Coach ,

There are all sorts of philosophies when it comes to sprint training and how to improve someone's speed. Coaches debate these topics repeatedly on social media apps day in and day out. The conversations usually center around a strength vs speed debate, a genetics vs coaching intensive debate, or an acceleration vs max-velocity debate.

Jonas Dodoo or Speedworks Training (UK) recently dove into this topic and attacked all those rumors and topics head-on. One of my favorite conversations he had was with Tom Tombleson of England rugby. In this clip Tom discusses some of the most common myths in sprint training for athletes.

Link: Sprint Training Myths

In his pursuit of all things speed Coach Dodoo gives several examples of varying athlete profiles and he shares how he uncovered the foundation of getting someone faster. When we focus on better actions instead of more actions, good things happen. Positions and posture matter superiorly to any other debate. Sprinting can be broken down very simply into two main facets: acceleration and upright posture. In the next clip a biomechanical example is demonstrated on the proper elements of acceleration.

Link: Acceleration Basics

Transitioning from acceleration positions to upright posture is key. A smooth transfer and maintenance of momentum generated in the start helps you avoid deceleration later in the race. The next example shows upright sprinting mechanics and gives a great biomechanical assessment of an athlete's positions. 

Link: Upright Sprinting

When everything comes together over time an athlete can show rapid improvement. In the next clip Coach Dodoo provides a case study of a team sport athlete he worked with and examines the factors that took this athlete to a more elite level with a greater top speed. 

Link: Case Study 

The more we complicate sprinting the messier it can get and the less improvement we see. The longer you're in the game the more likely you are to realize this. It’s not always what we do but rather the quality of the work that we do.

Always be growing,

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