Four Factors That Affect Speed…
1. Physical Attributes: The strength of the athlete will affect the ability to run at a high rate of speed. If the muscles are weak, you cannot expect an athlete to run fast. Building muscle strength will improve speed levels.
2. Technique: Proper sprinting technique requires the athlete to strikes the ground with the ball or mid-foot. The athlete’s upper body should have a slight forward lean and the arms should be used to create momentum for the legs to move faster.
3. Nutrition: Poor nutritional habits and body fat will impede speed. To gain speed, athletes should follow good nutritional habits.
4. Flexibility: A good flexible body will have greater speed.
Speed is very crucial in athletic competition games where getting from one point to the next is an aspect of scoring points. An effective speed training program should be based on the realistic aspects of the sport in which the athlete competes. There are a few aspects such as reflexes, tactical anticipation, and agility that influence game speed.
Speed & Acceleration
Speed and agility are two very important elements of running in most sports. Speed refers to the ability of the athlete to reach a high velocity of movement, which could be football, baseball, basketball, soccer cycling, swimming, or any locomotive movement. Agility refers to the athlete’s ability to suddenly stop, change direction, cut strides, move laterally and then accelerate again. A well designed speed training program should focus on endurance, speed and agility. Speed drills require both anaerobic and aerobic fitness. The ability to run extended amounts of time requires endurance training. Acceleration is a very important part of speed training. In most sports athletes need to accelerate quickly and powerfully. Stop and go speed skills require athlete’s to suddenly accelerate from a stand still position. Athletes must maintain speed even when they are fatigued, how they train will determine the output when they are tired. Incorporating a balanced approach with endurance, speed and agility in your speed training program provides the athlete with the best results.