches said about who they recruit.

https://www.txsoccer.net/t10040p30-national-team-why-not

Laughing

by youthsports 20/03/12, 02:45 pm

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.

by soccerA 20/03/12, 03:03 pm

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.

by DrSoccer 20/03/12, 04:53 pm

soccera - the players you list are college and pro players. Pretty sure messi and van persie didnt spend any of their time at u8 working on their speed and quickness. I've watched pro teams train their youth players in europe and its all skills, skills, skills, 4v4 and 1v1. As far as college players - most top college athletes excel at multiple sports, I'll bet there are a few HS basketball stars at stanford soccer too. That doesn't mean our kids should be running suicides on the court to prepare for soccer. I've seen way too many young players waste their training time with extra agility, quickness, and speed training. Here's reality - 1st master the skills of the game. A good soccer coach can impliment SAG training into his drills and develop an exceptional SOCCER player, not a track athlete who can play soccer.

by Gunners 20/03/12, 05:16 pm

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.

by the7wolf 20/03/12, 05:40 pm

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.

Agreed. As a former squad member at 2 Olympics for 100M, 200m and 4x100M, and an ex-professional soccer player (and NFL Europe player), I can attest that the top 1% of sprinters are born, not made. I trained very little to not at all on speed training or SAG programs. Soccer specific SAG, if tailored correctly, can be very useful if it concentrates on lateral, diagonal and reverse movement in combination with maintaining balance and anticipation of movement but I have yet to see any program that actually makes a player faster over 20+ yards. Correcting exceptionally bad running form (normally involving flailing arms or posture) can improve stride and forward momentum but there are very few kids who have these problems to an influential extent.

At the younger age groups, spending time on acceleration/improving sprinting speed over 10-30 yards without the soccer specifics (i.e. throwing in ball control, balance, strength - many balls will be contested) is next to worthless compared to developing ball control, decision making and support play. If you had 20-30 hours a week to devote to soccer then it might be of some benefit to players who have very poor running form and kids who have reached 80% of their height/weight maximum but with growing kids experiencing fast growth spurts thus changing their center of balance, muscle length/density, it's purely snake oil. There are places in the Metroplex which make a fortune from selling false promises of this but hey, if there's a market, go for it.

Not saying the thread starter might not have a good combo of SAG and soccer specific training because he may well have but nobody is going to make a 5-10 year old faster to the ball in forward movement other than improving anticipation.

Btw, citing the fastest sprinters in the world and best players in the world is pointless in any example. The top 0.01% of players in any sport were designed by the grace of God, not extra training programs.

by Guest 20/03/12, 06:12 pm

I certainly know nothing on this subject, but the post author was talking about acceleration...which is different than just plain running fast. Right? Acceleration...or an explosion of speed could be "taught" or at least possibly improved with training I would think.

He PM'd me some great info and after answering some questions as to her specific body type and style of running...he worked up a regime she can try to help her. He sent it to me for free and didn't ask anything in return...I appreciate it. I already talked to her about it and she said she will try it.

We shall see if it helps!

by USA203 20/03/12, 06:35 pm

He has been helpful to me, too, just with PM'ing a couple simple ideas (thanks again!). With my 7 year old (who is actually a naturally fast runner), I'd actually never thought about the basics of how to run faster/better. She does not know "how" to run properly with her arms and legs to really accelerate (even though once she gets going she can run fast at speed). They teach these basic skills in all sports--in competitive gymnastics, for example, they spend a little time teaching the kids to "run" correctly for acceleration, primarily in conjunction with vaulting. To me it makes sense to teach the basic mechanics now so they learn good habits.

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Acceleration Drills; observations from Fever v. Sting

Acceleration Drills; observations from Fever v. Sting

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Re: Acceleration Drills; observations from Fever v. Sting

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Re: Acceleration Drills; observations from Fever v. Sting

Re: Acceleration Drills; observations from Fever v. Sting