DEVELOPING QUICKNESS 

 

Coaches should evaluate athletes and then build the prequickness foundation. At all ages and levels,

introduce quickness drill technique by incorporating the movements into dynamic warm-ups and agility

drills. This affords athletes an opportunity to understand and rehearse the technique at casual speeds and

provides the coach an opportunity to detect strength or flexibility imbalances that hamper technique

execution. 

At this stage, the athlete's readiness for quickness training can be assessed with a simple athleticism test.

When the player performs a simple lateral stop-and-start drill, does he or she land evenly with both feet at

the same time? Is the footprint consistent, or does the athlete land at different places throughout the drill?

Athletes who fail this test must spend more time building their quickness foundation. 

Too often, ill-prepared athletes jump right into quick-feet drills. Some coaches and camps are overly

concerned about appearing to be on the leading edge by using the "latest" drills with their athletes.

Likewise, many personal trainers from a fitness background simply regurgitate memorized high-risk

plyometric drills because they lack the knowledge and expertise to implement holistic sport-specific athlete

development programs. 

For quickness readiness, athletes first need efficiency of movement, which includes coordination, dynamic

balance, agility, balanced flexibility, proprioception, and sports technique. They also require great leg and

core strength, a low center of gravity, and anaerobic conditioning before progressing to explosive quickness

drills. In building the prequickness foundation, balanced flexibility is the most critical. 

A hockey player, for example, whose left quadriceps and hip rotators are stronger and more flexible than

those on the right will tend to favor the left side. When backing up (gliding) on the ice, this player will have

more body weight on the left side. If the defenseman must suddenly cut laterally to the left to angle off an

opposing forward, a critical delay will occur before the defenseman can explode to the left because he or

she must first shift more weight to the right leg to be able to push off to the left. This brief delay results in

losing one-on-one battles. The problem is exacerbated by a tight right side, which limits stride length and

power. Less flexible right hip rotators are a weakness that will be exposed when the defenseman opens up

to turn to the right from a backward-to-forward skating position. The player will turn at a lower angle, thus

limiting defensive coverage options.