The greatest speed training drill

When it comes to speed development, speed training drills are important. Speed drills train the athlete to move in an efficient and powerful way to take advantage of the single most important factor in speed development.

Force application.

One of the best speed training drills to use is the A-skip ( Gerard Mach - Mach Drill).

Here are some cues for the A-skip:

• cue 'chin up, chest up, toe up, heel up
• cue athletes to repeat 'hop, hop...hop, hop' in their heads to help coordinate the double hop movement
• recover the active heel underneath the hips while hopping with the support leg
  step over the support knee
• drive the active leg down into the ground as soon as the heel clears the knee while hopping on the support leg
• initial foot strike should be with the ball of the foot, not the heel
• active foot should strike directly beneath the hips
• active foot should land no farther than ½ footlength in front of support foot
• deceleration of active thigh ('drive down') should be noticeably faster and more forceful than the initial recovery of that active leg

The A-march is a great speed training drill to use first to help the athlete understand the motion before the A-skip is used. Since it is a 'complicated' movement for some athletes, you can have your athletes start with their hands on their hips, so it takes their arms out of the movement, until they have mastered the skill.

For speed training information and resources, make sure you check out http://www.AthletesAcceleration.com