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    Train Fast!

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    By on Vern Gambetta's Blog
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    There is an excellent feature article in today’s New York Times magazine section on University of Oregon Football called Speed Freak Football by Michael Sokolove. It got me thinking of training for and at “game speed” in a myriad of sports. In many ways it is quite simple – to play fast you have to train fast. Train for the game you play with an understanding that in most cases the games are barely controlled competitive fury. To train fast demands a focus on meaningful movement in training, no fluff, and no extraneous work. You must train at a high threshold intensity, close to the edge, in essence pushing the envelope. My colleague Dr Jack Blatherwick, conditioning coach of the 1980 “Miracle” US Hockey team calls it “over speed”, constantly trying to play faster. Their play epitomized this approach. There is no question that in this approach you will make errors, but practice is working to eliminate errors while learning to play at higher speeds. Coaches always will verbalize that speed wins and then train the opposite. Train the way you want to play. It will challenge your creativity as you constantly seek new ways to push the envelope.

    Vern Gambetta

    Vern Gambetta

    Director at Gambetta Sports Training Systems
    Vern is the Director of Gambetta Sports Training Systems. He has been the a conditioning coach for several MLS teams as well as the conditioning consultant to the US Men's World Cup Soccer team. Vern is the former Director of Conditioning for the Chicago White Sox and New York Mets. He has lectured and conducted clinics in Canada, Japan, Australia and Europe and has authored six books and over one hundred articles related to coaching and sport performance in a variety of sports. He has a BA in teaching with a coaching minor and an MA in Education with an emphasis in physical education from Stanford University.
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