What
gives Eric Lindros the ability to explode past
defenders?
What gives Elvis Stoyko the ability to perform
unbelievable jumps?
How does Damon Stodolmaire compete against giants
in the NBA?
How does Venus Williams get to a drop volley
in time?
Speed is the common
skill in all these athletes.
There is
a common misconception that people are born
with speed. But, speed is like intelligence;
it’s invisible until it’s developed.
Speed is a developed
skill.
One of the challenges
of individual athletes and coaches is to recognize
that speed is a physical attribute and can be
enhanced through proper preparation in any athlete
at any age.
Traditional speed
training focused on increasing an athlete’s
muscle and power. The assumption was that the
stronger the athlete the faster the athlete.
Contemporary speed training programs now incorporate
a number of components in developing and maximizing
an athlete’s speed potential.
It’s now been proven
that there are various aspects of training that
contribute to enhanced speed or maximum velocity.
So, what are the elements that generate maximum
velocity and how do we enhance these factors?
Any type of speed
training includes activities specific to developing
an athlete’s reaction time, acceleration, and
the stage of transition from acceleration to
maximum speed. This latter stage focuses on
training the athlete in a way that maximizes
the athlete’s stride frequency and stride length.
All in all, working
on:
- general body
conditioning;
- strength and
explosive power training; and
- reprogramming
the athlete’s motor muscle patterns to replicate
the motions necessary for optimum speed, will
achieve the results necessary for speed success.
General body conditioning
gives the athlete the foundation to train and
develop at a more efficient and intense level.
Strength and explosive power create the force
that increases the athlete’s ability for speed
and acceleration. Repeated high quality exercises,
once ingrained in the athlete, will send the
athlete into ‘auto pilot’ when performing their
specialized sport.
For the very best
of these popular speed training techniques to
help athletes reach new heights in their athletic
achievements, call Speed Factory. Located
at Iceland Arena in Mississauga, the Speed Factory
program offers speed training to complement
any specialized sport program from hockey, basketball,
soccer and baseball to figure skating. Training
includes a combination of general conditioning
exercises, extensive plyometric exercises and
ground acceleration training and much more…
Classes are one
hour and are offered Monday through Friday 6:00;
7:00; and 8:00 and Saturdays at 10:00; 11:00
and 12:00 noon. Call to find out when the next
session begins.
Also ask about
our speed training summer camps!
Contact
Kerry Smith and Hugh Spooner about the Speed
Factory program at
(905)
507-0821.
About the Speed
Factory instructors:
Kerry Smith,
a Canadian national sprint champion and star
wide receiver in the CFL, is now a national
masters champion in the 100 and 200 meters.
Hugh Spooner,
a Canadian national sprint champion and Olympic
finalist, attended the University of Texas on
a full athletic scholarship were he received
all-American honors.
This kind of
experience has given Kerry and Hugh an excellent
perspective on common training techniques used
to build and develop speed which is essential
in any sport.
