Getting athletes interested in speed training programs is quite difficult simply because of the things athletes have to do within the program. If you want to convince athletes that your speed training program is more effective than other local speed training programs, you have to enhance your program in a variety of ways.
Give Your Athletes a Proper Briefing
The importance of speed training is more than just being faster than others in a sprinting competition. Some athletes that are signing up for a speed training program may not care so much about sprinting but just want to do it for the sake of working out.
However, these athletes might not feel very motivated in doing certain tasks because of their strenuous nature. By giving these athletes a proper briefing, they will fully understand how these activities impact their performance. Since there are some athletes that might have different goals than others, you can have a better idea on what drills you want to assign once they fully understand your training program.
Incorporate Movement Training
Body coordination is very important for completing speed training drills properly. It is possible for an athlete to complete the speed training drill the wrong way. As a result, that athlete will feel tired and not receive the benefits of that training segment. Once these athletes realize that they do not get the best results, they will lose their motivation. Focusing on the mechanics can prevent these scenarios from happening and you can get your athletes to master these mechanics by incorporating movement training concepts.
Have your athlete practice things like jumping, pivoting, cutting, backpedaling, and shuffling so your athletes can complete your drills more swiftly. While ladder drills are great for coordination, it is more effective to get your athletes involved with certain sports where these movements are extremely important.
Allow Lengthy Rest Periods
Always remember that your program is all about speed training and not physical fitness in general. Therefore, all of your athletes should be fully energized before they engage in a drill. You can try putting your athlete through one tiring work period and then move on to the next without a long break. The second work period is pretty much useless because your athlete will just be tired and the mechanics that you laid out in the movement training won’t be applied. Tell your athletes that you are trying to make their bodies work more efficiently. With proper rest, athletes can exert as much effort as possible in improving speed and agility.
Be Consistent with the Training
Once you properly insert some lengthy rest periods between drills, your athletes should be a lot more comfortable with the training. They are motivated because they are aware of the benefits of these drills and they will never get over fatigued. Now all you have to do is maintain consistency with these drills. Some athletes may need more consistent practice before they can master movements. Other athletes may need drills in short bursts so they can improve their overall conditioning.
Once these athletes have their rhythm, just keep going and you will notice some gradual improvements. If not, you should always be there to correct the mistakes and encourage them to be consistent with the right methods.
Since it will take time for some athletes to fully develop their speed and agility through your speed training program, it is safest to implement the program a couple of months in advance. Teaching athletes the basic movement mechanics can be the most time consuming part. The good news is that they only need to learn these core mechanics once. If they master these techniques early, they can focus more on conditioning and other technical skills that should give these athletes the edge they need.
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