Footspeed/quickness

[SoftballDad]

After reading the thread on the reaction ball, I searched the internet for sales, etc. Some of those sites triggered my memory that my daughter could use assistance with her footspeed and quickness over the winter.

At the beginning of last summer, she moved her legs fast but didn't really go anywhere. We enrolled her in a track camp and the coaches first worked with her on lengthening her stride. This assistance alone made a big difference in her time down the baseline.

What types of materials (books videos) or tools have you found to be helpful to develop footspeed?

Do things like the bands tied to the ankles really help?

The reaction ball looks like it would help with her hand/eye coordination and quickness...as well as being a fun activity that we could enjoy together or by her and her friends.

TIA,
Dave

[Jake Patterson]

After reading the thread on the reaction ball, I searched the internet for sales, etc. Some of those sites triggered my memory that my daughter could use assistance with her footspeed and quickness over the winter.

At the beginning of last summer, she moved her legs fast but didn't really go anywhere. We enrolled her in a track camp and the coaches first worked with her on lengthening her stride. This assistance alone made a big difference in her time down the baseline.

What types of materials (books videos) or tools have you found to be helpful to develop footspeed?

Do things like the bands tied to the ankles really help?

The reaction ball looks like it would help with her hand/eye coordination and quickness...as well as being a fun activity that we could enjoy together or by her and her friends.

TIA,
Dave

As you have already found speed and quickness are two different things...
For quickness I would use suicides, zigzags, sprints, etc. There is no silver bullet here. She will have to work hard. How old is she?

[TG Coach]

Sometimes the speed is a growth and coordination issue. My daughter grew quickly and had problems. We fixed her with speed camp. My son has been going through the same problem this season. He's been slower this year and looked awkward running. He's also had problems with O-S from rapid growth. Last week he said his knees didn't hurt anymore. This weekend our third base coach commented he rounded third like a rocket scoring from first on a double. Last month he would have been at third standing up. Sometimes it just takes time to outgrow the problems.

[Xavier&Trin...]

Jump rope, jump rope, then......, jump some more rope.

Im in my 30's and I started jumping rope again. My legs have gone back in time 10 years. I can dunk easily again, and feel much lighter on my feet.

[BallCoach06]

Our kids do a lot of dot drills. They are good for good quickness.

[Maxx]

I have some agility drills posted here: www.maxxtraining.com/agilities.htm.
I apologize that I don't have diagrams for all of the drills.

[SoftballDad]

As you have already found speed and quickness are two different things...
For quickness I would use suicides, zigzags, sprints, etc. There is no silver bullet here. She will have to work hard. How old is she?

She is 9 years old. I am aware from watching other kids, and remembering my own youth, that kids grow and learn coordination at different times. From a speed standpoint, she has some natural advantages (i.e., long legs), but she doesn't use them as well as she could.

She's got pretty good reaction to line drives, etc., but it wouldn't hurt her to work with the reaction ball a bit.

She's actually more pressing on these types of things than I am on her. She talks about wanting to work out, getting on the elliptical, etc. I'm not letting her touch weights, but she's doing things like hindu squats on her own.

It's kind of odd...I'm trying to keep her from being obsessive about the sport and she's gung-ho at the moment.

[Jake Patterson]

She is 9 years old. I am aware from watching other kids, and remembering my own youth, that kids grow and learn coordination at different times. From a speed standpoint, she has some natural advantages (i.e., long legs), but she doesn't use them as well as she could.

She's got pretty good reaction to line drives, etc., but it wouldn't hurt her to work with the reaction ball a bit.

She's actually more pressing on these types of things than I am on her. She talks about wanting to work out, getting on the elliptical, etc. I'm not letting her touch weights, but she's doing things like hindu squats on her own.

It's kind of odd...I'm trying to keep her from being obsessive about the sport and she's gung-ho at the moment.

I've coached girls basketball for nearly a decade... What I've found is their development process seems to vary wider than that of boys in that girl's who I felt would never have a chance at the game at 12 are now playing college and those who I felt were going to be great players fizzled out in HS.

[jima]

I don't know whether they have one in your area, but my son has been going to Velocity Sports Performance for two years. They concentrate on core and quickness. He has really improved...my point is that training for kids works...he started when he was 12 and is now 14.

[Stealth]

I don't know whether they have one in your area, but my son has been going to Velocity Sports Performance for two years. They concentrate on core and quickness. He has really improved...my point is that training for kids works...he started when he was 12 and is now 14.

I agree with the above. Velocity Sports is well worth it if you can afford it!

[metrotheme]

I worked for a program out here in our area. Alot of what I see with kids is that they don't have a mature running pattern (arm swing, stride length, etc). An agility ladder is really nice too.

[Jon Doyle]

Agility ladder is the best thing she can do hands down. However most do it incorrectly.

Here are a few quick tips...

-Be absolutely sure her eyes are looking up , not down, AT ALL TIMES.
-Most try to be light on feet and "tip toe" their way through the ladder (or any speed drill for that matter). Solid, hard ground foot contact is paramount to speed. The great ones do it naturally and it looks "light" but in fact a great deal of power is being placed into the ground and, of course, transferred back into the body, which excels the athlete to move faster.
-Maintain proper posture at all times. As soon as posture is lost so is speed and power.
-Run "through" the elbows, not the hands or shoulder. Most make this mistake and this causes a huge loss of energy and is extremely inefficient.
-Move from the hips, not the feet. Never try and generate speed or power from any extremity, rather focus on the center of the body, or the "core" as it's been popularized as.

The ladder is great because it's fun and does not seem like a training drill. By no means is it easy, but make it into a game and younger athletes love it.