Developmental Essentials by IYCA, (06) Speed Development, Notes

Post date: May 1, 2016 1:49:23 PM

Developmental Essentials by IYCA

Speed Development

Chapter Questions

• • 1. What is the purpose of of building speed ?

    2. Consider coaching principles, neuromuscular development, strength and nutrition factors in speed improvement.

    3. Elements of a sound sprinting stride. How might stride be affected by development? Strength? Imbalances?

    4. Three elements necessary to develop linear speed? Two activities/drills each to improve these elements?

    5. Plyo step?

    6. The potential negative effects of only developing one type of speed (linear or lateral.)

Introduction. Speed impresses. The 40 and 100 yard are the standards of speed expression. Linear speed is the foundation. At 7 years old develop basic running technique. Before training perform a complete functional warm up.

Fundamental Mechanics. Efficiency in running is defined as having correct posture. This means erect hips under the torso, head straight, chin slightly in, pelvis in neutral, chest up, shoulders neutral.

Leg action - Competency in each phase will improve overall speed

• • 1. Rear support phase - “push off”: (1) Full extension of hip, knee, and ankle. (2) Force goes down and back into the ankle. (3) The opposing limbs aid in force production; bending at knee joint, pulling the heel into the buttocks. (4) Arms have an impact as well.

    2. Non support phase - “flight”: (1) Both legs in the air. (2) Center forward and upward tilt (3) The less the hips move up and down the greater the speed.

    3. Lead support phase (anterior): (1) Downward and backward action of lead leg. (2) The lead ankle is in dorsiflexion and the lead leg is moving as fast as the center of mass as soon as it gets to high knee position. (3) There is reflex extension at ground contact. No flop or running on the toes. (4) Learn the forward lean and strengthen the muscles around the ankle. (5) The ball (outer edge) should contact the ground first, then the whole foot with gravity spreading out the pressure. (6) Keep the hips even.

    4. Mid support phase - (1) Maintain foot speed as the leg travels under center of mass. (2) The strength of the foot, ankle and leg will determine how long between touchdown to takeoff.

Arm action: (1) Bent roughly 90 degrees (80 to 85 in front, up to 120 behind). (2) Should not cross the mid-line (3) Must match the driving force of the legs (4) Must legs to produce the most force (5) Should swing freely from the shoulder joint (relaxed)

Hands: (1) Take active part in initiation of arm drive (2) Experiment to find optimal hand positions (3) Hand tension: imagine holding a piece of paper (4) Fingers spread apart.

Stride frequency and length: (1) Additional speed influences- ability for muscles to fire and relax rapidly, length of arms and legs. (2) Stride length is governed by the power put into the stride or ground contact time (3) Strength helps speed when used in a coordinated manner (4) Angle of force application plays a factor and the reason why it is important not to over stride (causes braking action) (5) Proper leg cycle mechanics and posture are also key factors to optimal stride length. (6) Stride frequency is the number of strides taken over a given time or distance and is determined by muscle composition and limb length (7) Learn correct patterns early to make changes in limb length (growth) more manageable.

Developing linear speed: To reach full potential and maximum development work on reaction time or speed, starting time and frequency of movement. Put athletes in situation where they must react and run. Reaction time consists of: (1) the time it takes for a stimulus to excite a receptor (2) the time it take impulse to travel to central nervous system, (3) the time it takes for the impulse to travel through the nervous path from sensory to motor centers to produce an effector signal, (4) the time it takes to transmit the effector signal from the central nervous system to the muscle and (5) the time from arrival of stimuli at the muscle motor plate to muscle contraction.

Multidirectional speed: The skill of moving lateral, angular, backwards, and in any combination. Sound teaching principles take into account the different loading patterns needed to change directions, stop and retreat. Principles: Balance - maintaining center of gravity over the base of support dynamically (regain balance), (2) Swaying or stabilizing eccentric control of the core to stop movement of upper body when changing direction, (3) Minimal movement in vertical plane (no galloping), (4) minimal movement in transverse plane (side to side, arms crossing center), (5) No 'rearing up' (shoulder elevation plus arcing of low back), (6) No premature planting (plant slightly outside the hips minimum), (6) Force application - push the body away (push off needs to be in direction athlete wants to go)

• • • Neuromuscular considerations - multidirectional movement (balance, agility, quickness and body control) is developed with the aid of the different systems of the the brain and nervous system: (1) the eyes (2) spatial awareness from vestibular system and body awareness. (3) Balance is most important athletic ability and involves development of systems like agility, coordination, flexibility and strength (4) Besides balance, speed comes from a coordinated action between arms and legs (5) coordination is necessary for efficient movement and requires: (a) flexibility (b) agility (c) intelligence (d) training (e) prior experience (f) motor skill (current)

Linear Acceleration Techniques - For repeated correct practice always keep in mind: (a) go in the exact direction of travel (b) experiment to determine will be the push off leg, the power leg (c) how much force is needed to accomplish the goal (d) how aggressive the arm action needs to be in order to coordinate with knee drive (e) the force needed at take off (f) how much do the shoulders need to drop to be in line with the hips and leg, (g) once the body is moving the frequency of applied forces becomes greater, the intensity of forces decreases due to the increased velocity of body so the athlete should be trying to push the body forward until acceleration has been achieved.

• • 1. The plyo step is used in sports where direction is unsure until given a stimulus (1) demonstrates greater force development with shortest impulse time: (1) the hips do not travel

    2. Athletic stance, basic guidelines: (1) feet wider than shoulders, weight forward (2) feet straight to slightly turned in (3) knees slightly inward to create down and out pressure on the ball of the big toe (4) shoulders over knees over feet (5) back in neutral, head level, eyes on target

• • • 1. movement skills

         1. lateral shuffles crossovers

         2. lateral shuffle crossover combo

      2. parts (1) dorsiflexed ankle - allows for quick and powerful push off feet (purpose of toes inward) (2) knees to inside upon push off-push force directly into ground (3) level hip height (4) no shoulder sway in sagittal and frontal plane (5) arms help produce force in lateral shuffle

Lateral deceleration and change of direction. Proper deceleration is imperative to prevent anterior cruciate ligament injury. Most non contact injuries are caused by poor positioning during cutting and landing phase in addition to ankle and hip injuries. Proper technique and proper strength training reduce the risk. Learn to bounce on the ankle - boxer’s bounceSteps (i) place outside leg at a large enough angle to handle momentum of body coming into stop (ii) ankle dorsiflexed, feet forward or slightly in (iii) knee inside vertical plane, over plant foot in alignment with force coming from ground in line of power (iv) shoulder remains inside vertical plane (don’t let shoulders sway) (v) hips drop as little as possible ready to change direction

Special Techniques

• • 1. Hip turn: (i) teach technique before drills (ii) after technical proficiency is achieved incorporate random and reactive elements (iii) ‘first step’ on backward angles. Pivot step not as effective (instantaneous lifting of both feet off ground so hips can rotate quickly and smoothly) Instead of pivoting the foot through, pivot the body .

    2. crossover: effective at helping an athlete make up ground while still maintaining ability to change direction, helps maintain good defense positioning during a play, should be taught to everyone where reactive change of direction needs to occur

    3. directional step -used for linear acceleration out of an athletic stance (page 179: technique)

Summary. Speed involves the entire body and is developed in relation to age and experiences. Exposure to as many diverse movement patterns is key. The ultimate goal is to be able to combine movement skills with varying speeds and direction changes. Speed and developmental age: sensitive ages for speed: boys 7 and 9, girls 10 and 11, the most intensive periods of improvement: 14 and 17, the age of skill maturity depends on amount and quality of a young athlete’s experience. Proper training at appropriate stages will increase speed development. Focus on technique and provide opportunities for practicing technique by using games and relay activities - intersperse technical feedback during breaks in the game. Never practice speed technique in a fatigued state. Drills should last no longer than 7 to 10 seconds at a time. Train to be fast. Fast is fun. Put players in a reactive environment and provide technical instruction between plays, etc.