@keithjferrara: Training speed in-season is pa...

Training speed in-season is paramount to competitive success

- Acceleration
- Max Velocity
- Braking/Non-Linear

They all are necessary components that must be included in your training program.

Here's a breakdown I have used with 1000s of athletes to improve speed in-season

GENERAL

We dedicate 2-3 days to speed development depending on the game schedule:

Day 1 - Acceleration
Day 2 - Max Velocity
Day 3 - Braking/Non-Linear

Accel & max velocity take priority since there is a lot of braking & change of direction that takes place during competition.

The residual for training speed isn't that long.

Speed carries over 2-8 days depending on the athlete & the stimulus.

You must train speed in-season.

Sprinting is practice is not enough stimulus to create adaptation in the athlete.

RESULTS

Using the methods outlined below we saw the following changes in-season with our volleyball program (team average):

Peak Force (n/kg): 6.73 --> 6.86
Peak Power (w/kg): 12.31 --> 12.68
Peak Velocity (m/s): 7.2 (16.11 mph) --> 7.49 (16.85 mph)

Most importantly

We were our fastest entering the conference tournament & NCAAs

Day 1 - Acceleration

There are a lot of training modalities that affect acceleration:

- Unresisted sprints
- Resisted Sprints
- MB Throws
- Bounds
- Jumps
- Squats
- Olympic Lifts

All must be present to holistically develop acceleration in-season.

Specifically for sprints, we group our athletes into 3 groups based on their Force-Velocity Profile:

1) Force
2) Power
3) Velocity

This will affect load prescription for our resisted sprints:

Force Need = Heavy Loads (50% VDEC)
Power Need = Moderate Loads (30% VDEC)
Velocity Need = Light Loads (10% VDEC)

Using this information we use contrast sprints as our primary way to build acceleration.

Resisted sprints train the qualities of acceleration like force & power.

Unresisted sprints train the skill of acceleration while developing velocity.

2-4 sets of contrast sprints while timing 30m sprints to track progress all season.

Day 2 - Max Velocity

Ever since I started implementing sprints in-season we have seen ZERO incidence of pulls & tears of the lower body.

I know a big reason is exposing our athletes to max velocity work in-season.

Exposing athletes to high speeds is CRITICAL to staying healthy

This is why I train max velocity with ALL teams in-season:

✅ High motor unit recruitment
✅ Exposes hamstrings to high speeds
✅ High levels of force per leg (2-5x/bodyweight)

Max velocity is a stimulus that can not be matched in the weight room so take time training it.

Build-ups are a staple for us in our max velocity work

25m Run Into a 10-20m Fly

It allows the athletes to progressively get to top speed comfortably

And reach speeds that may not reach during acceleration.

We run a couple of these on max velocity days and time every rep.

Day 3 - Braking/Non-Linear

If we don't have time to dedicate these on a specific day

We will build this into our pre-sprint period.

There are several movements we focus on:

- Shuffle
- Crossover Run
- Backpedal
- Hip Flip

Exposing the athlete to these movements will build resiliency.

We make sure on these days to emphasize braking drills.

The forces of braking are extremely high & create a training stimulus for the athletes they might not reach otherwise.

1) Sprint + Decel
2) Shuffle + Decel
3) Sprint + Decel + Movement

All of these tools help develop better change of direction for competition.

If you are looking to build speed in-season

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