All fitness components depend on body composition to some extent, and the demands of many sports require that athletes maintain standard levels of body composition.
CoachesExercise ScienceTesting and Evaluationbody compositionweight classesbody fatlean body mass
This book excerpt is from Developing Agility and Quickness, Second Edition and goes over change of direction drills to help with speed and power development as well as an athletes cognitive and decision making skills.
CoachesProgram designChange of DirectionSpeedAgility
Acceleration and maximal velocity are two factors that are key for any position in football and can determine success in many situations out on the field. This article will review several aspects of sprint mechanics and training to enhance linear (straight-ahead) speed for football players.
Acceleration is the rate of change in velocity, so this phase of sprinting is critical for changing directions as rapidly and efficiently as possible. Optimal technique for linear sprinting in the acceleration phase involves four factors that maximize stride length and frequency.
CoachesExercise ScienceExercise Techniquespeedagilitystrength and conditioning
This article discusses the influence of lower-body power on soccer performance in collegiate female soccer players. It also covers testing for muscular power qualities, different training modalities to use, and sample training programs as examples.
This article applies LTAD principles to guide the process of generating an athletic profile (part 1) and sample program design (part 2) for a middle school athlete and a high school athlete.
CoachesProgram designLTADYouth AthleteYouth Training GuidelinesAthletic Developmenths-coaching
Considering that the term "power" typically evokes the perception of high-speed movement, many people are inclined to take the tenets of specificity to literally mean “train fast, be fast.” However, to create the most strategic methods of training and adaptation, it is vital to compartmentalize power into the primary testable and trainable elements.
CoachesExercise ScienceTesting and Evaluationpowerpower trainingstrength and conditioning