Explosive Speed Is What You Need
August 27, 2008
Are you able to blow past your opponent like a screaming fast Forumla One car does an orange road cone? Can you imagine skinning someone like that? When was the last time you did it?
What speed looks like?
Very simply put, speed is your explosive ability to consistently outpace your competitor. Explosive speed is an essential element in football. Players with speed both on and off the ball wreck havoc on their competitors. It is both a physical and mental skill that can be enhanced with practice.
Players like Cristano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi exude speed. Off the ball they are lightening fast - they cut and they explode. On the ball they pierce defenses like daggers and only defenders with speed to match are able to shut them down. Players with excellent speed create lots of problems for defenses and lots of opportunities to score. In fact, defending such talent takes even greater speed and focus.
Increasing Your Speed
Developing your speed means having great body posture and a sharp muscular physique. Players that possess great speed have very strong quadriceps, hamstrings, calves and abdominal muscles (for balance, posture and strength). More importantly than muscle physique, players with speed have excellent movement mechanics.
Similar to developing your technical ball control skills, developing strong running movement mechanics takes consistent practice as well.
Ideas for Action:
1. Video tape yourself running, watch and understand the mechanics of your posture. Compare your running technique to that of a world class runner.
2. Read a book on running mechanics and watch specialized videos on the mechanics of running.
3. Practice speed visualization – imagine yourself running extremely fast and take mental notes on what you see in order to accomplish it in real life.
4. Stretch and do flexibility exercises regularly like performing Yoga.
5. Strengthen your abdominal region with a series of consistent abdominal workouts. This will help improve your posture.
As part of FFC’s series on, “24 Key Elements To Being A Great Footballer” we are discussing each key element in 24 successive blog posts every Monday, Wednesday & Friday over an 8 week period inside the respective Game, Body and Mind sections. For more information about the 24 Key Elements get our Players Assessment Kit here.
What ideas, input, experiences or resources can you share about speed?
