Professional Documents
Culture Documents
LEVEL 1
Strength & Conditioning Coach Accreditation Course
Speed terminology.
Sub-qualities of speed.
Acceleration.
Max velocity.
Speed endurance.
Speed reserve.
Change of direction (COD).
Agility.
Repeat sprint ability.
Linear speed and COD testing.
Strength training for speed.
LEARNING OUTCOMES &
PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES
Define Agility and explain its sub-components Create a 15 min session plan for RSA including intensity,
Deceleration and COD. distance, reps and rest.
Outline tests used to assess both linear speed and COD. Demonstrate drills for learning max velocity mechanics.
Speed The time taken to move between two points, (distance / time)
Acceleration The rate at which the speed of an athlete changes with time
Speed Endurance The ability to prolong the amount of time where a near maximal speed can be maintained
Repeat Sprint Ability (RSA) The ability of an athlete to recover and maintain maximal effort during subsequent sprints
Agility A rapid whole-body movement with change of speed or direction in response to a stimulus
Change of Direction (COD) Any activity that involves a rapid whole-body movement with a pre-planned change of direction.
Acceleration
Speed Reserve
Agility
Speed Endurance
LINEAR
SPEED
When athletes initiate the sprint effort from a rolling start, the time and distance
needed to reach maximum running velocity is greatly reduced. Therefore, in a
30m effort, 15m are covered at near maximum velocity.
Technique:
• Foot strike, foot recovery and stride cycle.
• Front side and back side mechanics.
Marching drills.
Skipping drills.
Build ups.
Sprint stride sprint.
Tempo training (rhythm and technical flow).
ANKLING
STEP OVERS
‘A’ MARCH & SKIPS
LINEAR SPEED MECHANICS FROM
UPRIGHT START
GROUP DISCUSSION
TOPICS
Not every athlete will or should look like a 100m sprinter when they run, Sprint form quality should
be appropriate to the athlete and the sport.
Athletes have different limb lengths, joint orientations, muscle insertion points, movement
restrictions, fibre type ratios, body fat levels etc. All of this leads to various styles of movement.
It’s good to think of technique drills as ‘corrective’, that is, an athlete only needs a drill if a specific
aspect of their form is inefficient or problematic.
Guidelines
Distances
Reps
Rest
GUIDELINES
Sub-Max efforts / GPP / Developing Athletes Maximal efforts/ SPP / Advanced Athletes
DISTANCE REST DISTANCE REST
10m 30 – 45 sec 10m 60 - 90 sec
20m 60 – 90 sec 20m 2 - 3 mins
30m 90sec – 2 mins 30m 3 - 5 mins
40m 2 mins – 3 mins 40m 4 - 6 mins
60m 3 mins – 4.5 mins 60m 6 - 8 mins
SPEED RESERVE
(CHARLIE FRANCIS)
By training an athlete to be faster, you can increase not only maximal acceleration and maximum
speed, but also all sub-max speed activities. If you increase an athlete’s maximal acceleration and
speed, all sub-maximal capabilities are easier.
Example: A rugby player has a maximum speed of 9 m/s, he reaches that speed four to eight times
during a game, this presents as a significant stressor. However, if the athlete has a maximum speed of
10 m/s, efforts involving 9 metres per second are less stressful. (Repetitions at 90% max speed rather
than repetitions at 100% max speed).
Athletes that only practice at “practice-speed” will never
reach their speed potential and may be at higher risk for a
hamstring strain when they are required to sprint at maximal
capabilities, especially for repeated efforts.
SPEED
ENDURANCE
Speed-endurance is the ability to prolong the amount of time where a near
maximal speed can be maintained.
During activity such as this, accumulation of blood lactate disturbs the excitation-
contraction coupling and cross-bridge formation.
Keeping great form, staying relaxed and maintenance of hip height at the back end
of the race is key.
Speed Endurance in field sports is rare e.g. Running an extended distance (70m +)
towards a try line without being tackled.
REPEAT SPRINT ABILITY
(RSA)
Repeat Sprint Ability (RSA) describes the ability of an athlete to recover and maintain maximal effort during
subsequent sprints.
It is often trained and measured via high-intensity sprints, interspersed with brief recovery bouts (≤30 seconds).
GUIDELINES
Intensity 95 – 100%
Distance per rep 10 – 40m
Volume Less than 300m total
Work to Rest Ratio 1:5 -10
Frequency 1-2 x a week
CHANGE OF
DIRECTION (COD)
COD = the ability to rapidly change direction while maintaining good body mechanics / coordination.
However
Multi-directional movement patterns require body control, balance and coordination and have less linear speed
qualities.
Movements Drills
Deceleration & Braking Pro-Agility
Shuffles, Jockeying T-Drill
Open Hip Step 5-0-5
Crossover Step 5-5-10
Cutting – Plant Step Zig Zag Drills
OPEN HIP DRIVE
CROSS OVER STEP
REACTIVE 5-0-5
AGILITY SQUARE
AGILITY
TRAINING
‘A rapid whole-body movement with change of velocity or direction in response to a stimulus’.
The reactive component of agility is what distinguishes it from change of direction speed.
Reactive components include visual processing, timing, perception, reaction time, anticipation,
situational experience, pattern recognition.
1 2 3
Closed Pre-planned drills Add Reaction to drills: Mirror and Add Chaos & Decision Making
(COD) : Master fundamental Shadow drills, COD on reaction to drills: 1v1, 2v2, Small sided
movement patterns: to visual or auditory stimulus. games etc.
Deceleration, shuffle, backpedal,
crossover step, open hip step,
cutting plant step etc.
COACHING SPEED:
THE 3 Ps
Should include technique assessment of acceleration, transition and sprint (depending on distance covered).
.
LINEAR SPEED TEST:
40M SPRINT
COD speed is useful in performance testing to determine areas for physical / technical improvement.
Warm up.
Acceleration efforts.
COD drills.
Agility drills.
Max velocity effort/s.