Principles of Building Speed & Agility

Principles of
Building Speed
& Agility
Colton Kaiser, MA, CSCS, NASM-PES

Overview
• Foundational Requirements
• Body Composition
• Strength
• Mobility
• Linear Speed
• Acceleration
• Absolute Speed
• Multidirectional Speed
• Change of Direction
• Agility

Body
Composition
• Speed is made in the kitchen
• Body fat is a weight vest weighing you down at
all times
• Muscle allows for increased potential of force
production and explosiveness
• Proper nutrition is vital for lean muscle
mass/low body fat

Position
Power
Pattern
(EXOS, 2016)
Strength qualities
Coordination
Mobility/Stability
3 P’s

Newton’s Second Law of Motion
F = M x A

Acceleration depends on the object’s mass
(weight) and the net force acting on the
object (strength)
A = F / M

”For every action, there is an
equal but opposite reaction”
Newton’s Third Law of Motion

Importance of Strength
• Increased size of muscle fibers = increased potential for
strength (force)
• Increased force production = increased ability to drive
more force into the ground
• Increased force = increased potential to create that force
in a fast/explosive manner
• Increased power, speed, and application of force =
increased ability to move faster and more explosively
• More force produced faster, with good muscle/tendon
elasticity, in the correct vectors (directions) = More speed

(ScienceForSport.com, 2016)
https://www.scienceforsport.com/force-
velocity-curve/

Speed vs. Velocity
• Speed = Distance / Time
• Velocity = (Distance / Time) + Direction

Importance of Mobility
• Allows for increased range of motion in disadvantageous positions
• Helps with decreasing the risk of non-contact injuries
• The body can get in weird positions during sport. More strength in those
unusual positions can decrease the risk of the position ending with an injury
• Allows the body to get in positions that are most optimal for producing speed
(this is relative to the individual)
• Allows for the ability to get in mechanically advantageous positions during
technical work and while in play

Speed = Stride Length x Stride
Frequency

Importance of Linear Speed
• Important to train for scenarios that are rare that may come up in games but not
practice
• Linear speed almost always occurs after changing direction
• Great opportunity for training strength, power, core strength, hamstring strength,
ankle strength, elasticity, central nervous system, injury prevention, and more
• Every step offers a different training effect
• Take-away: Linear sprinting is extremely important for all athletes and is not one-
dimensional!!

Defining Acceleration
• Zone = 0-20 yards
• After 20 yards, posture, position, and pattern start to transfer into absolute
speed mechanics
• 0-10 yards
• 1-6+ contacts
• 10-20 yards
• 7-11+ contacts
• Start: Contacts 1-3
• Transition: Contacts 4-11
(EXOS, 2014)

Properties of Acceleration
• Much longer ground contact time (GCT)
• Starting at 0 m/s means need to maximize time on the ground
• More time on the ground allows more force to be generated
• Less time on the ground = less capacity to generate force
• Piston-like leg action
• Explosive knee drive
• Foot drives down and back
• Big arm action
• Highest/most rapid increase in velocity
• Half of maximal velocity is achieved by the end of the second step!
• Up to 85% of max velocity can be reached in the first 20 yards (NSCA.com, 2017)
• Largely driven by horizontal force

Acceleration: Technical Considerations
• Technical goal #1
• Synchronize explosive arm/leg action
• Piston-like action
• Low leg swing
• Technical goal #2
• Optimize direction of force to maximize horizontal velocity
(EXOS, 2014)

Technical Considerations Cont.
(Mann, 2018)
• Toe-off to Contact
• Most applicable to every sport involving acceleration
• Back knee needs about 40 degrees of bend
• Should NOT be fully extended
• Should not have a massive bend either
• Front knee should be <90 degrees
• Puts the foot in a good position to drive under or
behind center of mass instead of in front
• Toe pointed up (dorsiflexion)
• Synchronize back leg knee drive and driving front leg
back
• No cyclical action until after 3rd step

Practical Goals
• #1: Generate as much horizontal force as
possible in minimal time while maximizing
technique
• #2: Optimize horizontal force in excess of
necessary vertical force
(EXOS, 2014)

Speed Coaching Pyramid
(EXOS, 2014)
Leg Action (Front side/Back side)
Posture
Arm Action

Defining
Absolute
Speed
• Beyond 20 yd
• >80% max speed
• Contacts 12-20+
• Technique has changed
• Upright posture
• Cyclical leg action
• Very short GCT
(EXOS, 2014)

(StrengthPowerSpeed.com, 2014)

Importance of Absolute Speed
• Happens extremely rarely in practice scenarios, so needs to be trained outside of this to prepare for rare
occasion in competition
• No better way to train the CNS
• Even in sports where max velocity isn’t common, absolute speed mechanics and posture still happen
frequently
• Ex.: Chasing, catching & dribbling a basketball
• No better way to train hamstring deceleration capacity and decrease risk of hamstring injury
• Usual strengthening exercises can reach only 18 to 75% of the electromyographic activity reached by hamstrings during sprinting
(Edouard et. al., 2019)
• Core strength, ankle/foot strength, muscle/tendon elasticity & stiffness
• Speed reserve
• Creates a higher capacity to perform for longer durations at sub-maximal capacities (Hansen, 2016)
• The adaptations achieved through max velocity sprinting cannot be achieved by ANY other method of training
• GCTs below 1/10th of a second with extremely high force production are unique to sprinting (Hansen, 2016)
• No other method of training trains all of the aforementioned qualities simultaneously

Then Why Do So Many Hamstring Injuries
Happen During Sprinting?

Then Why Do So Many Hamstring Injuries
Happen During Sprinting?
1. “Screening procedures are mainly focused on only one isolated risk factor (i.e. strength)”
2. “Hamstring muscle strength evaluations are mainly based on isolated, single joint, low-velocity,
non-sprint specific range of motion and torque evaluations “
3. “Are not reliable enough in predicting HMIs”
4. ”Prevention programmes were implemented at a group level without taking into account the
individual characteristics and deficiencies”
5. “Showed low compliance”
6. “Were mainly focused only on hamstring muscles strengthening using exercises which inevitably
fall short in stimulating all the demands placed on the muscle group in sprinting cyclic”

Properties of Absolute Speed
• Higher vertical forces
• Lower GCT
• Strike under or slightly in front of center of mass (CoM)
• Sustaining momentum becomes priority
• Vertical & horizontal forces have zeroed each other out
• Foot needs to come off the ground as quickly as possible to prevent braking
forces

Absolute
Speed:
Technical
Considerations
(EXOS, 2014)
• Synchronize front/backside leg
action w/ arm action to maximize
hip flexion in front leg
Technical goal #1:
• Contact ground as close to CoM as
possible to minimize braking forces
and maximize vertical force
Technical goal #2:

Practical
Goals
#1: Maximize flight time while
minimizing time on the ground
#2: Maintain solid knee drive while
striking foot as close to CoM as
possible
#3: Tall, strong posture. Minimize over-
rotating. Arms and legs move around
the torso, not the other way around

Importance of Multidirectional Speed

Importance of Multidirectional Speed
• The vast majority of sports are not played linearly
• Being able to react and move quickly in multiple planes is key to any
field or court sport
• Critical for decreasing risk of injury
• Most non-contact injuries occur during deceleration
• Good multidirectional speed allows for the ability to use linear speed
• Multidirectional speed work puts every movement skill together

Change of Direction VS Agility

Defining
Change of
Direction
• Ability to decelerate and reaccelerate in
another direction
• In training, it is in a closed/non-reactive
environment
• Meant to teach good decel-accel mechanics and
develop physical qualities
• Develop capacity to get into good positions
during agility work/competition
• Consists of linear (FWD & BKWD), lateral, and
rotational elements

Change of Direction:
Technical Considerations
• Prepare to go in opposite
direction early
• Appropriate shifts in center
of mass
• Proper shin/joint angles
• Ability to disassociate hips
from torso
• Load inside leg
• Don’t “pop-up” out of a cut

Practical Goals
• #1: Increase capacity to get into advantageous
positions and angles
• #2: Build high speed & more specific
deceleration-reacceleration capabilities
• #3: Get the body used to decelerating at high
velocities to reduce risk of non-contact injury

Speed Coaching Pyramid
(EXOS, 2014)
Leg Action
Inside vs. Outside
Posture
CoM vs. Base
Arm Action
Rotation Balance

Importance of Agility
• Sport is completely reactive
• While practice does consist of agility work, it is important to use movement skills taught
in a reactive but controlled environment
• Allows the athlete to self-organize and figure out his/her “movement puzzle”. Allows
them to find their own “solution” to the ”movement problem”
• Athletes aren’t thinking of their mechanics when they’re playing
• Allows for true max-effort work
• Allows a performance coach to watch movement closely, and identify specific areas of
improvement and qualities needed in a reactive scenario where an athlete can no longer
“hide it”
• Jumping directly into training camps or practice after coming off an off-season having
gone very long without any work specific to your sport/position is a recipe for injury

Importance of Agility Cont.
• It has been shown that results from change of direction tests correlate extremely
closely to each other, but not to agility tests (Gabbett, Kelly, & Sheppard, 2008)
• Conclusion: CoD skills do NOT transfer to agility
• Results of change of direction tests have been shown NOT to be indicative of elite vs.
sub-elite players. Results of agility tests HAVE been! (Gabbett, Kelly, & Sheppard, 2008)
• Conclusion: An athlete can be great at CoD drills, but not perform well in their
sport
• Sport consists of reacting with the environment
• Athletes are presented with a wide range of stimuli and movement choices in any
given moment. There is a constant dynamic and changing interaction with the
environment at all times
• Skill acquisition comes from reacting with the environment, not mentally learning how
to move the body (Mcintyre et. al., 2018)

Creating & Progressing Agility Drills
(Mcintyre et. al., 2018)
Can create time constraints, add an object(s), create space constraints, add and
increase or decrease number of opponents, and anything else to progress over time
and/or make drills more specific to the sport/position

Ways to Train Agility
Reactive
drills
Small/large
sided games
Competitions Races

Conclusion
• Body composition is paramount for being as fast as possible
• Strength is the foundation for speed to be built upon
• A good speed/agility program should be all-encompassing and take into
consideration the specific demands of sport
• Linear speed including acceleration & absolute speed should not be neglected
• Change of direction & agility work should both be incorporated in a speed/agility
program. With a high emphasis on proper progressions & regressions
• A speed/agility program needs to be planned and periodized appropriately for
highest chance of skill acquisition, transfer to sport, and injury risk reduction

References
Athletes’ Performance Inc. (2014). EXOS performance specialist certification [PowerPoint slides].
Retrieved from http://www.exoslearn.ideafit.com.
Edouard, P., Guex, K., Lahti, J., Mendiguchia, J., Morin, J.-B., & Samozino, P. (2019). Sprinting: a potential
vaccine for hamstring injury? Sport Performance and Science Reports, 1-2.
Francis, C. (2002). CharlieFrancis.com presents "the classics".
Gabbett, T. J., Kelly, J. N., & Sheppard, J. M. (2008). Speed, change of direction speed, and reactive
agility of rugby league players. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 22(1), 174–
181.
Hansen, D. M. (2014, June 4). Applying the "high-low" training concept to American football. Retrieved
from http://www.strengthpowerspeed.com/high-low-training-football/
Hansen, D. M. (2016, August 10). Sprint training: The complete training system. Retrieved from
http://www.strengthpowerspeed.com/the-complete-system/
Mann, R. (2018). The mechanics of sprinting and hurdling. CreateSpace
Mcintyre, F., Myszka, S., Specos, C., & Spiteri, T. (2018). Cognitive training for agility: The integration
between perception and action. Strength and Conditioning Journal, 40(1), 39–46.
Select, K. (2017, June 1). Acceleration vs. maximum speed. Retrieved from
https://www.nsca.com/education/articles/kinetic-select/acceleration-vs.-maximum-speed/

 Email: Colton.VigorGround@gmail.com
 Instagram: @coach_tonnage
 Twitter: @coach_tonnage
 LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/coltonkaiser/
 Facebook: www.facebook.com/coltonkaiser2
 Website: Colton-Kaiser.com

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