[townguy]

townguy on August 29, 2009 at 12:58 am #16128

I have a high school football player that wants me to help him with his sprinting mechanics and overall speed. From what I understand when his team did testing a few weeks ago his 40 time was pretty slow and his sprinting form was very sloppy. I’ve agreed to help him and was looking for some input on how to approach working with him. Their season is just getting underway so I was thinking maybe doing 2 sessions per week. Probably working lots of various drills to stress proper running mechanics and some short sprints to work on acceleration. Maybe even a few light plyos. FYI, he is a receiver/defensive back.

[premium]

premium on August 29, 2009 at 1:01 am #88532

good idea

[star61]

star61 on August 30, 2009 at 3:54 am #88558

Along this line, what are the best drills to enforce proper mechanics for someone with poor running form?

[premium]

premium on August 30, 2009 at 4:34 am #88560

skips, wall running, hill running, cues, careful watching and critiquing, seated arm pumps

[Linas82]

Linas82 on August 30, 2009 at 3:37 pm #88579

Premium, what’s the point doing seated arm pumps?

I think first he needs to start at slower speeds when sprinting, when some mechanical issues will be fixed then move to faster speeds.

Main things should be watched when sprinting: 1.light on the feet, not slapping. If he is heavy on the feet so needs engage foot drills for at least 20min 3 times a week.
2. He should be running more through the hips, not knees. During touchdown not too much knee bend, during push-off full extention.If this is a problem then needs to strengthen posterior chain mainly with deadlifts, in addition glute ham raise could be added.