These days we hear a lot of reports on how much time kids spend on their devices and one of the problems with that is that it takes away time spent playing outside. That’s time lost on running, jumping, climbing etc all of which helps develop a child’s all round athleticism and movement skills.
The upshot being, that with less unstructured play / learning we need to spend more time coaching them on how well they move.
How well they sprint is one of those areas that can be coached from a young age (ideally between the ages of 9-12) – so lets take the first step – literally.
Agility ladders are great for teaching quick feet and being able to control your body-weight better when changing direction but does it make you more explosive??
No is the answer.
True, controlling your body-weight and your centre of gravity is a key component of speed when cutting / side stepping / changing direction but small quick steps do not provide power.
Small quick steps from a standing sprint start provide too much up and down motion and create an unstable base of support. A longer step allows a more forward and up drive and allows more power to be gleaned from the drive leg.
The technique of The Rear-Foot Foot Drag allows the front leg time provide much more forward propulsion and a quicker transition to full speed.
The goal behind this technique / drill is to learn to stay on the lead leg for longer and bring the rear foot forward slower.
Done facing a wall as shown below teaches the player to drive off the front leg so that they drive forward and up – not just up!!
Aim to keep the rear foot toes on the ground until they reach the heel of the forward foot and then drive the knee up.
Check out the first 2 – 3 mins of this video for a good demo of how well the foot drag