We must first ask the question, “Increase your quickness and speed to do what?” Speed and quickness require many neurological and physiological responses that are task specific.
The Motor Learning Experts provide us with the “Theory of Specificity.” A task is either neurologically specific or it is not. The number of muscle fibers recruited and the sequence in which these fibers are recruited is very specific (Size Principle). The best way to improve your quickness on a specific task is to practice that task at game speed.
We constantly ask our players to give recognition to their parents (not their Texans strength coaches) for the genetic assets they inherited to be quick and fast. In addition we tell our players to take credit for their discipline and dedication to develop these assets.
Harold L. Klawans, M.D. is a brain surgeon. He authored a book titled, “Why Michael Couldn’t Hit.” In his book Dr. Klawans discusses in great detail why it was neurologically impossible during Michael Jordan’s brief stint in baseball, to be a good hitter.
Michael Jordan is one of the best athletes to ever play any game. While playing basketball he demonstrated exceptional speed, quickness, great vision, and excellent hand-eye coordination, yet he failed miserably as a hitter in baseball.
The quickness used to perform a particular skill is neurologically very specific. The first step quickness of a baseball player stealing second base requires a specific neurological response much different than:
1. The first step (backpedaling) of a defensive back once the ball is snapped.
2. The first step of a defensive back that has stopped backpedaling and is responding to the changing direction of a wide receiver.
3. The first step of a wide receiver getting off the line of scrimmage trying to avoid a defensive back jamming him at the line.
4. The first step of a wide receiver getting off the line of scrimmage unimpeded.
5. The first step of an offensive lineman stepping backward to pass protect.
6. The first step forward of an offensive lineman run blocking.
7. The first step of an offensive lineman pulling to his right.
8. The first step of an offensive lineman pulling to his left.
9. The first step of a quarterback after taking a snap from center.
10. The first step of a player being timed in the 40-yard sprint.
Each athlete is born with a neurological template for speed and quickness. Reaction time, movement time, and response time, are variables that help determine first step quickness. Each of these is impacted significantly by the effectiveness of the neurological system.
How quickly and efficiently the neurological system makes connections to the right sequence of muscle fibers is a major factor in determining first step quickness.
Ray and I consider ourselves pretty good strength coaches however; we can’t change how a player’s nervous system connects to his muscular system. We tell our players to thank Mom and Dad.
Reaction time is a chemical process. It can be measured by placing electrodes on the brain and on the muscles involved in performing a task. As the athlete prepares to move reaction time is measured from the first sign of electrical activity in the brain until the first sign of any electrical activity in the muscles involved. The brain has sent an electrical signal down the spinal cord to the muscle(s) involved and told the muscle to get ready to contract. The muscle has not contracted yet and there is no visible movement.
This is an inherited trait. Reaction time cannot be improved once a new task is learned.
Response time is measured as the amount of time taken to respond to a stimulus until the initiation of movement. The stimulus can vary. The stimulus could be the sound of a starters gun at a track meet. It could be visual, the light turning green to signal the start of a race between professional dragsters.
An example of response time is a defensive linemen visually responding to the snap of the ball. Defensive linemen are taught to watch the ball and not listen to the cadence of the quarterback.
The time elapsed from the initial movement of the ball being snapped until the first sign of movement of the linemen, is the response time. Some linemen get off the ball quicker than others. Is it because they have better reaction time, better response time, or a combination of both?
A player’s quickness is affected by his reaction time and his response time. We can’t change a player’s reaction time. We can however improve a player’s response time. How? Have the athlete practice the exact task(s) at hand.
The specific speed and quickness to perform a task is best improved by performing that specific task ………… at game speed. Baseball scouts time baseball players in the 60-yard dash. Sixty yards is the distance from first base to third base.
Instead of facing forward or starting from a three-point stance, baseball players are required to start in the same position they would assume if they were on first base and getting ready to turn and run toward second.
Baseball scouts start the sprint by holding a baseball cap in their hand. They signal the start of the sprint when they drop the cap.
It doesn’t make sense for a baseball player to waste time and energy practicing his start from a three-point stance. Using the sound of a whistle to practice his starts won’t reduce a baseball player’s response time to the visual cue of seeing a hat drop.
Athletes waste too much time and energy on tasks that are not skill specific. Practice the skill of jumping rope to develop the coordination necessary to jump rope. Don’t expect the specific skills used to jump rope to transfer to covering a receiver, or running a route, or rushing the passer.
How do you improve quickness? The answer is very simple. Practice the exact skills you want to get quicker at, and practice them at full-speed.
If you want to be a quicker basketball player practice the skills used to play the game at game speed. Playing defense requires a series of rehearsed and unrehearsed neurological responses that cannot be imitated by performing a series of “quickness” drills.
How do you best improve the specific neurological speed and quickness to cover a wide receiver? Don’t spend time jumping over bags or performing quickness drills and expect them to reproduce the specific neurological demands of covering a receiver. To best improve the speed and quickness necessary to cover a receiver, practice covering a receiver, and preferably someone with better speed and quickness.
How do you best improve speed? There are some things you can do to improve speed. However we all have a speed potential that is dictated by our genetic predisposition to run fast.
I often use my youngest son T as an example. T currently works at the University of Houston in the athletic department. He had an accomplished high school and college baseball career. He was named Virginia Player of the Year his senior year in high school and was very quick and fast. During his senior year he broke the state stolen base record (39).
He was a scholarship baseball player at James Madison University where he set school and conference stolen base records. In his junior year at JMU he finished the season ranked second in the country (Division I) in stolen bases (54). He missed eight games with a leg injury.
T is also a cancer survivor. He was diagnosed with a rare form of stomach cancer when he was 8 ½. The NCAA has a baseball publication that did an article on T at the end of his junior year.
The purpose of the article was to recognize T for his baseball accomplishments and draw a parallel between some of the same characteristics he displayed to overcome cancer and succeed as a baseball player. The author of the article called to interview me about T.
During the interview he mentioned how lucky my son was to have a father who was a strength coach for the Washington Redskins and aware of the most current techniques used to improve speed and quickness.
The reporter asked me, “What did I do different to help my son run faster?” I responded by saying, “I left him alone.” The reporter laughed and asked again, “No really, what did you do.” I responded, “I’m not joking, I left him alone.”
I explained to the reporter that T was fast and quick as a youngster. In the fifth-grade he held school records for the short-shuttle, the mile run, and pull-ups. He had no special training or coaching, nor was he in better shape than most of the other kids, yet he was quicker and faster than any other student in the school.
His speed dominance continued through junior high school and high school. He was the fastest player on the baseball team when he arrived as a freshman at James Madison University.
He didn’t do anything special as an athlete but lift weights and practice his skills. I had nothing to do with how fast he could run. He didn’t spend endless hours performing speed and quickness drills.
In my 30-year career I have trained thousands of athletes with varying degrees of genetic potential for running faster. I have never claimed I was the reason for improving anyone’s speed. You cannot make a person run faster than his genetic predisposition for speed will allow him to run.
We plug all of our players into our running program. Eventually some will run faster than others. There are no special exercises that magically improve speed. If there was, every athlete would be fast.
You can’t alter your genetic pool or the characteristics you’ve inherited from your parents. But you can develop the potential speed you do possess by exploiting those factors you can control.
Listed below are some items you can control that contribute to your ability to play fast.
1. Eliminate excess body fat.
2. Strengthen the muscles used to run.
3. Develop adequate flexibility.
4. Refine position specific stance/start techniques.
5. Practice the exact skills you want to run fast and quick.
6. Develop a level of conditioning needed to run you’re fastest.
7. Practice running you’re fastest.
Athletes spend too much time and energy trying to improve straight-line speed. The speed needed to play any sport is specific to the demands of each position. The goal of any athlete should be to develop specific speed and quickness used to play a position, and develop a level of conditioning to sustain that speed and quickness for an entire game.
Our running program begins in March and ends with our conditioning test the first day of summer camp. Our goal is to get our players in good enough running shape to allow them to practice and let football get them in shape to play football. We will post our running program in the near future.
We tell our players if they want to improve the position specific speed and quickness needed to play the game, get in good shape and practice those exact skills at game speed.
If we believed a drill or exercise could improve a player’s speed we would implement these activities from the first day of summer camp until the last day of the season.
Our season is a minimum of six months long. If a specific drill(s) or exercise made our players quicker and faster, they would lose the benefits of these activities unless they continue to perform them during the season. You won’t observe any of our players wasting time and energy doing speed drills during the season. They barely have enough energy to recover from one game to the next.
If a player wants to get better at running fast, quick, and precise routes, we advise him to practice running routes. Our advice is to run routes against a well-skilled defensive back and have a quarterback throw you the ball. Have your position coach help refine your route running skills.
How do you become a quicker and faster athlete? It’s pretty simple. Get in good running shape and practice your position specific skills.
It is difficult for some athletes to do this alone. Our players run together during our off-season running program. They help motivate each other.
If you are a parent or athlete from the Houston area, I’d recommend you check out Danny Arnold, owner of Professional Athletic Service, 13000 Murphy Road, Suite 130, in Stafford, Texas. Telephone: 281-240-0253. He has a Fitness Center designed to help high school, college, and professional athletes achieve their speed and quickness potential. Danny has trained many elite college and professional players.
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