Lee Taft – Speed Training – Sports Training

I am starting my third week of a new basketball season. It is paramount that work on the offensive and defensive systems that must be mastered. I also understand how important it is for my athlete to move better so I must train speed and quickness each practice. As all coaches know, there isn’t a lot of time to do both system development and athletic development equally at the beginning of the season, but there is a way.
One of the most important athletic skills I need my girls’ basketball team to be able to perform is cutting or simply change of direction. Read the rest…

I am often asked about my techniques for teaching speed and agility. People want to know why and when I use them. The first thing I tell them is they just occur. The plyo step, the hip turn, the directional step, and all the other multidirectional speed techniques are natural movements for athletes. In other words; what I have done is studied how athletes naturally move through instinct and innateness, and I have created a model of how to move. Even though athletes naturally do something like reposition their feet to accelerate or decelerate quickly, they still may make mistakes with upper body control.

Speed and agility done right is about making sure we marry the natural movements athletes have with effective and efficient body control to maximize speed and quickness.

Still to this day, and I am sure for many years to come, coaches still want to argue with me about the repositioning Read the rest…

Imagine walking in the woods on a cool fall day. You are enjoying the clean air and the vibrant colors of the leaves. As you continue on your path you begin to hear rustling in the distance. You don’t think much of it, but your heart rate does jump up a beat or two. As you continue on your walk the rustling gets louder and closer. You stop! Your eyes scan the area in front of you as you notice the bushes begin to shake violently. All of a sudden a wild animal darts out of the bush and speeds toward you. Without a thought you veer off the path as your heart jumps into your throat, and you avoid what seemed to be a scared frightened animal. With no planning or technical cuing you performed the quickest cut of your life.

Cutting: the act of changing directions with or without predetermining the angle. Read the rest…

Have you ever watched a baseball game and seen an outfielder’s feet become tangled up going back for a high pop fly? Or have you noticed how many times basketball players get crossed up when the person they are guarding makes a great double move? How about the football cornerback or linebacker trying to move backwards while covering a quick receiver or running back out of the backfield- one great move and they are thrown off balance.

Retreating, or going backwards (giving ground), can be a tricky skill if not practiced often. The reasons are the athlete doesn’t have vision of each step, and frankly it is not a common practice. Ever watch a little child when they first learn how to walk backwards? It is like a balancing act. The body is not designed to move backwards naturally. We have to create ways in which backwards movement is strategically natural.

Here are some of the ways athletes move backwards: Read the rest…

Let me first state that not everyone has the make up to be a risk taker. Some people are very comfortable being conservative and letting time take its course. On the other hand there are people, more like me, who like to take advantage of opportunities and build more quickly.

I have always been the type that sees an opportunity and moves more quickly on it than most. It is the part of me that doesn’t like to stand still. The main reason I am able to take risks in business is because I am not afraid to fail. This is a critical mindset of many successful people. You can’t be afraid to fail. You certainly don’t want to like failing or plan to fail, but don’t let failure be the reason you never get out of your comfort zone. You must calculate risk and determine if the risk is greater than the reward. If it isn’t then don’t take the risk unless you have a lot of room for error.

Read the rest…