Speed by the Numbers for Alexandria Freedom players
Alexandria U14 Girls Soccer and Impact Fitness DC have formed a partnership for the Spring 10 season. Jenn will be the Assistant Coach of the Alexandria Freedom team.
This document was created to be a guide for the athletes, coaches, and parents about improving their speed, and endurance while decreasing the girls’ risk of injury.
Speed by the Numbers
4.5
Number of steps per second (stride rate of world class female sprinters)
5.0
Number of steps per second (stride rate of world class male sprinters)
4.2 - 4.3
Number of seconds it takes for the average MLB player to get from home to first
6.7 - 6.8
Number of seconds it takes for the average MLB baseball player to run a 60-yard dash
4.5
Number of seconds it takes for the average college wide receiver to run 40 yards
4.3
Number of seconds it took for the fastest wide receiver to run 40 yards at the 2009 NFL combine
“Regardless of the sport, there are only five ways to improve playing speed over short distances,” says George Dintiman and Bob Ward in Sports Speed (Human Kinetics):
- Improving starting ability and acceleration
- Increasing stride length
- Increasing the number of steps taken per second (stride rate)
- Improving speed endurance
- Improving sprinting form and technique.
Your speed potential lies in your genes. All of us have a range of speed that is built in genetically.
Improvement in these areas should focus on improving technique and the underlying variables.
Variables to increase speed:
1. Strength- the amount of force your muscles can produce.
2. Power is the ability to exert maximum force in the shortest period of time. It is the coordinated combination of both strength and speed of movement. You can’t be weak and fast.
3. Braking ability- eccentric muscle control. Eccentric loading (or eccentric exercises) are proven to increase fast twitch muscle fibers. Your body will only accelerate as fast as it can control deceleration.
SPORT SPECIFIC NEEDS: SOCCER
- Starting, accelerating, stopping, and cutting
- Stride rate
- Stride length
- Speed endurance
- Sprinting form
Soccer requires lots of starting and accelerating for distances of 15-25 yards. High-speed stopping is needed as a player approaches the ball or an opponent. Speed endurance prevents players from slowing down after multiple short sprints.
Alexandria Freedom’s plan for speed improvement:
1. Baseline testing! According to the goal sheets of the team members, improving speed is important to most of the players on the team.
2. Strength building! We will focus on building strength with concentric, eccentric, and isometric joint movements. Strength gains will transfer to more efficient deceleration, more power for acceleration, and strength for the repetitive movements of running.
This will be accomplished by circuit training with the team and on your own.
3. Mechanics of speed improvement: agility training, arm mechanics, and landing technique.
These drills are fun! I might be handing over my stop watch to participate.
4. Interval training for recovery. Soccer is all about recovery! Recovery has two meanings pertaining to soccer. Recovery refers to your body resting and recovering after bouts of exercise or games. It is a time period that the athlete is resting from training and sports so that their mind and body can restore from the stress that exercise puts onto the body. In this sense, recovery is a process. Check out the article about resting and recovery HERE
The second meaning refers to the body’s physiological adaptation after a period of intense work. This type of recovery can be measured by how well a player adapts or doesn’t adapt after the intense work. This adaptation occurs over seconds.
An example of this would be a defender playing one on one with her opponent, the opponent passes the ball, the opponent sprints to make herself open, the defender follows, and the result of this bout of intense work is the player’s recovery phase and preparation for the next intense bout of work. The Freedom can train to improve their fitness with strength and conditioning with the goal in mind to recover better than their opponent. If the girl that is being defended doesn’t recover as well as one of our teammates, then it doesn’t matter how much skill the opponent has, the next ball opportunity becomes a 60/40 in favor of us instead of a 50/50.
5. Plyometric training for power development. This type of training is intense and will be focused on comprehensively.
The connective tissues of the joints, ligaments and tendons will benefit greatly from plyometric training. The benefits will only occur if the fitness program is designed with these specific adaptations in mind. A great fallacy of fitness and sports conditioning is incorporating this type of training early in a program. The athlete must be ready to endure a high amount of physical stress, which includes the type of training in their fitness programs and the sport itself.
NON PRACTICE RUNNING ASSIGNMENT
Interval training combines short burst of high intensity running (sprint speed) with recovery intervals that are longer in duration. The ratio we will start with is 1 to 3 (minutes).
With a treadmill
Step by Step
- Choose a sprint speed. Remember your 40 second speed test? Imagine 80% of that intensity. The range on the treadmill equates to a range of 7.0 mph to 10.0 mph. This decision may require a trial and error process.
- Choose a recovery speed. This speed will be 50% of your speed test intensity. The range on the treadmill equates to a range of 5.0mph to 6.8mph
- Take time to get to know the treadmill before you begin and take the necessary safety precautions before you begin.
- Fill in your speed intervals and follow the table below for your 22 minute interval treadmill session
| Interval | Speed | Interval time | Total time at the end of the interval |
| Warm-up | 4.0 | 3 minutes | 3:00 minutes |
| Recovery | 3 | 7:00 | |
| Sprint | 1 | 8:00 | |
| Recovery | 3 | 11:00 | |
| Sprint | 1 | 12:00 | |
| Recovery | 3 | 15:00 | |
| Sprint | 1 | 16:00 | |
| Recovery | 3 | 19:00 | |
| Cool down | 4.0 | 3 | 22:00 |
Since you are already at the gym, or in workout mode at home: continue with some strength training or an endurance run on the treadmill.
Without a treadmill
This workout can certainly be completed without a treadmill. You will need a watch and a planned route for this workout.
Follow the directions above and be extra aware of your speed.
This workout should be done once a week until WAGS games begin in a few weeks. This workout should be done twice a week if you miss any practices.
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