Speed Drills For My Kid?

Question

Hi all;&#xD;&#xA;Got my kid (11 Yrs) in baseball last 4-5 years. He indicated recently he would like to go out for football with his firends and stuff. He is a BIG kid (tall and big boned) BUT NOT FAST.In fact he runs more like Frankenstein to tell you all the truth but he is VERY strong and can wack the hell out of a baseball and life heavy objects (although I will not get him into weight lifting at this young age). He is getting orthotics as Podiatrist said he needs them and it may actually help him with speed right away. I&#x27;ve told him basics like getting up on toes and swinging arms etc..but he is still slow. Weird thing is I did track for 4 years in high school but I always naturally kicked pretty fast and am not really the coaching type for this kind of thing.Sorry about my wordy preface BUT IN SHORT DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY SPEED DRILLS As I believe he will need even more in FOOTBALL than in baseball???Thanks in advance!

DiverRon · Answer

Hi all;&#xD;&#xA;Got my kid (11 Yrs) in baseball last 4-5 years. He indicated recently he would like to go out for football with his firends and stuff. He is a BIG kid (tall and big boned) BUT NOT FAST.In fact he runs more like Frankenstein to tell you all the truth but he is VERY strong and can wack the hell out of a baseball and life heavy objects (although I will not get him into weight lifting at this young age). He is getting orthotics as Podiatrist said he needs them and it may actually help him with speed right away. I&#x27;ve told him basics like getting up on toes and swinging arms etc..but he is still slow. Weird thing is I did track for 4 years in high school but I always naturally kicked pretty fast and am not really the coaching type for this kind of thing.Sorry about my wordy preface BUT IN SHORT DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY SPEED DRILLS As I believe he will need even more in FOOTBALL than in baseball???Thanks in advance!

wjeremy97 · Answer

i would work on his hips to begin with. you can't get that burst from your legs if you have weak hips.

Swinging Kettle bells, lunges, and squats are good starting points. next he'll work on his core and main leg muscles. that includes an ab workout 1-twice a week, calf raises, squats (again), leg curls, or any variation of that. Once he gets comfortable with it you can try to make a little harder but having him stand on a bosu ball and doing the same exercises but with lower weights. that will incorporate the hips, core and legs for balance.

a month after he's mastered all of that I would do wind sprints either with weights in his hand (10lbs max), ankle weights or even a parachute (dont bother buying one). any of those will do. Or what I like to do for my workout is place 3 pylons sort of in a triagle and just weaving in and out of them for 60 seconds, drop and 20 pushups.

wjeremy97 · Answer

oh crap he&#x27;s only 11..lol&#xD;&#xA;okay forget all of that. have him run laterally like a linebacker shadowing a qb...10 yards right, 10 yards left. make sure he bends at the hips and has his body straight

searchwarrant · Answer

Tennis develops tremendous reflexes and foot speed.

Henry-Lilly · Answer

Google Fartlek Training.  It works.

slikstiks99 · Answer

Ya can&#x27;t coach speed.It&#x27;d be pretty tuff to get him jazzed up enough to do what is necessary.Basketball-tennis might be the smoothest way to get things rolling in the right direction. Can u teach either of those?

Henry-Lilly · Answer

Sorry Buddy, but that is wrong. Why would anyone have a track coach if you can&#x27;t coach speed?   Again, google Fartlek Training.

Johnzimbo34 · Answer

Have him sprint downhill a bunch. This worked for me when I was in high school...buddy found an article about this somewhere so we tried it.

Spitfire15 · Answer

The orthotics won&#x27;t help with speed, they are way over-hyped as far as noticeable athletic changes from using them, take it from me - I&#x27;ve worn every kind because I have very flat feet and my knees are destroyed even though I&#x27;m only 22.Regardless, it will come down to if his heart is in football and if he has enough passion to fight through not only the physical battle that is playing football, but also being the &#x27;slow kid&#x27; on the team.  Talk to him and make sure he understands that he can still be a good player but can&#x27;t expect to be the fastest.  If he is 110% committed and really wants to be there it won&#x27;t matter that he is slow, his effort will make him stand out over most of the kids, but if he isn&#x27;t really into it, it won&#x27;t work out.  Football is tough sport, practice won&#x27;t be easy.  He needs to know that going in.

Spitfire15 · Answer

Or get him some skates - Hal Gill is a big slow clown and he&#x27;s making it in the NHL somehow.

koman22 · Answer

I did soccer for a number of years and both of my brothers play so I&#x27;m familiar with most of the running stuff. First, I would buy a speed ladder. I&#x27;ve seen them called many different names but they help. Secondly, plyometrics.

Henry-Lilly · Answer

Fartlek training can boost your running speed, endurance

Nicki Anderson
Chicago Daily Herald

Q. I have been running for about three years. I really love it and would like to begin improving my speed and distance. What are your recommendations for doing this safely and effectively?

A. One word: Fartlek.

Funny word, great training tool. Fartlek training -- the word means "speed-play" in Swedish -- has been around for about 50 years and is very effective in increasing a runner's speed and endurance.

Personally, I swear by this method, and generally bring it into my training a month or so before a race. Or, I'll integrate it into my regular training to improve my personal training time.

Basically, Fartlek involves varying your pace throughout your run. In other words, you integrate intense sprints into your workout, followed by a recovery run or slow jog slightly below your normal running pace.

For example, if you are a beginner, you might include five short sprints -- that's every 6 or 7 minutes -- over the duration of a 45-minute run. As your fitness level improves, you can increase it to 10 sprints. I usually run 4 to 5 minutes followed by a 30-second sprint.

You need to keep in mind that this is a pretty advanced form of training that requires discipline and running experience. You must be willing to really kick up the pace of your run for a brief period -- about 30 seconds -- in order to make the intervals work effectively.

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equalblueberrys · Answer

Tell him to take up ping pong.  Fat kids kill it in ping pong.  I&#x27;ve seen it.

FrozenTundra · Answer

Agreed with Henry-Lilly...have him job with intervals of sprints.

Years ago I ran on a treadmill for 30min, every 4min, I sprint for 1min. Just did it for cardio, but I went from an average speed runner to one of the fastest on my team.

Sharkysden · Answer

Tie some steaks to his back and release 3 pit bulls on him.

Spitfire15 · Answer

Or tie bottle rockets to his shoes and light them before each play.

Spitfire15 · Answer

It works --- rocket shoes

swahili · Answer

have him catch chickens...............worked for rocky

Spitfire15 · Answer

Trying to catch chickens is great. I think I might do that for just for entertainment, how much do live chickens cost? Dead, cooked, prepared ones go for like $8 so a live one must be like a dollar fifty, right?

potter36 · Answer

You can always refine or shave some time off his 40 but I am in agreement that you can&#x27;t teach speed.  On the bright side he is a young kid that is getting ready to start his growing.  I played minor league baseball and ran a 4.5 40yd.  I also train kids in footwork and hitting.  While I say that speed can&#x27;t be taught, doesn&#x27;t mean he can&#x27;t get faster through coordination and flexibility.  Flexibility being the most important.  Good luck to your kid and shoot me a message if you want some ideas for him.

phat03 · Answer

&#xD;&#xA;Love it&#xD;&#xA;Grease lightning...

John_Drama · Answer

put a steak on a stick and put him on a tread mill... that will help his speed

sgarhs1 · Answer

I have coached OL in football and many of them slow footed. One drill I did to work on their proper footwork and speed is a Speed Ladder Drill. Really helps with getting the right steps also helps with coordination.
This is a must to help their footwork.
Also if he is bigger a good 40 yd run is nice. But focus on sprints 5-10 yards.
Have him lay on his back, on a command he rolls gets up then and sprints 5 yards, and repeats.
There are plenty of drills that can be done to improve his speed. Also one thing that slows down players on their 40 is a slow start, have him work on take off speed.

I have plenty of more drills PM if you want

Hugh_Jorgan · Answer

Diver,I have been coaching youth football for a good many years, and my experience with kids of this age has been that few have the determination to do enough work (drills) on their own to make a real difference in quickness or foot speed. The biggest problem is that kids this age don&#x27;t want to put in the effort on their own when they could be playing xbox. Your kid is a bigger/stronger kid, so will be playing the line. The two most important aspects (as it relates to quickness) of playing the line are reaction time and the first step. If you wanted to work with your kid without turning him off due to it being difficult, get a football, put him in a 3 point stance and have him practice moving on ball movement, first step only. With 5 minutes work each day the kids reaction time will increase dramatically within one week. This is not hard for the boy, nor does it cut into his xbox time. Win/win

dl36 · Answer

I think the teaching how to run makes sense... the basic physiology and form...

speed and quickness are different things tho...

so speed is like a 100 meter dash

quickness is bursts and changes in direction

So speed you can train through strength...

some would say quickness is more genetic in nature... but footwork can help...

Speed Drills For My Kid?

Fartlek training can boost your running speed, endurance

Fartlek training can boost your running speed, endurance

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