Linear Speed Training: A March, A Skip, A Run

In order improve speed and quickness, it is imperative that athletes have the proper mechanics. They can have all of the flexibility, strength and natural ability in the world, but without the proper mechanics, they will not be able to maximize their athletic potential and could have a greater risk for injury.

We like to make the analogy to our kids that they need to learn how walk before they can run. However in this case, I am telling them they have to learn “A March ” and “A Skip,” before they can “A Run.”

We start off  by focusing on the “A March,” which is designed to work on knee lift and recovery. In this drill, we are going to take the arms out of the equation to work solely on the lower body, which will make it easier to zero in and work on those lower body mechanics.

We will then move on to the “A Skip”, which has some of the same actions as the “A March,” but we are adding a skipping motion towards the end. During this drill, we incorporate the arms and really accelerate the upper leg on the downward motion. The reason for this is because we want to generate force going down and back, in order to generate the power to explode forward.

Once we get past the first two drills, we incorporate those movements into the “A Run.” It is the same action that we showed you in the other two tips, but continuous. Basically, a high knee, heel to butt run.

So, check out the video above and start to incorporate these great drills into your athlete’s routine. Once they knock these out of the park, they will begin to see their power, quickness and game go to the next level.