AGILITY OR LINEAR SPEED WHICH WILL DOMINATE ON THE FIELD?AGILITY OR LINEAR SPEED-WHAT TYPE OF SPEED DO WE WISH TO TRAIN FOR TO BE MOST EFFECTIVE ON THE PITCH?
Linear speed is speed in a straight line often starting from a fixed position whereas agility is speed in multiple directions.
In game situations those with good mutidirectional speed will dominate over those with better linear speed –why? –because all field sports are based on multidirectional movement with unstable starting stances ,obstacles to get over or past –and sometimes less than perfect ground conditions. The presence of a ball at your feet or stick/racquet in your hand is another factor in affecting running form and balance. I watched an excellent example of this recently where a team of celebrities played a team of old soccer professionals –the team of celebrities had an international 100m sprinter as part of the team. I specifically watched his movement in the game and he struggled in any areas where he had to decelerate stop change direction and then accelerate again. Even in more open play he seemed to be slow in reacting and starting from an off balance position. Why is this important in training for speed development? The reason is we must be aware of the each sports requirement when coaching or as a parent employing trainers. It is vital we teach agility from a young level by providing the movement patterns and skills; this will provide a strong foundation once strength gains increase the power of the player on the pitch GAMES So what can we do with a group of 7-10 year old players to improve mutidirectional speed? Remember at that age FUN is a vital factor hence I use lots for TAG or CHASE games as part of the session. These games are wonderful for teaching multiple changes of direction, in an ever changing environment. Games like chin tag,team tag, toilet tag ,cat and mouse etc are firm favourites with my athletes and me as a coach as the kids have a blast, they lift the tempo of the session with their inherent competitive component and the kids end up laughing joking and having worked at near maximal levels over the period so everyone is happy. Other methods are the use of obstacle courses with ladders, hurdles, cones etc these can be done in the form of relays to introduce a level of competition to the activity. TECHNIQUES Mixing in this type of games along with technique training for multidirectional movement keeps the athletes focused on what they are doing and keeps the fun factor in training. Correct technique training is vital in the development of agility coaches must take time to break down movement patterns into sections or skill sets then allow them to be repeated in a less pressured situation until the movement memory is completed. GOOD TECHNIQUE ALLOWS DEVELOPMENT AND PREVENTS INJURY
EXERCISES The improvement of basic strength will aid the development of multidirectional speed. Exercise that focus on developing core strength in young athletes e.g. –planks, bridges are vital (see diagrams) .A strong core allows the transmission of power from the arms to the legs for acceleration .The core is vital in maintaining the body in the correct position while changing direction e.g. –stopping shoulders swaying away from the intended line of travel after a rapid change of direction. Improvements in general strength and muscle recruitment allow better control of movement and hence improve speed and performance on the pitch. Exercises that improve the control of the body in an extended position are vital- the most important exercise in my view is the lunge. Multidirectional lunges provide control for rapid deceleration and help stabilise the knees by improving the strength in the hamstring to reduce the risk of injuries. My view is that the MULTI-DIRECTIONAL LUNGE IS THE KING OF EXERCISES TO AID MULTIDRECTIONAL SPEED IN ALL FIELD SPORT PLAYERS (see diagram below)
In summary for coaches, parents and players remember that multidirectional speed wins over linear speed in many team and individual sports
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