Download - Developing Quickness
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.