Learn about the fundamentals of Agility and even get a practical coaching guide to help you to develop engaging sessions.
By Will Ambler
3rd August, 2022 | 5 min read
Speed is one of the most vital dimensions of sports performance. Defined as the rate at which someone moves, speed is as critical to performance as technical and tactical mastery as well as strength and conditioning.
Without effective levels of speed, athletes can struggle to compete, so it is vital coaches and athletes focus on developing this aspect of sports performance.
“There are many components of speed which athletes can work on to improve their speed – linear, multidirectional, deceleration, acceleration, change of direction and agility, and top speed,” said leading strength and conditioning coach Andy Hyde during his Science for Sport presentation titled ‘Game Speed in Soccer’.
Linear
Linear speed efforts often happen while athletes are already in motion. In soccer, linear runs do not often exceed 20m and “45% of goal scoring scenarios are preceded by a linear sprint,” said Hyde.
Linear speed is measured by straight-line distance over a period of time.
“Elite soccer players average 17m per sprint, with forwards, wingers, and fullbacks performing more linear sprints compared to centre midfielders and centre-backs,” explained Hyde.
“To get started, wall drills are a great way to ensure athletes develop the right technique. Athletes should drive their knees forward with force and extend fully at the hip.”
Once the proper technique is adopted, shuttle runs can be included to work on linear acceleration to develop overall speed.
Multidirectional
True change of direction speed in invasion sports is rare – 77% of change of direction in soccer games are at an angle of less than 90°. Multidirectional speed is associated with curved angled sprints.
“Athletes who are faster in acceleration usually have greater entry velocities into change of directions, which can result in slower exit velocities. Therefore, it is important for coaches to develop athletes’ eccentric strength, eccentric rate of force, deceleration tasks, and efficient technique,” said Hyde.
To develop multidirectional speed, coaches can set up sprints that involve various changes of direction – cones and poles are helpful in forcing athletes to change direction.
Deceleration
Deceleration efforts are highly intense and should be managed and progressed carefully. According to research, high-intensity decelerations occur more often than high-intensity accelerations in field sports.
“Deceleration can be a very damaging skill and can lead to injuries if performed with incorrect technique. When in-season, be very careful when training deceleration skill development since athletes are exposed to lots of those movements during games,” explained Hyde.
YouTube is a great platform to create a needs analysis for your athletes and contains a wealth of content from elite athletes who demonstrate best practice (hips behind the feet to create breaking force), said the leading strength and conditioning coach.
Top speed
In games, athletes rarely reach their top speed – research shows athletes reach on average 92% of their top speed.
“Despite not reaching top speed, athletes engage in frequent but brief exposures towards 85-95% of maximum velocity. The goal here is to ‘bulletproof’ athletes’ hamstrings,” said Hyde.
“Coaches shouldn’t focus too much time on top speed mechanics drills, instead they should incorporate drills in the context of game-specific movements in which acceleration and decelerations are common.”
Each progression should last for four weeks to enable athletes to adapt to the drills, new stimuli thrown at them, and overload safely.
“Exercises and skill progressions should be the focus, not sets and reps. In order to achieve the right adaptations for improved speed, coaches should supplement their drills with power-based strength and conditioning exercises,” said Hyde.
Progression 1
Progression 2
Progression 3
Progression 4
Andy Hyde
Andy Hyde has a degree in Sport & Exercise Science and a Master’s in Strength and Conditioning from Leeds Beckett University. He is the co-founder of Aesthetic Athletes where he works with elite soccer players and the general population. Andy also works as a Strength and Conditioning coach in the NHS, rehabilitating ACL ruptures and is the Content Manager at Science for Sport, having previously worked as an Intern Strength and Conditioning Coach with Leeds United FC Ladies Academy.
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