PR Sports Performance

Speed Manual

Table of Contents

Speed Overview………….…………………………………………………………….3

Movement Warmup……………………………………………………………………4

Flexibility………………………………………………………………………………7

Speed Mechanic Drills…………………………………………………………………8

Acceleration/Resistance Drills………..………………………………………………..9

Plyometrics……………………………………………………………………………13

Breaking Down the 40………………………………………………………………...14

8 Week Speed Program Outline…………………………………………………….....17

8 Week Speed Program………………………………………………………………..18

PR Sports Performance

Speed Manual

“Improving your 40 Time”

This manual is designed to give coaches tips, drills, and techniques on how they can help their athletes improve their straight-ahead speed. Specific drills and techniques are included that target lowering the athletes’ forty times. This manual will give coaches beginner, intermediate, and advanced drills that can be used for all levels of athlete. It will also take you step by step through a speed workout, from warm-up to finish.

Overview of Speed

Running at its simplest form is a series of bounds. The knee drives the leg up and then drives the ball of the foot into the ground. This action is repeated over and over as the athlete moves down the field. There are two ways to improve the running speed of an athlete. One is to teach the athlete to be able to create more force with every drive of the foot into the ground. The more force an athlete can create, the farther he will propel him or herself down the field with each step. Two is teaching the athlete to be able to quickly “recover” the leg from the point of the foot striking the ground to having the knee up and ready to strike the ground again. All the speed drills contained in this manual will in some way touch on one of these two areas, creating force and recovery.

In order to run faster, an athlete needs to train running fast. That sounds like a simple enough concept, but possibly the most overlooked aspect while training speed is recovery. That is, giving the athlete enough time to rest between repetitions so that they are fully recovered from the previous rep. Sometimes coaches make speed training rapid fire drills, believing that if the athlete is not gassed at the end of the session than they were not worked hard enough. This is a mistake. Once the athlete begins to fatigue than effective speed training is not possible. The athlete needs to be able to run at 100% or very close to it, to get the desired effects of speed training.

In addition to this, it is also important to make sure speed training is done first in a workout, when the athlete is fresh. Do not try to train after weight training, agilities, or any conditioning drill. In a larger sense, try to keep speed training towards the beginning of the week. Athletes will fatigue over the course of the week, making the front end of the week a more effective time to train speed.

Movement Warm-up

We will start the speed day with our movement warm-up. This will allow the athlete to get the muscles of the hamstrings, quadriceps, and hip flexors warmed up and ready for our speed workout. A typical movement warm-up would look like the following:

Walking Knee Tucks30 yardsV-Stretch (l/r/m)

Walking High Kicks30 yardsQuad Pull

Accelerate30 yardsStaggered Hamstring Stretch

Backward Run30 yardsSaigon Squat

Forward Skips30 yardsHip Flexor Stretch

Backward Skips30 yardsLateral Groin Stretch

Accelerate30 yards10 Bodyweight Squats

Accelerate30 yards10 Goodmornings

The athletes will line up in 5 lines going across the goalline. The first line of five will perform walking knee tucks for 30 yards. Once the first line is about five yards into the drill the second line starts. Once all athletes have completed the drill, then we hit our V-stretch. We should now be lined up on the 30 yard line and we will begin walking high kicks back towards the goalline. We finish our warm-up down and back this way hitting our stretches in between movement drills.

Movement Warm-up

Beginner Drills

With the movement warm-up there isn’t a great distinction between beginner, intermediate, and advanced drills. In the warm-up, ‘advanced’ drills do not necessarily warm-up the athlete any better, however, some drills are more complex and may take your athletes a little longer to pick up. So for the purpose of the manual, we’ll separate drills into basic and advanced.

  1. Acceleration – The athlete will begin this drill in a standing position, with their feet behind the line. The athlete will begin running at a slow pace and will increase their speed, up to about 70% of their maximum speed by the end of the 30-yard run.
  2. Backward Run – The athlete will begin this drill again in a standing position, but will have his toes on the line with their back facing the far end of the run. The athlete will not do a regular back pedal as you might see a defensive back perform. Instead the athlete will use a running motion, but backwards. We want the athlete to kick and reach the leg out as far as they can. Make sure that the athlete uses a proper arm swing during this drill.
  3. Walking Knee Tucks – The athlete will begin this drill in a standing position, with their feet behind the line. Begin moving forward raising one leg while pulling that knee into the chest with both arms. The athletes other leg should be extended straight while positioned on the ball of the foot. Repeat this movement while alternating knees for the required distance.
  4. Walking High Kicks – The athlete steps forward with his right leg and raises his left leg as high as they can in front of them, keeping the leg straight. They then drop that foot in front of them and repeat with the opposite leg. Again, the athlete should stay on the balls of their feet.
  5. Walking Hip Rotations – The athlete steps forward with their right leg and lifts their left knee up in front of them. Grabbing the left knee the athlete will the rotate the leg by pulling it to their side. Make sure the athlete keeps their body facing forward and only rotates the hip. The athlete should stay on the balls of their feet.
  6. Backward Walking Hip Rotations– Similar to regular hip rotations. Now the athlete steps backward pulls the knee toward the chest and rotates it out with the assistance from their arms.
  7. Forward Skips – The athlete skips forward alternating from right to left. While skipping the athlete will swing their arms out and across their body, keeping the upper body loose and relaxed. Concentrate here on having good form with athlete’s knee up, heel up, and toe up.
  8. Backward Skips – Similar to the forward skips only now the athlete is skipping backwards. Focus on the athlete’s knee drive on the backwards skip as the athlete’s knees tend to not drive as high as they worry about reaching back for their next step.
  9. Reach and Run – The athlete stands with a staggered stance toe to instep, with both arms straight out in front of them. Then stand on balls of the feet and lean forward until they lose their balance. As soon as this happens, sprint forward to catch up with the body. The arms stay straight and in front of the body the entire length of the run. This will force the athlete to maintain a good forward body lean.

Movement Warm-up

Advanced Drills

  1. Power Skips – The athlete begins by skipping, pushing explosively with the back leg. Opposite leg drives knee up as high as possible, trying to achieve maximal height. Prepare for contact with the ground and repeat with opposite leg immediately upon landing. Make sure the athlete attains triple extension of the back leg and drives the opposite knee to their chest while maintaining good arm action.
  2. Skipping Knee Tucks – This drill is a progression of the walking knee tucks. Now instead of the athlete walking from one knee tuck to the other, the athlete will skip driving the knee up and pulling the leg into the body with the arms. Motion should be fluid from one skip to the next.
  3. Inch Worms – The athlete bends over into a hamstring stretch position. They will then walk out with their hands into a pushup position. Now, keeping their legs straight and hands stationary, they will try to walk their feet back up to their hands.
  4. Duck Walks – The athlete sits down in a stance similar to a baseball catcher. The athletes butt should be below their knees and their back as flat as possible. The athlete stays in this low position and walks forward keeping their hips down and their chest up.
  5. Stiff Leg Bounds - The athlete will travel down the field with the knee joint bending only during the recovery phase of the run. The athlete will use a bounding action, which will cause the hip to pop over the foot as the athlete proceeds. The toe will be drawn back so the toe does not strike the ground first, but the ball of the foot will contact the ground first. The arm swing must remain fluid. The toe up position must be maintained to cause a popping and pulling action and also teach the body not to overstride. The ball of the foot must strike as near under the hip as possible. This action also helps in the stretching of the hamstring.
  6. Fast Feet Acceleration –The athlete will travel the first five yards of the drill running with very short choppy steps. The objective is to pick the foot up and put it down as many times, and as fast as possible, in this five yard window. The arm action should be very fast, trying to keep pace with the feet. Focus on driving the foot off the ground as soon as it touches the ground. After the first five yards the athlete will sprint out the remainder of the drill.

Flexibility

We perform our static stretches in between each of our warmup movements. When possible, we try to perform a static stretch that will target the same muscle group that the warmup movement we just performed stretched. For example, doing a hamstring stretch following walking high kicks. We will hold each stretch for 10-12 seconds.

  1. Forward/Backward/Across body arm swings – The athlete will perform ten forward arm circles, ten backward arm circles, and ten across body arm swings, pulling both arms across the body and back out away from the body.
  2. Staggered Hamstring – The athlete stands with their right toe aligned with instep of their left foot. They will then bend down grab their toes and attempt to stand up. After a 10 count the athlete will switch feet placing their left toe in the instep of their right foot.
  3. Quad Pull – The athlete will reach down with their right hand and grab their right foot and pull it to their butt. Repeat with the left.
  4. Hip Flexor Stretch – Athlete drops down their left knee to the ground with their right knee at a 90 degree angle in front of them. Perform the stretch by keeping the shoulders pulled back and pushing the hip forward and down.
  5. Good Morning – Stand erect with your feet about 16 inches apart. Keep your knees slightly bent throughout the entire movement. Place your hands behind your head, locking your fingers together. Keep your head up and back flat. Bend forward at the waist until your upper body is parallel to the floor and return to the starting position.
  6. Saigon Squat – Feet should be shoulder width or slightly further apart. Toes should be turned out. Squat down and grab your heels. Your elbows should be touching the inside part of the legs near the knees. Hold this position and relax. Squeeze legs apart with your elbows for a few counts then relax.
  7. Lateral Groin – Squat to the right side and balance on your right leg. Leave your left leg straight and let your foot roll so the the inside of your ankle rests on the ground. Put your hands on the ground in front of you to help stabilize yourself. Feel the adductor muscles in the left leg stretch.
  8. V-Stretch – The athlete stands with feet placed slightly wider than shoulder width. Keeping legs straight they reach down to their left foot and hold. After a 10 count, switch and reach toward the right foot. Last the athlete should reach toward the ground in front of them ultimately trying to place the palms of both hands on the ground.

Speed Mechanics Drills

Beginner Drills

Now we are going to look at speed drills to help improve the running form and technique of your athletes. Remember all of these drills should be done at full speed with maximum effort from your athletes, and give them proper recovery time between each drill.

  1. Seated Arm Swings –In the seated position with legs outstretched in the front of the body, perform the proper arm technique. Arms are relaxed and elbows are held at a 90 degree angle to the shoulder during the entire swing, alternating each arm with each swing. Keep the hands relaxed and bring them as high as the mouth. As arms go back, turn palms out slightly so that the thumb brushes the hip. Arms must not cross the body but stay in line with the shoulder.
  2. High Knees – The athlete will move for the specified yards lifting their knees as high as possible. Make sure the athlete does not cover too much ground. On average, there should be 2 to 3 strides per yard. The arm action should remain consistent as with all the other drills. The body posture will remain vertical, do not let the athlete lean back since this is inconsistent with proper running form.
  3. Ham Kicks – Start the drill by having a slight body lean forward, move forward by bringing the knee up and kicking the heel to the hamstring. Make sure to use proper arm action. This drill will look similar to high knees, but there is an emphasis on the ‘heel to the hamstring’ motion.
  4. A-March – The athlete will march the specified number of yards using proper arm, body, leg and foot position. The reps are slow and nearly mechanical. Emphasize upright body position, proper arm swing, knee up, heel up, toe up. The knee will be over emphasized as it comes up to a parallel postion (perpendicular to the body). The toe will be flexed up towards the shin. The heel will move to the hamstring and then the floor (with the ball of the foot being driven into the ground. A cycling action will occur naturally. Do not overstride or reach out with the foot. (known as casting the foot)
  5. Ankling – With the ankle cocked in the dorsiflexed position (toe up) take short quick steps. Bounce from foot to foot so that as soon as the ball of the foot hits the ground, it wants to jump off the surface. The ankle must be very elastic.
  6. Falling Start – The athlete begins by standing with feet staggered toe to instep. Have themlean forward until they lose their balance. As soon as this happens they accelerate at full speed to catch themself.
  7. Stiff Leg Bounds – The athlete will travel down the field with the knee joint bending only during the recovery phase of the run. The athlete will use a bounding action, which will cause the hip to pop over the foot as the athlete proceeds. The toe will be drawn back so the toe does not strike the ground first, but the ball of the foot will contact the ground first. The arm swing must remain fluid. The toe up position must be maintained to cause a popping and pulling action and also teach the body not to overstride. The ball of the foot must strike as near under the hip as possible. This action also helps in the stretching of the hamstring.
  8. Fast Claw– The athlete will stand and hold onto a stationary object, whether it be a wall, partner, etc. Stand with one side towards the wall, and place the hand of that side against the wall for balance. Now raise the leg of the same side up into a good knee up, toe up, heel up position. Next, strike the ground with the ball of the foot under and the hip and recover the leg as fast as possible to the starting position by driving the heel towards the hamstring and driving the knee back up in front.

Advanced Drills

  1. A-Skip – The athlete will expand upon the A-March through the addition of a hop step during the running sequence. The athlete will powerfully apply force back into the ground and quickly recover his opposite foot, working the knee up, heel up, toe up. Work on keeping the body upright and emphasize foot position and arm action. The athlete must not overstride (cast out) during the drill. The foot must claw the ground in a powerful manner. The recovery of the driving leg is a powerful cycling of the foot, with the leg returning to a near parallel level.
  2. Prime Times – This drill is a progression of stiff leg bounds. The athlete will keep all the mechanics of the stiff leg bounds, but decrease the stride length and increase the stride frequency. In other words, where the stiff leg bounds will be long bounding strides, primetimes will be short, quick strides.
  3. Fast Leg–This drill will incorporate two of the basic speed mechanics drills. The athlete will begin moving down the field by ankling. After every three or four ‘pops’ of each ankle, drive the right leg up in a violent fast claw type motion. Replace the foot back under the hip and continue ankling. Repeat this every three or four ankling steps. The movement from ankling to driving the knee up and replacing should be fluid. The drill can be done focusing on one leg at a time, or to increase the difficulty alternating from one leg to other.

Resistance Drills/Speed Drills