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Tip & Drills

Increasing Running Speed

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by Coach Lia » Wed Sep 23, 2009 7:41 pm

First check on her running form. Adjustments on arm swing, foot stride and stride frequency can help on increasing speed. Then learn the proper way of running the bases. little things like rounding the bases earlier will help in not losing her momentum when running


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by Joe » Wed Sep 23, 2009 10:38 pm

KekambuS wrote:[b]Alot of ...Plyometrix


Kumbaya...this is a family oriented site. Please refrain from the use of the 'P' word.
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by NumeroUno » Wed Sep 23, 2009 10:43 pm

carolinafan wrote:
That is brutal on the hips, knees, and ankles


Maybe that is why I needed an osteotomy when I was in my 30s! :o


I hear that you should never run down hill, very bad for your knes and shins. Running up hill drill will increase speed. Some football teams have grass hills added to the practice fields.

Never run down hill it is dangerous too
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by coolstuff » Thu Sep 24, 2009 7:22 am

NumeroUno wrote:
carolinafan wrote:
That is brutal on the hips, knees, and ankles


Maybe that is why I needed an osteotomy when I was in my 30s! :o


I hear that you should never run down hill, very bad for your knes and shins. Running up hill drill will increase speed. Some football teams have grass hills added to the practice fields.

Never run down hill it is dangerous too


Running up a hill, or steps, is similar to doing lunges. Any of those will build leg strength. But as someone else has stated, good running mechanics is also necessary. Like everything else in sports, there's no one silver bullet, but a combination of strength and mechanics.
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by spcheesy » Fri Nov 06, 2009 3:04 pm

Wooahhhh wrote:I just went thru this with my first year 14u dd. In an area like Central Florida, there are several companies that specialize in athletic training, agility, flexibility, and strenghth. My kid ran too flat footed and upright. Search for one of these companies or possibly go and talk to the HS track coach. See if there are any running groups that have a certain sports store that they go to for track/running stuff, that store will know people who train runners/running. I found a former baseball player that worked in physical therapy, specializing in athletes that wanted to get back on the field. DD was put through a bunch of drills to teach her to lean correctly, push harder with the butt muscles for more power, increased her abs strength, improved (leaning) posture and mechanics of running. There are trainers out there that can give her drills. I think she has shaved of .2 seconds, from 3.5 down to 3.3 seconds from home to first. That's just over 3' faster, so it was worth the $50/hour in two lessons. PM if you want more info.

i agree a track coach can help. FYI, my first year 14u dd ran in in 3.1.what college coaches are looking for is 2.7 or better. our girls being 14 they still have time to develop that speed will come as they get older and stronger. try and emphasize in proper form now so when the time comes, she can fly like the wind !
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by hitterscoach » Sat Jan 16, 2010 12:58 pm

I have found that running 5 yd sprints with the Jump Sole shoes, help with speed. I would not let them do more than 3 to 10 sprints, depending upon the age of athlete. Also use of Parachutes help. Speed is increased with sprinting not long distance running. ( Just an opinion).
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by Coach Mike » Wed Jul 14, 2010 10:59 am

The type of speed you need for our sport, requires that you can get to full speed within 3 steps.

This is the explosive power that can be enhanced with plyometric training, strength training and practicing their form off the start. Plyo boxes, hurdles, exercise steps, medicine ball work (and weight training, if mature enough) all help here. Most girls will use the "Rocker" start off the bases, so they should get used to getting to a 45 degree angle immediately while getting full extension at the ankle, knee and hip joints (Triple Extension) on their first step.

As far as sprint form, most speed coaches will tell you that getting good form on your sprint is crucial. Getting good knee lift in front, driving down forcefully, aligning your drive step under your core and hips, eliminating inefficient heel movement in the back part of the motion, efficient use of the arms. This all takes practice to get good sprint form. As far as improving times, with good form, nothing beats going out and sprinting at max effort. At max effort that means full-out sprints with full recovery (up to 2 min recovery between all out effort depending on distance). And then you must be progressive about the workload: Increasing distance, increasing reps, overload (parachutes, uphill training, weighted vests, sprint sleds, tubing w partner), underload (assisted reps, downhill training, wind aided), decreasing rest interval.

Agility (ability to change directions quickly and efficiently) is also another component that's necessary for our sport. Agility ladder drills, cone work, hurdles, agility ball and footwork ...

These components are often bypassed in practices since there's so much other skill work that can take priority. But, if you put the work in, the pay-off is huge!!! There are good sites that can give you more specifics when it comes to speedwork. You can even find some good agility drills on youtube.

A speed coach is very helpful. But make sure your players have a good flexibility and a good fitness base before embarking on an explosive speed program.

And if none of this works, then you can go back to the donut and stick technique listed here!!!

Good Luck!!!

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by AuState Sports » Tue Sep 14, 2010 9:08 am

To truly increase running speed you need flexibility, strength, and stability. Be sure your daughter stretches her hamstrings, quads, hip flexors, glutes, and lower back. She will also need strength. A body can only propel itself as far/as fast as the amount of force it pushes into a solid surface (in the case, the ground). That's just plain physics. The strength can from a variety of exercises depending your daughter's current level of fitness. If she has never done a formal weight training program, can do rudimentary, but highly effective exercises, such as squats with her own body weight, and push-ups. Focus on her doing movements while she is standing, i.e. applying force into the ground. This will help her learn to stabilize her body while she is doing an athletic movement. I train athletes in all sports for speed and we conduct all of our weight training from athletic stances during lifts. There are mechanical and technical aspects of the exercises that would warrant another entire topic, but I hope that your daughter can get started with flexibility, strength and stability and you will see her speed get better.

An important side note when working with female athletes. TECHNIQUE during training, and during activity is very, very important. Anatomically speaking, female athletes body structure presents more stress on the hips, and particularly the knees due to the relationship between hip width, and knee width. This puts excess force on those joints and can best be alleviated through strength + proper technique.
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by pvsportsfan » Sat Oct 02, 2010 7:41 pm

You increase running speed by speed running, a lot. A sprinters regimen including a heavy dose of wind sprints at 10 yard and 40 yard dashes, first with form running and outright sprints for times. Three times a week. With a stopwatch for each run and chart of weekly progress.
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