How to Improve Agility Skills? Have you ever watched a baseball game and seen an outfielder’s feet become tangled up going back for a high pop fly? Or have you noticed how many times basketball players get crossed up when the person they are guarding makes a great double move? How about the football cornerback […]
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Jump training can be a big buzz word in athletic performance training world. In the past, coaches have actually asked me if I offer jump training, as if jumping is something new. Jumping, like all the other components of athleticism, is very important, but isn’t my primary focus in the initial teaching stages. The jump
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Below are 5 simple but effective tips that will greatly improve lateral speed and quickness. Tip #1 Improve your overall functional strength using functional exercises. Increasing leg strength will allow the muscles to apply more force into the ground. Improving functional strength which implies movement patterns that are used throughout sports, activities, and daily living
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Athletic Development Strength Energy System Multi-Directional Speed When we look at these three areas of athletic development; strength, energy system, and multi-directional speed we must understand that the first two easily follow a progressive overload method. It is about continually putting stress on the systems to increase results. We can’t blindly say this about multi-directional
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I am not going to write about all the various strength training programs and models. I am not going to write about how to use percentages and loading to gain maximal results. And, I am not going to write about which system is best. BUT, I am going to write about how to strength train
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Here is How to Have a Successful Sports Practice After years of coaching various sports teams, I have learned a thing or two when designing my practice plan. Here are a few effective tips to help plan out your team’s practice plans. Tip #1 Always alternate between “hard” days and “breakdown” days. In other words,
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Drill vs. Skill Is the DRILL focus still winning over the SKILL focus? Reactive agility might be falling prey… I am thrilled to see the shift in training over the past couple years toward a more reactive based training. Most of my training from day one has been based on making athletes react, decide, and
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Over the past few years, there has been a big push on “Primal” emphasis. Primal movement, Primal Foods, Primal Patterns, etc…. As I was thinking about, this Primal emphasis it dawned on me. Everything I have taught for the past 25 years has been an emphasis on allowing the “Primal” or original intuitive patterns of
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Let’s not think in only a linear direction. In basketball, tennis, and football most of the time the first step is on an angle or lateral. Many times the first step is backwards…think corner back or outfielder. We have to understand how the athlete moves best in multi-directions. Understand not all sports have the same
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Lee Taft’s Ground Breaking 2 will make you into the guru on coaching athletic speed. Not only will you be able to evaluate athletic skills such as; many forms of cutting, acceleration, deceleration/change of direction, jumping/landing, first step quickness in any direction, lateral speed mechanics, tactical quickness, retreating skills, and so much more, you will
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