Wasif H's List: Explosive First Step

• In regard to athletics, speed is how fast an individual can travel from one point to another. It has to do with stride frequency, or the number of steps per unit of time, and stride length, or the distance that each step covers.
• To increase your speed, your daily training sessions should place emphasis on improving your overall work capacity, ensuring that your joint mobility is normal, increasing the strength of your legs and core, developing running endurance and improving running coordination.
• There are numerous drills that should be incorporated into an explosive speed training program that help to improve your coordination and running technique. Marching drills, skipping and arm swings are typically done prior to more intensive training exercises.
• Because these are not physically intensive, you should try to fit these in every day. They’re meant to develop muscle memory and teach your nervous system and muscles how to efficiently work together, so the more repetitions you can get in of form drills, the better.
• Form drills are very important, but it’s essential that you take the skills that you learn from them and apply them to actual speed and endurance drills.
• There are different types of speed and endurance training workouts that you can incorporate, such as participating in extensive intervals, which means completing a high number of sprinting repetitions, or you can use intensive intervals, which require you to do less repetitions but at high-speed, very intense sprints, perhaps with added resistance such as running hills, or using a parachute for drag.

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• Soccer is a game of many elements including strength, coordination, discipline, communication and speed. The ability to utilize explosive speed on the soccer field sets the best teams apart from everyone else.
• An alternate start is a sprinting drill that requires you to run 10 to 20 yards at a time. It is designed to improve your explosive speed from different positions and actions that more closely mimic a soccer game.
• A speed ladder is a piece of training equipment that you lay on the ground and run through to develop foot speed and coordination. The ladder is laid out over a short distance and consists of small squares that you must step in on each stride.
• Adding resistance to your sprints helps build takeoff power in your legs for explosive speed down the field. You can add resistance by sprinting up a hill of about 30 degrees, or by using speed parachutes that follow behind you as you run. Parachutes are effective, but not always practical if you are training as a team.
• Building speed for the defensive part of soccer is just as important as speed for offense. Practice sprinting backwards for short distances, using quick turns and crossovers along the way. This drill simulates an offensive player trying to dribble past you and will help you keep up during a game.

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• • This can be used in almost everysport. The first couple of steps are key to win that header, score on the breakaway, or hit that game winning shot.
• The starting stance and "set" position of the athlete is crucial. Improper form here will result in a super slow time. To begin, the athlete needs to decide which foot goes in front. A simple test is to have the athlete stand upright with both feet together. Moderately push the athlete in the back and watch which foot moves first. The foot that moves first should be their rear "quick" leg. The other leg will be called the "drive" leg or "power" leg.
• Leg Positions.
• For athletes shorter than 6-feet tall, place their "power" leg just millimeters from the start line. Athletes taller than 6-feet should play with their stance for the best time. Most athletes at this height place their "power" leg about 4-6 inches behind the starting line.
• Bend the opposite knee to the ground so the front of the knee almost touches the starting line. Take the hand that is to the "quick" leg side and place it on the ground (I have seen college athletes do this backward!). Place the opposite hand near the hip so it is "cocked" and ready to "fire!"
• A poor first step is the result of a poor stance. Having your feet too far back will result in a step that may not pass the starting line which results in one extra step to run the sprint, which could add 0.1 seconds to your time! If flexibility (addressed above) is not an issue, practicing the start from the new stance is the next step.
• Set a hoop or line of tape on the floor to help as an aiming point. How far should the athlete step? I was pretty flexible and was able to get a large first step without sacrificing body angle.
• The 40-yard dash is a test of acceleration and top-end speed. Research suggests that top end speed can be maintained in elite sprinters for about 2 seconds and occurs around the 50-meter mark
• Forward Body Lean 

   The athlete needs to keep an exaggerated forward body lean for 30 yards. The forward lean keeps the athlete from reaching full speed too fast. During this acceleration phase, the athlete should focus on keeping arms bent at about 90 degrees and focus on "pulling" the elbows back and "pushing" with the feet. Trying to "pull" back may result in a hamstring pull and also a slower time.
• The final common mistake is that players take way too many steps. The 40-yard dash should be over in about 18-20 steps for high school players and older (If you have seen programs to reduce 40-yard time by 0.2 seconds, they take 20 strides and try to reduce ground contact time but 0.01 seconds x 20 strides = 0.2 seconds). However, counting an athlete's strides is not an easy task.

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• In order to build speed, run interval sprints to work on your technique, explosiveness and speed. Go to the starting line at your local high school or college track and sprint 100 yards. Go back to the starting line and then sprint 90 yard. Follow that by sprinting 75 and 60 yards. Take a 2-minute break and repeat the set. In addition to helping you build speed, this is a conditioning drill that will build endurance.
• You can work on your speed by doing box jumping. Place a 15-inch box in the middle of the floor. Stand to the left of the box and jump over it one bound so that you are on the right side of it. Then jump back over it so you are on the left side. Do 10 side-to-side jumps; take a 30-second break and then repeat the set. This will build explosive strength in your calf muscles, which will help you run faster.
• Hill running will help you build power and explosiveness while running uphill, and it will help you run with balance and form by running downhill. Run uphill 60 feet and then downhill the same amount. Take a 1-minute break and then repeat the set. This technique has been used by many NFL stars to increase foot speed, including Hall of Famer Jerry Rice. "I ran hills to prepare for every season," Rice said. "I didn't want anyone catching me from behind and I think running the hills really helped me."
• This is an exercise that can be done at your local football field. Start off on the goalline and jump as high and as far as you can off your dominant foot. When you land, go as high and as far as you can while bounding off your opposite foot. Continue in this manner until you have bounded for 20 yards. Then sprint for 20 yards. Follow in this patten until you get to the opposite goalline. You will have bounded 60 yards and sprinted 40 yards. Then turn around and go back in the same manner. This will increase explosiveness in your legs and help you run faster.

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• Training for speed seems straightforward; perform your activity or sport over and over working to get faster. Training for speed requires the ability to accelerate fast from a standing position or a slow jog, according to Derek Hansen, CSCS of SPS Athletic Training Group.
• Generating speed requires nerve and impulse control and strength in your muscles. Speed requires a high output of energy and strength.
• Hansen recommends only training for short times because you can tax your nervous system to exhaustion quickly. Recommended training intervals shouldn't be more than 300 meters for team sports, such as football, soccer, basketball, lacrosse and track and field events.
• Plyometrics require your muscles to contract while overcoming a lengthening phase and producing maximum strength in the shortest amount of time. According to Denis Knowles of Coachr.org, the faster a muscle is stretched, the greater the power output during the contraction phase of the muscle.
• Plyometrics is a protocol used to develop strength, speed and power for various types of sports.
• Hansen states that to perform faster and with greater strength and speed, stretching helps to elongate your stride or ability to move.
• Stretching should concentrate on elongating your muscle overall and focus specifically on the sport you engage in. This is for two purposes: passive stretching elongates your muscles and helps them warm up and also cool down from everyday activities and training.
• Second, dynamic stretching related to your sport works on the elastic properties of your muscles and connective tissues.
• Dynamic stretching works on your nervous system that coordinates movement, power and strength so you can produce more power, strength and speed.

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