Speed Report: Football Movement and Speed Skills – Combining Linear Speed with Movement Speed

Summer is coming soon and spring is a perfect time to improve the skill-set of your players to increase their playing speed and confidence. Often, we work on linear speed and movement speed independently. Why not combine the two? That’s what football requires – speed and movement. 

    I thought this month would be a great time to add some playing speed skills for your team. Some years ago I began combining movement drills with linear speed work, all during the same repetition of a drill set. As time has progressed, I’ve developed a large number of various drills designed in this manner. Now’s the time for using these drills so you can perfect the skills required to maximize each player’s performance. 

Football Coaches - Look Beyond the Obvious  

    Every time I go to another school to install a training system, I hear the same thing when it comes to movement skills. “I like that drill. It reminds me of a defensive back drill or linebacker drill, or a linemen drill, or a running back drill.” The reality is that you need to stop adapting movement to fit a situation or position on the field. Start using movement drills beyond normal position requirements only as they fit positions. A certain amount of that is ok but, don’t live by specific movements only. They are limiting the athlete’s potential to be stimulated which is triggered by unusual pattern challenges. Learning to relate to new stimulus challenges that develop spontaneous athletic movement is far more valuable than cookie cutter plans. That’s what football presents on both sides of the ball – spontaneous reaction changes while moving fast.

    Defense is reaction-oriented. Offense is deliberation by plan but changes happen and adjustments are often unpredictable. Both sides must respond to the changes within reason. Train to be ready with athletic body control or your players will not play fast. Visual reaction development is critical to playing fast as long as the correct mechanical skills are being taught.

Outside-the-Box Thinking - Always the BEST  

    Practice accuracy of skill development, not what’s easy and available. Don’t fall prey to the instant, easy, quick, simple, no work, excuses or the “I don’t have the time to do it right” mentality when it comes to speed. You may get some improvement but it will not provide maximum results. 

    That means that you and the majority of the world should look outside the box to check their hold card when speed training. Are you doing it right or are you just happy with being comfortable? You can have a program that does more than just covers a base and gives you some mileage on the most important quality of performance on the field – speed. If you’re not stair-stepping yearly with a system that offers advanced levels of speed skill development year to year, you have a cookie cutter program that lacks depth. Your athletes won’t get better with this type of off season, in season training packages and drills system. Your ladders are extremely limiting and you can only do the same patterns over and over each year, which stagnate potential.

    You need a system that progresses your best kids every year. A ladder revisits the same applications over and over and is limited to cookie cutter footwork. It is not providing the changes of velocity and directional changes necessary, not to mention accelerating and decelerating, a major part of the game. The game is not played on a straight line with tiny squares. Your time could be better spent with more outside the box drill challenges. They will help the demands of each position. 
   

Here are eight drills you can use throughout the spring and summer to get your players ready for fall camp.

Diagram 1: Burst sprint 5 yards/plant to lateral without loosing speed/ burst again to a straight sprint/ decelerate straight/sprint weave (off-set middle cone 12”).

Diagram 2: Shuffle as indicated-fast/accel to a lateral run/speed burst to short sprint/ decelerate straight/ burst sprint again for 15 yards.

Diagram 3: Straight sprint weave followed by lateral weave facing one direction only/burst sprint for 15 yards.

Diagram 4: Shuffle fast (either) to the left, then right/burst to a curve sprint  (cones are 2 yards apart on an arc).

Diagram 5: Burst three yards straight/plant to lateral facing the line of scrimmage while lateralling/ speed curve left to right (cones are one yard apart on the arc).

Diagram 6: Straight sprint at 80% – set a rhythm early and then plant at first cone to a lateral/ plant back to straight again/continue to repeat this over again until end of drill.

Diagram 7: Sprint weave once again - 100% intensity sprint/switch to a lateral then rapidly decelerate the lateral/ burst again and continue to repeat each zone with equal speed control.

Diagram 8: Lateral facing the way the arrow indicates/ plant to a quick accel straight ahead/ plant to lateral again still facing forward (see arrow)/ repeat over again until last lateral/ plant to a burst sprint finish.