Velocity training?

GEROGIA PRIDE,

ACK 27 OFFERS SOME SOUND ADVICE. There are so many unethical folks out there today who charge ridiculous fees to teach their special area of expertise. I know absolutely nothing about the firm mentioned, but do know that in the last 20 years or so omy 42 years on field coaching, these operations
come and go. If you have a good track coach, he probably would be willing to help your son for free. I just hate to see folks get ripped off. There are only so many things about speed enhancement that an athlete really needs to know, one of which is fact not fiction: speed is very closely associated with genetic factors derived from your gene pool and they are the primary factors in just how fast you will ever be!!! Technique training, etc. certainly will help SOMEWHAT, but why pay through the nose for some trumped up THEORY??? THe main thing you need to know that will never change is that speed is dictated by STRIDE LENGTH AND STRIDE FREQUENCY and the muscles that drive these two factors are your GLUTES. To enhance the performance of these two largest muscles in the human body, you will find nothing better than SQUATTING in the weight room!!! All the modern theory, all the mechanical enhancements, etc. will never change that. A good track coach will work on your boys streamlining of his body to better facilitate his "knifeing" through the air resistance ( the air is what holds anyone back ) and similar points of staying low when he breaks out of his stance in order to avoid major air resistance, etc. and like I say, it costs you nothing usually. Best of luck to your son.

Coach Easton-TIGER ONE

GEORGIA PRIDE,

IF YOU HAVE A GOOD STRENGTH COACH, WHO KNOWS HOW TO WRAP THE MAJOR JOINTS (KNEES, SHOULDERS, ELBOWS, ETC.) 13 YEARS OF AGE IS CERTAINLY NOT TO YOUNG TO GET STARTED IN THE WEIGHT ROOM! The sooner he starts to develope his musclature, the better in my book!
Just make sure he is getting sound coaching about PROPER TECHNIQUE for the various lifts he will be learning, to ALWAYS HAVE A SPOTTER WITH HIM TO AVOID ANY ACCIDENTS, TO WORK WITH THE PROPER AMOUNT OF WEIGHT FOR EACH LIFT. As a football coach, I am always PRIMARILY INTERESTED IN THE THREE BASIC LIFTS; 1. BENCH PRESS 2. SQUATS 3. POWER CLEAN However a well rounded regimen including all the lifts is, of course, very beneficial. It is always good to have a workout partner that will push your boy to do his dead level best at all times ( it is that last rep that really benefits him).

Coach Easton-TIGER ONE

Georgiapride,

I will echo what many of the others have said in that at 13, getting stronger will be the highest priority for getting faster. Now, there used to be a guy named Rich Gray, who worked at one of the Velocity Centers in Atlanta, but I don't think he is there anymore. Rich is a very knowledgable coach who understands what is going on. You can try to find him (assuming you are in Georgia), but like I said, I don't believe he is there any longer.

Now, having worked as a strength coach privately for 3 years (I am now in a school system), I can honestly say that a great deal of your "athletic enhancement professionals" are mediocre PE teachers who talk using big words in an attempt to 'woo' parents and sound intelligent. Of course, they talk about working on sprinting technique, but I will be honest...a 13 year old doesn't have the proper strength in his hamstrings to perfect sprinting technique anyway. What I mean is this...in order to perfect sprinting technique, one of the keys is to get full extension of the hips on the leg that is in contact with the ground. Watch a professional sprinter run and you will see this. Watch a novice sprinter run and you will not. Now, you can teach this until you are blue in the face, but if adequate strength is not developed in the hamstrings and glutes, the athlete will never be able to get full extension without running funny and uncoordinated.

So basically, the only real sprinting technique you can teach a young 13 year old is the proper start...(which will also eventually require full extension of the ground leg as well). But the drills you should use can be performed in one on one sessions with you and your son on any field or flat surface.

- push up start drills
- mountain climber start drills
- jump back start drills

All of these drills emphasize coming out of a stance in a forward lean. Coach Easton mentioned how many novice runners will pop up at the start is this is SPOT ON correct. Teach him now to stay low coming up and out of his stance. Even though full extension of the leg will probably not be possible at this time, teaching him to stay low will be very important.

As the others said, STRENGTH is priority number 1. Of course, to achieve a high amount of strength, technique has to be mastered first.

It is wise to start with bodyweight calisthenics to teach him to control his own body and develop coordination. You can also perform light strength training exercises using bands, dumbells, sand bags, etc. If you are going to perform barbell exercises, use light weight and go with several sets of low reps (2-5) in order to develop proper coordination and technique of the major lifts. For example, perform the Deadlift for 10 sets of 3 reps. The reason for this is because the 1st 3-5 reps are usually good, with form beginning to get worse around the 6th rep and beyond. Rather than teaching 5 good reps and 5 bad reps (or much worse 2 or 3 good reps and 7 or 8 bad reps), you will be teaching the good motor habits and eliminating MOST of the bad ones, as long as sound lifting technique is taught and performed for each rep.

I will be happy to discuss this topic more, if you are interested.

The problem with the athletic enhancement centers is they are pressured to get results quick, because they are receiveing "buckoos" of money each month to train your kids. Parents want to see action and results. Watching their son do countless sets of low reps on the deadlift or doing severals bouts of bodyweight calisthenics does not make parents happy, knowing they are paying a 1/4 of a month's salary to watch their son "play". So these athletic centers usually go straight to the big stuff, like Cleans and of course, their bread and butter, sprint technique, even though this is not optimal for proper athletic development.

I'm not slamming these Centers as there are some knowledgeable coaches working at them. But as I said before, they are becoming a dime a dozen and many times you find they know nothing more than the average PE coach.

My advice to you is to research strength training methods and sprint training methods for young athletes. Then research the facility you are interested in and find out if what they do coincides with what you learned. The best resources for learning about sprint training is from Charlie Francis. You can find out several facts at www.charliefrancis.com.

Hope this helps some and if I can be of further assistance, please don't hesitate to ask!

Have a blessed day,

Coach Hale

GEORGIA PRIDE,

DO YOURSELF A FAVOR FOR YOUR BOYS SAKE AND STAY IN TOUCH WITH COACH HALE. HE IS A GOOD CHRISTIAN MAN AND HAS ONLY THE ATHLETES WELFARE AT HEART. HE IS AN ECCELENT STRENGTH COACH AND HAD CIRCUMSTANCES BEEN DIFFERENT I WOULD HAVE OFFERED HIM A JOB WITH MY PROFESSIONAL MINOR LEAGUE FOOTBALL TEAM. HE DOES NOT DEAL IN THEORY, ONLY PROVEN METHODS THAT SHOW SOLID RESULTS!!!

Coach Easton-TIGER ONE

Coach Easton,

WOW....I don't know what to say...THANK YOU SO MUCH for the kind words. I can't explain just how humbled I am after reading that.

Of course, we ALL KNOW WHO "THE MAN" AROUND HERE IS!!!! THE TIME AND KNOWLEDGE YOU HAVE SHARED ON THIS BOARD HAS BEEN INVALUABLE TO ME (and that is a HUGE understatement!!). I must say, if the opportunity to work under you had come around, I WOULD HAVE JUMPED ON IT IN A HEARTBEAT...IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A GREAT HONOR TO HAVE COACHED AND LEARNED FROM ONE OF THE BEST THERE IS AT ANY LEVEL!!!

Georgia Pride...I don't know, right now it is down right FREEZING here in Georgia. I am ready for the hot humid days of summer....COLD WEATHER IS JUST PAINFUL!!! Let me know if I can help out in any way, bud!

Coach try 1 digit low's! I'll take that 23 as a low all night long up here, and thank you Jim I will be in touch my friend.