- Technique
- Tempo
- Force/Load
- Velocity/Gamespeed
These are 4 coaching progressions that I learned during a seminar with Keiser Performance. At TeamEP, we have adopted this method as a way to coach all of our athletes, beginner and advanced. Coaching a skill or a movement in this order is a great way to teach, introduce and reinforce proper movement mechanics and ultimately get great results. It can be applied to movement mechanics like acceleration, shuffle cutting, or crossover step, and can even be applied to traditional strength moves like squat. In this video, you will see 3 basic drills that we use to teach linear acceleration.
1. Technique - Wall Drill
We use this drill to teach and reinforce proper posture, triple flexion, and triple extension, during a forward lean. So much of speed is about minimizing deceleration forces and inefficient movement. Teaching an athlete how to hold the desired position is an effective way of programming it into the brain. If an athlete can't achieve this isometrically, they surely can't do it dynamically.
2. Tempo - Wall Drill March
There are many different variations to this drill. The main idea is to add movement to the lower half of the body, while maintaining stability in the upper half. This is how we look at core strength. Abs have everything to do with how well we can develop speed but so many people correlate core exercises with crunches and sit-ups. An athlete has to have the ability to resist flexion and extension in the spine while forcefully creating flexion and extension thru the hips. Start off with a slow tempo and increase from there, keeping an eye on the technique.
3. Force/Load
Again, there are many different ways to load this particular movement. In the video, you will see a resisted march using a harness and manual resistance from a partner. Some other variations including skipping, bounding, sprinting, sled pushes, etc. For a competitive person like Lorenzo, this particular drill is an extremely effective method, allowing his partner to challenge him. Be careful not to overload this movement. Being stronger at a movement doesn't always mean being faster. Any type of resisted run should be executed at roughly 90% of top speed. Anything less than that means the load is too heavy.
4. Velocity/Gamespeed
This is where the real fun begins. Remove all the harnesses, literally and figuratively, and allow the athletes to execute the skill in a game like setting. This will help them connect a simple drill with real situations, giving validity to the entire process.