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For decades, the standards in agility testing at combine events, in college S&C, and at the high school level have been the 5-10-5 Pro Shuttle, the T Test, and the 3 Cone Test.¹ Through years of working in the private sport performance space, we coached thousands of football players to set up as precisely as possible, choreograph the footwork like a dance, and maximize every cutting angle based on athlete limb length, flexibility, and strength in order to minimize time in the cut and maximize explosion out of the cut. By this description alone, it becomes clear that this is not agility and barely even feels like a change of direction measurement—instead, it more resembles a dance performance.

Agility requires reaction to a stimulus as well as an understanding of space, speed, and strategy. The term agility is falsely thrown around too often to describe change of direction. If a pattern is being timed, it can’t truly be agility but is rather Complex Reactive Change of Direction, because there is a start and an end to a pattern.

In June of 2023, by chance I was contacted by Anto Siric, the CEO of Sportreact, through social media. Eventually, we were able to connect on Zoom—like so many tech demos, it was impressive in concept and looked solid over Zoom…but I needed to get my hands on it to really know. Fast-forward three months later and Anto and his team came through Chicago and agreed to stop by our facility to show the system in person—they set up pods, ran through a barrage of drills and timing options, and took tons of videos. At the time, our facility was already utilizing a pair of timing systems and it didn’t make sense to add another, despite Sportreact looking even more impressive in person than on video. Once I had the chance to begin coaching at a different facility, the decision was a no brainer: I called Anto!

In my 20 years of coaching athlete development, I’ve found the Sportreact system to be in a class of its own with the ability to design and execute complex and creative setups—multiple combinations of pods utilizing colors, numbers and symbols, as well as timing gates in order to challenge athletes. As the standards that athletes are compared to become less repeatable, the closer the drill is to true agility.

In my 20 years of coaching athlete development, I’ve found the @Sportreact22549 system to be in a class of its own with the ability to design and execute complex and creative setups, says @SteveBstein. Share on X

These conflicts of Agility vs. Change of Direction, Athleticism vs. Choreography, and Standards vs. Worthless Numbers led us to reflect as a staff and ask three important questions.

1. Why Was the 5-10-5 Pro Shuttle Failing Us at Our Training Facility?

The primary issue was whether it was truly testing an athlete’s ability to change direction like in sport; and, equally problematic, was then attempting to test groups of athletes. Here are a few common challenges:

1. Typically hand-timed – Accuracy, validity and consistency issues.
2. Athlete error – Starting in the wrong direction, rolling start, no hand touch, wrong hand touch, slips.
3. Timer error – Electronic gates can have issues because the athlete starts in beam, causing missed reps.
4. Time consuming – Challenging to test large groups of athletes.

Does performing a good 5-10-5 actually indicate an athlete will have dynamic change of direction on the field or court? Personally, I haven’t seen a great carryover. I worked with a high school football Defensive End that got down to an electronic 4.3 second 5-10-5. We worked 100’s of reps with countless slips, half reps, and restarts. His speed did not match that time, but he was long-limbed and together we created the best footwork pattern and angles to allow him to perform at a combine event—ultimately, though, his ability to play his position was what got him the opportunity to play at the next level.

Does performing a good 5-10-5 actually indicate an athlete will have dynamic change of direction on the field or court? Personally, I haven’t seen a great carryover says @SteveBstein. Share on X

2. Where Was the T Test Failing Us at Our Training Facility?

This was largely due to the exact same reasons as the 5-10-5…but adding to it were the injuries that occurred when athletes were competing on the backpedal. Surprising at first, but we saw multiple wrist injuries from falling back and catching with the hands—and for those who failed to catch themselves, concussions from hitting the back of their head.

Again, if we are spending valuable coaching time working athletes through a test—instead of coaching the underlying athleticism—it just doesn’t make sense! Space is always going to be a restriction in training and the requirement of the T Test would dampen our ability to efficiently train.

3. Where Was the 3 Cone Test Failing Us at Our Training Facility?

Again, the reasons boiled down to athlete error, inability to laser time, and large group sizes. It just doesn’t make sense as a standard to measure change of direction and does not even come close to measuring agility. This is an extremely choreographed pattern for those who run it well! As a drill, this moved from a timed metric of performance to an opportunity for athletes to be challenged in a variety of cone patterns and competition races. The rapid change of direction and variety of angles throughout the drill are a great stimulus in training, but not the standard for change of direction or agility.

The rapid change of direction and variety of angles throughout the 3 Cone Drill are a great stimulus in training, but not the standard for change of direction or agility says @SteveBstein. Share on X

In 2015, I had the opportunity to visit with the Milwaukee Bucks of the NBA and spend a few hours with Coach Mike Davie. Along with Suki Hobson, Coach Davie was doing great work with ACL return to play and patellar pain management. The topic of data collection around linear speed and change of direction came up and I shared the frustrations I had felt with the 5-10-5, especially for basketball players. Davie shared with me a test they were using for performance, but also as a gauge for return to play.

The Setup:

• Athlete starts 5 yards from a laser gate, with a line 5 yards beyond the gate.
• Athlete sprints through gate, touches foot to line, performs 180° cut, and sprints back through the gate.
• Repeat for the other foot.

Finding the athlete’s best times on each foot can highlight:

1. Athlete’s ability to use speed in and out of a cut.
2. A difference in cutting side—indication of imbalance and future injury risk.
3. Return to play—how close are they to previous best and/or opposite side (ankle and knee injuries)?

I brought this idea back to our facility and we beta tested it for a couple months, then mixed it in with 5-10-5.  Immediately we were impressed with how quickly we could set up the 180 Cut Test and have athletes running it with minimal instruction. As a staff, our focus was back on coaching the skill of change of direction vs. coaching an athlete to perform a test. Overall athlete engagement improved, as there was less time standing waiting and less frustration about the repeated errors they experienced executing the 5-10-5.

We were impressed with how quickly we could set up the 180 Cut Test and have athletes running it with minimal instruction—our focus was back on coaching the skill of COD vs. coaching an athlete to perform a test, says @SteveBstein. Share on X

Fast forward 5 years, and the only athletes we now had training 5-10-5 were preparing for a football combine event—instead, our athletes were running 100’s of 180° cut tests each week. Often at the professional and college level, coaches track numbers every 4-12 weeks, and early in our group training business, we followed suit. There wasn’t enough control in the private setting to actually capture prime performance numbers. A few factors were the number of games played over the weekend, fatigue, and soreness from other training as well as overall fatigue from school and life. We moved to a system of daily data captures, so that over the course of 8-12 weeks, a pattern of performance was identified compared to one-off testing days.

From over 10,000 tested reps, we realized that the test wasn’t just a test, but a fantastic training stimulus—the ease with which we could repeatedly time the movement drove high intent on each rep. The simplicity of the setup allowed it to be quick and portable, with all ages of athletes picking it up within 1 or 2 reps—meaning we weren’t coaching how to perform the drill, but rather coaching how to sprint and cut better! Athletes were challenged to incorporate strategy to maximize performance, meaning pace, angles and projection. With only a foot touch to the line vs a hand touch, athletes were creating shapes that we would see in sport and allowed a better connection of training to competition!

Video 1. 180° Cut Test.

Video 2 180° Cut shown in a team setting.

Performing a team athletic assessment with the Sportreact 2-gate setup, 16 athletes were able to get 3 reps each side in 6 minutes, in addition to Linear Speed testing, Vertical Jump, 10-5 RSI Test, and Broad Jump. Together this creates a great picture of athleticism in addition to sport coach feedback on how they apply it in competition.

Simple Standards to Get Started

After timing and recording over 10,000 reps of middle school, high school, and college athletes we were able to categorize data into average, above average, and excellent for male and female athletes. Having these standards is highly valuable to give a vision on Day 1 of where an athlete is compared to where they need to be. Instead of just saying a specific number, it becomes a range that athletes move into and out of—which is important for those returning from injury or those with a low initial training age.

Table 1. 180° Cut Test Benchmarks (5 yard lead-in and 5 yard touch and return).

Records were also regularly posted and competed for, but these standards stayed true year after year for the demographic of athletes we were working with across multiple team and individual court, field, and ice sports.

Return to Play

In a field focused on maximizing performance and athleticism, utilizing the 180° cut as a precursor for injury and return to sport is crucial. The desirable ratio side-to-side is similar to that in order to be cleared for return to play from an ACL: 95% of the healthy side.³ Even in a “healthy” athlete, if there is a significant discrepancy, that should be addressed. The issue could be a mobility, strength, or technical issue—and just like a muscular imbalance side to side, or a significant difference in the ability to hop and stick, there is an increased likelihood of injury.

“The ankle is the most common site of injury in 24 of 70 sports. Ankle sprain accounted for 76.7% of injuries, followed by fractures at 16.3%. Basketball and soccer have a higher proportion of ankle injuries. In soccer, the risk of injury during match play is 4 to 6 times greater than during training.

Once an ankle sprain occurs, up to 80% will suffer recurrent sprains, and up to 72% develop recurrent symptoms or chronic instability. Basketball athletes are 5 times more likely to injure an ankle after a prior ankle injury, with a recurrence rate of 73%. Recurrence most strongly correlates with premature return to sport and a prior ankle injury.”²

Utilizing the 180° Cut to assess prior to injury—and then add value to the discussion whether an athlete is ready to be on “no restrictions” status or not post-injury—is an invaluable addition to training. When data such as speed, jumping height, and ability is presented to athletes, the story becomes clearer.

Utilizing the 180° Cut to assess prior to injury—and then add value to the discussion whether an athlete is ready to be on ‘no restrictions’ status or not post-injury—is an invaluable addition to training. Share on X

Final Thoughts

In the end, the 180° Cut Assessment allows a consistent, reliable, and quick way to standardize change of direction. This approach falls into the mindset of “Let the test be the training and the training be the test,” utilizing a quality and adaptable timing system to drive intent every single rep.

Creative Utilizations of the 180° Cut Assessment in Training:

1. Changing the lead-in distance and/or the distance after the gate—not standardized, but a great training stimuli.
2. Having athletes compete in races—one athlete is timed and the other is not. This may or may not capture the athletes best, but poses question do they abandon technique in competition?
3. Varying locomotions—not standardized, but changing it before a rep or during a rep based on visual or audio cue (examples: shuffle to start, sprint at the gate, shuffle back from the line touch to the gate).
4. Incorporate sport skill into the cut (examples: dribble a basketball or soccer ball or cradle a lacrosse stick).

Setting the foundation of change of direction with the 180 Cut has allowed for extreme creativity in training, where the Sportreact system allows for an open, unpredictable pattern of movement while driving intent with a high standard of timing feedback. While the purest form of agility is competing in sport, the Sportreact system is providing the closest way to facilitate and measure it in training!

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF

Step 1 is the first of the many barriers we will encounter on our journey. It isn’t a true physical barrier, but more of a speed barrier. 3.0 m/s second would be that barrier—from my data on the 1080, that is the speed at which enough momentum has been generated to set up a proper first step. That is the speed that should project the body about .5m (I am measuring that with my 1080 equipment).

The reason why a “speed barrier” exists is that if an athlete is slower than 3.0 m/s in their first step, the body will not have the velocity to create stability. So, in order to create stability, the body slows down and puts the first step in place that prevents a fall. Watch someone learning how to ride a bike—without the initial velocity or push from a parent, they wobble and sometimes fall. The body reacts the same way. It will move in ways that create stability before allowing for performance. The easiest way to gain stability is to stand up. Or, do the opposite, lowering the center of mass—this is where you may see an excessive lean or an athlete pushing their hips behind the contact point. Both of these are the neurological responses for stability.

The reason why a ‘speed barrier’ exists is that if an athlete is slower than 3.0 m/s in their first step, the body will not have the velocity to create stability says @korfist. Share on X

So, before drilling all the different techniques that may or may not help the athlete reach the speed barrier (usually not), get physics on your side and hit that velocity, see how it works.

The Exciting Force: Next Steps in Acceleration

Let’s say you get to 3.0 m/s. We can now progress into the action of the story. Step 1 hits at about .5m with the foot underneath the center of mass with a rigid ankle. A good measurement is checking where the hip is in relation to the first foot contact. If the athlete reaches too far, the center of mass won’t project as much. I stole this idea from Coach Neel in Austin TX as a good way to measure actual placement. This also gives a good cue for the athlete to see where they are. Another consideration—too far in the initial landing spot usually sets up a really short second step. So, there is a sweet spot.

Back to the story. The foot hits and the athlete has projected out to .5m. The body has to deal with a vertical force while trying to push horizontally. The added vertical force creates a new barrier: the leg. In fact, it becomes a barrier for every step. An athlete has to move their center of mass (hips and torso) 60 degrees over a fixed point (leg) while getting pulled into the ground. If we take a 3-frame shot, this looks like the athlete is pulling their hips past their foot.

An exercise to strengthen this would be a simple resisted run. But most of the time, untrained athletes can’t find that position with a heavy weight around their waist. They tend to bend and lose the shin/torso relationship, and it becomes a different exercise. This is why I like Yuri’s. I can position their foot and torso in a position and pull their hips forward. Or, I can reverse the Yuri and use a cable with a foot strap around the ball of their toe, having them push back. This will force the athlete to keep a rigid ankle.

If I wanted to add a vertical component, an athlete can also add bands over their shoulders as well. Or, we can add an inter-thigh component and band up the opposite thigh as well.

Video 1. This is the basic Yuri, where the athlete has to pull their body across the band.


Video 2. Adding more to the basic, the HF requires more inter-thigh action using the hips to help the movement.


Video 3. Adding vertical pressure forces the body to deal with a vertical overload  in addition to 2 horizontal forces.

What muscles are working? What needs to be Sprint Strength. In 2021, the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine Science Sports published a brilliant paper entitled “How muscles maximize performance in accelerated sprinting” by Marcus Pandy, Adrian Lai, Anthony Schade, and Yi-Chung Lin. Measuring 19 foot strikes, they wanted to determine what muscles were working. The paper is a gold mine of information and warrants multiple readings. But, to sum it up: gastrocs, hamstrings, and glute medius need to be strong.

Gastrocs ideally contract from a plantarflexed position. While the Soleus offer vertical lift, the gastrocs need to create torque. This means that instead of raising vertically, like in a traditional weight room calf exercise, gastrocs will rotate the heel forward over the ball of the toe. Imagine a socket anchored on the ball of your big toe, your gastroc is what rotates the socket from a horizontal position (9 or 3 on a clock) to noon. Below is a good example of how to create torque in your gastroc exercises.

Video 4. Torque Calf Raise.

The hamstring involved in these early steps is the long head of the biceps femoris. This hamstring is the muscle that brings the foot into the ground. In fact, this is the hamstring that brings the leg into the ground throughout the entire sprint. The faster the leg goes into the ground, the faster an athlete runs… thanks Ken Clark. This movement is what creates tangential velocity.

The problem for this muscle on the first step is the bend in the torso. This position stretches the long head of the biceps femoris to its furthest position, which is why so many hamstring injuries occur in these early acceleration steps. How can we strengthen this position? Use a cable machine to pull down with your leg. Postural changes will change the exercise (Side note: in the next article, I will write more about hamstrings).

Video 5. Simple biceps femoris pull.

One would think the glute max would be next in the importance for the recruitment during the early steps in an acceleration. Controversially, at this point, research shows that the glute max helps to raise and stabilize the torso. Surprisingly, it is the glute medius that slides in for their number three spot for muscle recruitment during the early accel stages. More specifically, the posterior head of the glute med. Traditionally thought of as a hip abductor, the posterior head also extends the hip with the foot turned out. And, as mentioned in a previous article, if one end of the joint is locked, it will bring the other side forward. In this case, it will bring the opposite hip forward. The hip flexion will help create space between the peak hip flexion point and the ground, so the limb has extra time to accelerate into the ground.

An easy exercise is to get in an accel position and pull your swing thigh forward, forcing the rotation of the hip. I like to use a box to emphasize height in the swing leg.

Video 6. Low HF 2 Ways: focus on the far athlete.

Where are the traditional weight room exercises? They can help, but a problem arises when we flip the frames from the earlier trio image on the side and you can see what we are trying to do.

He pushes with his shins, staying parallel with his torso. He gets his horizontal force by rolling shins down. In the weight room, most machines deal in a vertical aspect, where novice athletes lose that shin/torso relationship. This is a hard pattern to replicate in a gravity-driven environment.

Another aspect of the accel phase that is worth noting is the frequency at which the legs cycle. After logging thousands of runs on the 1080 Sprint, I have found that really fast people have a high rate of turnover in the early stage of the run. One paper showed Usain Bolt having a frequency of 4.8hz in the first 10m of a 100m. Christian Coleman and Su Bingtian in 2018 were hitting about 4.6hz in the first 3 steps. An average HS sprinter is about 3.8hz. A simple coaching cue would be to focus on turnover when accelerating.

Moving on from acceleration, the next chapter in our story will be about top-end speed.

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF

Use your imagination here–go ahead and picture a coach running an agility drill “the old-fashioned way.” Most of you will visualize that coach standing near the line with a stopwatch, trying to start the drill on the athlete’s initial movement and then stopping the watch as their body crosses the finish line. Times are being yelled out, maybe even written down, but most often…they are quickly forgotten.

I can remember being the athlete in the drill and never really knowing if I was getting better or if the coach just drank extra coffee that day and had a quicker stopwatch finger. Like a lot of schools, we had a record board that we kept; but, also like most schools, it was very hard to know how accurate any of those times actually were. Every athlete and coach can easily see that some athletes are faster than others, but bad times were always easy to dismiss on the coach’s slow finger instead of the athlete’s effort.

With the proliferation of automatic timing systems–like the Freelap timing system that we currently use–we are now able to start tracking accurate data on our athletes. Accurate data has made our athletes more accountable to the times, which has led to increased effort in the drills. As the effort increases on the training days, the times drop steadily and the results truly get displayed in the athletes’ respective sports.

Accurate data has made our athletes more accountable, which has led to increased effort in the drills. As the effort increases in training, the times drop steadily & the results truly get displayed in the athletes' sports. Share on X

I have been lucky enough to have graduated from and now coach at Deer Creek – Mackinaw High School, giving me roughly 20 years of experience with the athletic culture of the school. Agility training has always been a key component of our training at Dee-Mack. We’ve used a lot of drills over the course of time, but the two primary agility drills we always come back to are:

• The 3 cone drill or “L drill” that you would see at the NFL Combine.
• The 5-10-5 shuttle or “Pro-agility” (also a common Combine drill).

Now, we also mix in a variety of agility drills to challenge athletes in other planes, but as we try to collect data and show them improvement, these are the two drills that we come back to on a regular basis.

In this article, I’m going to cover how we transitioned our agility drills from stopwatches and clipboards to making use of the technologies we have available. I’m excited to share how we made some slight modifications to the drills we all know and love, and how those efforts have made training easier on the coach and the resulting data more accurate for the athlete.

Where It All Started

As our Head Girl’s Track Coach, speed is of the utmost importance to me. Additionally, in my role as Defensive Coordinator for our football team, I’m very big on change of direction and acceleration. Now, obviously speed is still a very important factor in football as well—as has been well documented by many authors on this blog–but these two areas have been the key focus for me in the training of our athletes since I joined the program as an assistant coach.

Our Freelap system has been a huge part of making these two very important qualities more of a focus in our programs. Back in early 2019, when I was still just starting to establish myself as an assistant football and assistant track coach full of youthful enthusiasm and great ideas (many of which came from the SimpliFaster blog and the Twitter feeds of its authors), I went to a booster club meeting with our girl’s head track coach and we asked them for $1,000. Then, I needed to ask our head football coach for $900 and the track program would make up the other $900 of the $2,800 Freelap package we were hoping to purchase.

All of this was a lot to ask from multiple programs and stakeholders, needing them to believe in this new style of training that I was a huge proponent of (while also being the youngest coach in the room). Thankfully, even though we had won state championships in football and track events in the 5 years leading up to this point, our coaches and school were open to new ideas and not just sticking to the way things have always been done.

My main pitch to them was that accurate times and immediate feedback would make a difference with our athletes. With everyone bought in, we started during track season and off-season football training with a focus on training flat speed with 10-yard flies and 40-yard dashes. We saw the improvements most people see when they implement Freelap, but at the time, using Freelap for timing agility just wasn’t something I was thinking of. I am by no means saying we pioneered using the Freelap for agility drills, but it was not something that I had really seen on Twitter, SimpliFaster, or any of the other mediums where I would get coaching ideas.

But once we started playing around with using it for the L Drill and Pro-Agility, we saw what a great tool this is for training agility—as well as for ease of use and data collection and athlete tracking.

Once we started playing around with using Freelap for the L Drill and Pro-Agility, we saw what a great tool this is for training agility—as well as for ease of use and data collection and athlete tracking, says @khill_19. Share on X

Steps Along the Way

For the last few years, we’ve been using Freelap to train agility and track athlete data over time. We recognized an immediate benefit from being able to call out accurate times and have kids see their times increase over months, striving for PRs in our drills just like they would on the track.

A huge benefit along the way for our athletes’ work in the agility drills was adding what we call “Athletic PE” for 7 periods of our school day, where before we only had 2 periods. Now, under Coach Cody Myers, we were getting most of our athletes training throughout the school day and were using Freelap 3-4 days a week to train speed and agility, tracking all the data.

In terms of how we actually set up and use the Freelap for our agility drills, our process is a little different than the way most people are doing it. We needed a way to just have 1 total time for the drill, so that when it went up on the board it was not just the last segment lap but a total time for the drill. So, we set up our drills with a START and FINISH cone, and we have 1 or 2 people do the job we lovingly call “cone swinging.” When we first started this way, Coach Myers or I would do the honors all on our own, but now we have the athletes do it for us.

Video 1. Zoomed-in view of “cone swinging.”

To run the drill:

• The athlete starts a yard away from the middle, opposite of the direction they are going to start.
• The START cone is placed in the mid-line of the drill or the start/finish line. When the athlete crosses the middle, our first cone swinger will pull the START cone back so the chip does not read on that cone again.
• Once they have passed back through the middle on their 10 yard segment of pro agility or the initial down and back of the L drill, then the FINISH cone swinger will place their cone in at the finish line.

This can be seen in the above video—the process requires a bit more work while the drill is going on, but no times have to be added after an athlete has finished. This has created more meaningful times to be displayed on the video board and has made data tracking after the fact much easier.

Video 2. Pro Agility drill with cone swingers.

Video 3. L Drill with times posted on Daktronics scoreboard.

Where We Are Going

Recently, coach Myers wrote an article about how we use the Daktronics video boards in conjunction with our Freelap system for running 40s and doing some of our jump work. I’m going to expand on that a little bit with this piece on agility, as we use it in much the same way.

What we're trying to do is give that instant visual feedback to the athletes that not only they can see…but we can see, their friends can see, and that really pushes the drills to the next level, says @khill_19. Share on X

What we’re trying to do is give that instant visual feedback to the athletes that not only they can see…but we can see, their friends can see, and that really pushes the drills to the next level. We know that we are very blessed to have a cutting-edge technological system like a Daktronics video board at our disposal, thanks to some generous sponsors in our community. The biggest reason why we felt using the large format display in our training was necessary was we started seeing that as our training went on, kids would kind of coast or take drills off. Often, they would work just hard enough to look like they were working hard enough, because if the time wasn’t in large numbers where everyone could see, then they could get away with not giving their full max effort.

Video 4. Pro Agility drill with times posted on Daktronics scoreboard.

As coaches, we know this hurts their training and progress–what we have found is by using the video board to put those times on display for all to see, we have helped combat that issue and kept our athletes pushing hard thanks to that added bit of peer pressure.

Step-by-Step: How to Add Freelap Times to Your Video Board

If you are interested in taking your timed days and turning them into something more with your Daktronics video board & Freelap Timing System, here are the steps we have used to do that.

1. Purchase an Apple TV (You will need an apple device running the Freelap application to mirror to this device later)—any Apple TV will work.
2. Unbox Apple TV, plug in, turn on, and sign in.
3. Go to settings—remember password for screen mirroring (you will want to do this privately so others will not have access to mirroring on the video board). If you would like to set a custom password, you can also do that.
4. You will then have to turn on your video board (most outdoor systems have a breaker to flip).
5. Connect the HDMI into the HDMI port on your DMP8000.
6. Go to your show control computer and create a button that will play the HDMI input. Right click and click on “New Button.” Click 2 and select “Full Screen Takeover.” Click 4 and “Add”

You will follow the folders to get to the devices folder where you will select “DeckLink SDI Micro.”

7. Click on the button to play the HDMI feed on your video board (you should see the home screen of your Apple TV on your video board and will be able to use the remote for anything you want to do outside of timing).
8. In your Freelap app, go to settings—general settings and adjust the full screen configuration. You will need to adjust it to display LAP if you are wanting it to display a time and MPH if that is what you are wanting to display.

9. We will need to create an exercise. In addition to our agility day, we heavily track two other things, a full 40 with a 1-yard start and Flying 10s for miles per hour. We use an agility workout, just as a placeholder, and to allow us to use the LAP mode from the previous step. The screenshots are for the 2 sprint days, but the same process is followed for agility. You can even skip adding distances here if you do not want by clicking the No option

10. Go back to the homepage on the Freelap application. Click the + button and add a new workout. Choose the exercise you created and start the workout.

11. Take your iPad and you will go to mirroring to connect. At this point, type in the custom password given to you on the Apple TV. You can find this in your general settings.
12. Choose full screen mode on the Freelap application and turn the iPad horizontally.

Gone are our days of using a stopwatch for our agility drills, but we still use a record board. The difference now is that the athletes believe the times that are on the board are accurate, thanks to the integration of our Freelap system. Athletes look forward to competing against their old PRs and trying to secure—or keep—a spot on our Top 10 board.

As we continue to try to push our athletes' training experience forward, finding new ways to challenge them has become pivotal in keeping them excited about their training, says @khill_19. Share on X

As we continue to try to push our athletes’ training experience forward, finding new ways to challenge them has become pivotal in keeping them excited about their training. Never be afraid to experiment with using the technology for training in new, creative ways. Dropping the stopwatches in a drawer has been the best thing we have done for our agility training, allowing us to drink our coffee or energy drinks between athletes’ reps without it affecting the training results for the day!

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF

“If you don’t innovate, you die.” Both coaching and technology are constantly evolving and follow this mantra from Disney CEO Bob Iger to a Tee. When the playing field and the resources change, you adapt to make the winning move.

When it comes to electronic timing, coaches care most about a system’s:

1. Accuracy
2. Reliability
3. Ease of use

If you have those three qualities and make the tech affordable, the industry now has a valuable tool that can be used at all levels of athletics. It was through these needs that Dashr was born.

In 2015, I was in my doctoral studies within the Nebraska Athletic Performance Lab when the University of Nebraska was looking to purchase a $30,000 timing system. Being the one engineer in the room, I stood up in the meeting and told them I could make what they needed for under $2k. By March, Nebraska had what they needed.

At that time, Nebraska tested every varsity athlete at least once per year. It did not matter if you played football or women’s rifle: we tested your 10 yd sprint, 5-10-5, and vertical. We also tested athletes in the walk-on programs, and it was there that I saw athletes not making the cut because they simply didn’t know how to test. A kid that could move great but didn’t know how to do a proper 3-point start or footwork for the 5-10-5 would lose out to another kid that had the proper coaching, but was obviously a lesser athlete.

I had a conversation with Boyd Epley (assistant AD at Nebraska at the time) about this, and he told me that athletes at the high school level do not have access to this kind of tech, so the parents that can send their kids to trainers/coaches outside the high school had a massive advantage. That is when he told me about his company Epic Athletic, and his goal to provide affordable tech to high schools. Based off his lengthy experience in the industry and the constant testing that I was a part of, I assembled a team to make a commercially available timing product geared toward high schools.

After two years of use, refinement, and validation with the University of Nebraska, we released our first Dashr timing product (2.0) in 2017. Over the years, continuous improvement to the mobile app and hardware has created an easy-to-use laser timing system, which offers athlete data management that enables programs of every size to take advantage of electronic measurement.

Innovation is essential when it improves an existing solution or creates a solution where one was not yet available. In laser timing, we were an innovator back in 2017 by becoming the first system controlled exclusively by a mobile app. This allowed for a more adaptive, more intuitive user interface while greatly reducing the cost of production. Now that we have been in the industry for nearly a decade, it is time for another game changer.

When it comes to electronic timing, coaches care most about accuracy, reliability, and ease of use. If you have those 3 qualities and make the tech affordable, the industry now has a valuable tool to use at all levels of athletics. Share on X

Reflecterless Laser Timing

Most technology comes with its own challenges—to find space for innovation, we started by looking at the main challenges faced by coaches with laser timing technology. We have found that their main challenges include:

1. Range – How far can the timing gates can be from each other or the control module? Utilizing wireless technology or lengths of cables, this may be 40 yards, 60 yards, or up to several 100 yards.
2. Sunlight – Does external light impact the timing system? With a laser to reflector system, light is bouncing around and direct sunlight can make it difficult for the sensor to detect the laser.
3. Set-up and footprint – How long does it take to set-up the system, and how much space does it take up? Extending multiple tripods and aiming lasers at reflectors takes up time and space.
4. Portability – Are you able to pack up the system for travel and safe storage?
5. Data Management – How easily can you save, track, analyze, and distribute testing data?
6. Continuity of support – How does a coach stretch their funds to best help their athletes? The needs of a coach’s program is constantly evolving, but budgets are limited.

What you get by addressing all these challenges come together with the Dashr Silver timing system.

Dashr Silver timing gates do not use a reflector. Reflectorless means that where previously you would need to set up two tripods, you now only need one. Reflectorless means that you no longer need to line up lasers and reflectors and worry about them becoming misaligned. Reflectorless means that set up is simply placing a laser on the ground and turning it on.

Video1. Dashr Silver in use at the 2024 FBU Futures Camp

Now let’s dig into how we are attacking these key challenges coaches face with electronic timing.

1. Range

A big part of making the Dashr system innovative and affordable required being able to operate the system with a mobile app on the coach’s phone or tablet. We all have a computer in our pocket, why spend another $1,000+ plus on a custom control module? The challenge with using the coach’s device is that there is no control over the capabilities of that device.

Two otherwise identical devices might have different apps, different cases, or one may just be a lemon…and, on top of that, what are the Bluetooth capabilities? How good is the WiFi/network connection? If the phone is placed on the ground, what happens to wireless connections? These are all things that can easily be solved through a quick call or email to go over best practices, but it can be hard to get operators to completely read instructions or get on a call in the middle of a testing event.

With Dashr Silver, all the lasers connect to each other—so there will be no more reliance on the coach’s phone or tablet outside of a simple connection to the starting laser. Just keep your phone near the starting gate and let the system roll! If you are doing a linear sprint or laps around a track, we recommend you keep each laser within 75 yards of the preceding one, and you can connect up to 10 lasers at once—so, with 10 gates you could go as far as 675 yards!

With @DashrMPS Silver, all the lasers connect to each other—so there will be no more reliance on the coach’s phone or tablet outside of a simple connection to the starting laser. Share on X

2. Sunlight

Any laser-to-reflector system needs to take the light from sunlight into consideration. Our Dashr Blue lasers greatly reduce the sun’s impact compared to our 2.0 laser, and following our “Outdoor Tips” will make sure the sun does not affect the system. The challenge here is that the user needs to follow these instructions when they have a thousand other things going on.

Thanks to our new technology, the sun has absolutely ZERO impact on the reflectorless Dashr Silver system! Orient the laser however you would like, indoors or outdoors.

Video 2. Using the Dashr Silver system from every angle in full sunlight.

3. Set up & Footprint

With the Dashr 2.0 lasers, we went through a dozen or more tripod manufacturers to find a lightweight, compact, and sturdy tripod without ever finding a great solution. With the development of Dashr Blue in 2021, we decided to design our own tripods. Being tech guys, designing a tripod was not the core of what we were working on—but taking the time to do this was a massive upgrade in the product that should have been addressed earlier. The user experience regarding the setup and teardown of the system—as well as the reasonable weight of the complete system—was central to making a system that could easily be used by a single coach at short notice.

This being said… Dashr Silver only requires mini tripods, so set up is incredibly fast as there is no need to extend legs, adjust heights, screw on components, or hit a reflector with a laser. The footprint of the system is also reduced from two tripods with a 12-22 inch radius down to a single, low-profile tripod with a 12 inch radius. With Dashr Silver on a track, you can run two sprints using three lanes compared to one sprint using three lanes when using traditional laser timing.

The @DashrMPS Silver only requires mini tripods, so set up is incredibly fast as there is no need to extend legs, adjust heights, screw on components, or hit a reflector with a laser. Share on X

Because of the need to aim the previous laser models, every tripod required a mobile head on it. When it came to the design of the Dashr Silver device, the simplest answer was to do what every other laser timing gate had done before it and simply provide a singular mounting point for an external aiming device. But when you step back from this feature, you will notice that there are only two distinct ways that this device needs to be aimed. It either needs to aim horizontally to capture a three point start or angled up to catch a torso running by. The simplest answer turned out to be the best, which was to simply provide two fixed mounting points:

• Use the one at the bottom for a hand start.
• Use the angled one for a through gate.

4. Portability

Dashr timing systems have always been designed to be portable, but when using laser-to-reflector systems, the sheer number of tripods required for larger events adds up quickly. An Under Armour combine with 1,000+ athletes uses three lanes of the 40yd dash with a split, along with three lanes of the pro-agility and L-drills. With the Dashr Blue system, this requires 24 taller tripods and 6 mini tripods, along with our recommended tripod and phone holder at each station. With the Dashr Silver, this is reduced to 15 mini tripods.

Additionally, the shift from AA batteries in the Dashr Blue system to the USB-cabled external battery opens up additional power opportunities, depending on where you do your testing. You might have your own USB power banks or choose to simply plug the gates into the wall in your facility during training.

Now it will be even easier to travel and deploy your timing system!

5. Data Management

Coaches got into coaching because they love their sport and want to see their athletes succeed. With all the demands on the time of their athletes, it is up to the coach to find the most efficient ways to use their limited time to help their athletes reach their potential. The Dashr Dashboard is a great tool for doing this. It automatically brings all your testing data together, preventing additional record-keeping steps and potential human errors. With that said, there is hesitation amongst coaches to give up the tradition of a clipboard and pencil. Decades of results were recorded on clipboards, why should it be abandoned now?

With all the demands on the time of their athletes, it is up to the coach to find the most efficient ways to use their limited time to help their athletes reach their potential. The @DashrMPS Dashboard is a great tool for doing this. Share on X

Now is the time, because for no additional cost, the coach can allow athletes to self-sign up, provide biometric data, and retrieve their results all while reducing the time-requirements placed on the coach. The coach creates a Roster on their Dashr Dashboard and simply posts the unique Invite Code on their bulletin board (or email, text, etc.). The athlete downloads the Dashr Player Profile App for free and enters the code.

Now, the athlete is instantly added to the coach’s account and is a member of the new roster. Seconds after an athlete records a result on the field, their phone receives that result, providing the athlete with a full record of all their results at any time, without the coach having to lift a finger.

With the Dashr Player Profile App, athletes can track their progress, run reports, enter competitions, create trading cards, and even increase their chances of getting recruited.

6. Continuity of Support

It is one thing to have access to technology and equipment, it is another to know how to properly use it and benefit from all the pertinent features. A main goal for us at Dashr has been to err on the side of having too much information available to our users. This makes for complicated web development and upkeep, but we have an operational walk through for every drill we offer through the app as well as details on each product we provide. In addition, we have a searchable list of articles that dive even deeper into the system. We have made the system incredibly user friendly, but we want our users to explore all the possibilities available.

In addition to online resources, we support online chat, email, and phone—as well as the ability to schedule video calls with our team. If you have a question, concern, or just want to learn more, please feel free to reach out!

From a financial perspective, we have worked to make all our technology as affordable as possible—but electronic timing is one piece of an ever-evolving ecosystem for a coach. That is why we will continue to develop new technologies and reimagine existing ones—like the jump mat—to offer as many solutions as possible under one platform. As it currently stands, timing, reaction testing, jumps, biometrics, simple AMS, reporting, and data distribution (Player Profile App) are available through Dashr and we have a long list of additional products and software updates in the works. Our goal is to be the singular solution for the coach who needs multiple products and software platforms.

How to Operate Dashr Silver

Now that you know what advancements have been made, let’s get to operating the new Dashr Silver system!

Video 3. Silver in operation. 

Operation is as simple as it gets.

1. Register your Silver laser in the app.
2. Select the drill you want to run.
3. Connect the equipment.
4. Test your athletes.

Detailed instructions for this can be found within our online resources for drill operation. Simply select a drill to check it out.

When you first open up the Silver system, you will notice that all of the lasers are attached to mini tripods and angled up. This orientation is used for static starts as well as splits/finish gates. As previously mentioned, there is another mounting location on the laser for a horizontal set-up.

When setting up a Silver laser, place it on the ground and plug it into an included USB battery. For static starting using the angled orientation, position the laser so that when the athlete is at the starting line the laser hits their waist (2.5-5 ft from the laser). Both you and the athlete will know this because the lights on the laser will turn red when someone is in the laser. For these starts, the clock will start when the athlete leaves the laser.

For your downfield gates (optional splits and the finish) you will use this same set-up. Make sure your laser is oriented along the line you want them to cross.

Note that in order to hit the torso of the athlete, they should be 2.5-5 feet away from the laser. Being too close may not trigger precisely on their start due to their leg swinging through (body detection technology), too far and they will be outside the 6 foot window. If you want to increase this window, you can attach the sliver laser to a taller tripod using the horizontal mounting thread on the bottom of the Dashr Silver laser.

For static starts in a 3-point stance, we recommend using the horizontal mounting thread on the bottom of the Silver laser. There is no visible laser (like with Blue), but the lights on the Silver laser will go red when the athlete’s hand is in the laser—so it is easy for them to know if they are in the laser or not. If you are timing off the back foot in a 2-point static start, it is much easier to move or angle the laser to hit the foot because you are not needing to hit a reflector.

We recommend timing off the hand in a 3-point starts, or using the flying drill with the athlete positioned just behind the starting laser for 2-point starts. However you decide to time your athletes, make sure that you are consistent.

Video 4. 3-point vs 2-point starts. 

There are sure to be additional advancements with reflectorless technology as new potential is realized. For one, the lights on the Silver lasers can be used for reactive drills. Currently, you can perform the reactive shuttle and the reactive agility drill using just Silver lasers, no Dashr React modules necessary. We anticipate adding in the ability to do reactive starts for dashes as well!

Conclusion

Adaptation and innovation will forever be a part of athletic training, and sometimes the best way to push training further faster is to pair it with technology that is as creative as you are as a coach.

Ultimately, coaching comes down to preparing your athletes with the right tools to set them up for success. We at Dashr are committed to bringing cutting edge technology to all athletes and finding ways to enable all athletes to reach their potential.

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF

It shocks me every time I ask an athlete “how do you work on starts” and their response is “I don’t.” They might do squats or cleans, but they don’t work on the actual start itself. They go through full workouts of vertical force and do nothing to develop horizontal force. There is currently an overwhelming amount of research to back up the importance of horizontal force on a great race start.

One of my favorite papers is from Giuseppe Rabita et al, “Sprint Mechanics in World-Class Athletes: a New Insight into the Limits of Human Locomotion.” In this incredible 2015 paper, Rabita shows that—in elite sprinters—the biggest difference is the 0 step: or, who projects their hips the fastest and farthest, which requires the most force and power. As a high school coach the past 33 years, I believe the 0 step is even more important at this younger level. If you win the 0 step…in most cases, it is over.

So, how can we win the 0 step?

The 0 step is what happens before the athlete’s foot hits the ground. If we have data on what that looks like, we can replicate it in training (caveat: all my data is from my 1080 Motion equipment—my numbers may vary from yours due to environment and other factors). In order to be fast, you need to hit 3.0 m/s or 6.7 mph on your first step. If the athlete has not reached that threshold, their body is not moving fast enough to get the center of mass forward enough to get the first step under or behind the mass.

To be fast, you need to hit 3.0m/s or 6.7mph on your 1st step. If the athlete has not reached that threshold, their body is not moving fast enough to get the center of mass forward enough to get the 1st step under or behind the mass. Share on X

This results in some decelerating effects—for example, the first step becomes a brake because it is too far in front of the center of mass. It lands there for balance, so the athlete doesn’t fall. Another effect to gain stability is to stand up. The subconscious mind is looking for stability. The conscious brain knows it is in a race, so it will set the eyes closer to the finish line. This is why people lean forward in their starts. So, before you try to technique your way to a better start, make sure that you have the initial velocity to support the technique.

An 8 N/kg push should get your center of mass to travel about .5m or .54 yards. That would get the athlete to move 3.0 m/s. Herein lies the “weight room conundrum.” I have seen a huge squatter generate 5 N/kg and 1.3 m/s by the first step. And guys that can’t squat or clean a respectable amount, but can push out at 3.5 m/s generating 8.7 N/kg. It is not always about how much can the athlete lift in any case necessary, but whether they can direct the force appropriately and usefully.

In a traditional weight room mindset, more is better. Or, farther is better. But the problem is in the future of the run. A huge push might be too much for the body to keep up with, resulting in a braking second step that can’t possibly keep up with the projection, resulting in a deceleration early in the run. Bottom line? There is a sweet spot.

Sprint Strength and the 0 Step

What is Sprint Strength for this first push? Sprint Strength is generating 8 N/kg in a horizontal fashion off both feet. The most common error is that athletes push off the front foot and just swing or step the rear leg forward. There is no rear leg drive. Rear leg drive is 40% of the equation on a 0 step.

Sprint Strength is generating 8 N/kg in a horizontal fashion off both feet. The most common error is that athletes push off the front foot and just swing or step the rear leg forward. There is no rear leg drive, says @korfist. Share on X

Remember back to the days of Physics class? Force is getting a still mass to move. The back leg has to start the action in motion with a huge shove forward. The huge shove does move the mass forward, but it also rolls the front-leg knee down into a horizontal position while moving the hips forward—ideally keeping the front shin at about 20 degrees. What it should look like is that as the knees are even with the front leg in the blocks, the athlete’s belly button should be over the line.

How can I train that huge shove? Elevate the back foot with a focus on pushing the knee down. The higher you place the back leg on the blocks or even a wall, the more forward roll with the front knee you will achieve.

Video 1. As you can see here, the athlete’s back foot is on top of the blocks—that is usually high enough.

You can eventually move that foot closer to the ground and then put a hand or two down, depending on what you are timing for. If they stumble out, they are not going fast enough to be stable.

Another easy tip is to take a false step with the front foot. By picking up the front foot and driving from there back, it gets the athlete’s momentum moving quickly and their front shin has no choice but to roll forward.

Video 2. Horizontal push with unloaded 1080 Motion cable to collect data.

For the actual push, readers should note that the athlete above is pushing against the ground concentrically, under no load. What is generating the force in the position? Research says it is dominated by plantar flexion and knee flexor moments. The better sprinter produces double the power of the next athlete from the knee flexor (“Lower Limb Joint kinetics during the first stance phase in athletics sprinting: Three elite case studies,” Bezodis, et al, 2013). It is plantar flexion with knee flexion under no load.

So, we set up a hack squat scenario from a single leg.

Video 3. Hack Squat Step up. Vastus Lateralis is the main driver. If we push off our forefoot, we can add plantar flexion.

Or we can do a very narrow single leg jump. The key here is to drive with the leg and not extend through the lower back.

Video 4. Narrow Squat Jump.

Why a hack squat and not a back squat or clean? My concern with a squat or a clean is that we recruit with our lower back to stand up a common movement when pushing or pulling against a bar. A great exercise to deal with this issue is a single, single-leg jump. To make it harder, try driving off the ball of the big toe with the heel elevated. That is the strength that is needed to push.

Video 5. Strap Hack Squat.

For a more “on the track” exercise to target this quality, try a resisted run. Focus just on the first and second step under resistance. As the athlete progresses, lower the resistance so they have to balance and push.

Video 6. First step exercise using resistance from 1080 Quantum.

Video 7. 2-Step exercise with band resistance.

If you are lucky enough and own a 1080 Sprint, focus just on the first step. If the athlete needs to hit 3.5 m/s, put enough tension on the line to slow the athlete down by 50%. Hopefully, if they increase speed at that tension, they are generating more force.

To sum up, our initial move needs to be a minimum of 3 m/s, generating 8 N/kg. If you can’t hit that number, the next chapter is a different story than what it should be.

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF

Tactical athletes don’t often work a standard 9-5 schedule. There are multiple factors that would then affect a prescribed training program—varying types of shift work, long hours (12+ hour shifts), family life, and exposure to higher amounts of stress than the average individual.

When coaching these men and women—or if you yourself are considered a tactical athlete—it is important to utilize time-efficient methods when training due to the uncertainty of training schedules. Time limitations, or being willing to alter workouts entirely, is the reality that we must operate in.

In my experience working with this population, the training compares more closely to that of the general population than that of elite athletics. This is not to discredit any of the unbelievably-fit tactical athletes that exist out there, but it more reflects their day-to-day lives and responsibilities outside of work—simply put, their primary job is not to play a sport.

While the tactical athlete must be physically fit and prepared to handle the demands of the job, a majority do not have a high training age or much exposure to structured strength and conditioning programs. This allows improvements to be made, especially in strength, while requiring less of a stimulus or needing more advanced training methods. Just having a simple, sound, and scalable training program will work better than you think.

While the tactical athlete must be physically fit and prepared to handle the demands of the job, a majority do not have a high training age or much exposure to structured strength and conditioning programs. Share on X

The methods listed in this article work because they allow the individual to fit it in any schedule restraint, are intense enough to build strength, and can be progressed or adjusted week to week.

5 Practical Training Methods that Work

Here are some training methods to utilize in the busy tactical athlete’s strength and conditioning program.

• Cluster Sets
• EMOMs
• Total Rep Sets
• Drop Sets
• Escalated Density Training

Cluster Sets

Cluster sets are fantastic to build strength due to the improved rep quality performed throughout the series. To perform, you will break up a set into clusters—these are typically 3-5 within a set (though not limited to that number). Each cluster has a prescribed rep scheme, with rest allotted in between each before moving on to the next.

For example, instead of performing a set of 12 continuous reps of an exercise—where technique and rep quality will diminish the longer the set continues as fatigue sets in—a cluster set would instead break up the set into more palatable clusters, with a short break in-between.

Keeping this example, the set will be executed by performing clusters of 4 reps. The individual will perform 4 reps, then rest 20 seconds, perform 4 reps, rest 20 seconds, perform 4 reps to complete the set and rest 2-3 minutes before performing the next set.

While there is a time and place for these continuous higher rep ranges in training, considering the strength training for the tactical athlete, we want to perform the heaviest, fastest, highest quality reps in the safest, most efficient manner (all things that cluster sets can accomplish if used appropriately).

Video 1. Hex bar deadlift cluster set.

Here are some examples of cluster sets often used in training.

• Chin-Ups (5.3.2)
• Incline Bench Press (4.4.4)
• Squat /Deadlift (1.1.1.1.1)

EMOM

Every minute on the minute is a training method in which athletes perform a set at the start of each minute for a set time frame. While this protocol is often used for general conditioning, it is great to build strength or strength endurance in the tactical athlete.

While the EMOM protocol is often used for general conditioning, it is great to build strength or strength endurance in the tactical athlete, says Brandon Holder. Share on X

To maintain the focus on strength development, the reps should be kept lower during these series to ensure more recovery and a greater emphasis on a higher weight selection. EMOMs will typically be set for 8 up to 15 sets, so while the weight selection is higher than usual, it is still in the 70-80% intensity ranges for this population. Exercise selection should be kept lower (1-2 exercises per series) for similar reasons.

• Kettlebell Swings x 5 + Weighted Push-Ups x 5
• Sandbag Shoulder Squat x 1 each side.
• Front Squat x 3

Video 2. EMOM kettle bell swings and push-ups.

Total Rep Sets

Total rep sets are simple to execute: select a number and work to complete that number in as few sets as possible, breaking it up however needed. To develop strength, the weight selection is key for this—a standard recommendation would be loads of around RPE 8-9 or 75-90%. There are always situations that could alter this, so use your best judgement.

Be sure to stop a rep or two shy of hitting complete failure and keep rest limited, typically not working over a minute’s length. This method will work within a rep range of 20-50 reps depending on the exercise.

Some examples of this method would include:

• Dumbbell Push Press x 30
• Single Arm Dumbbell Rows x 25 each arm
• Barbell Inverted Rows x 50

Progress this by increasing the reps required for completion each week, 5-10.

This method also works great for accessory exercises, for performing high amounts of repetitions with resistance bands, or for using machine exercises to accumulate more training volume in a shorter amount of time.

Often, accessory work can get overlooked (or even skipped), so prioritizing it in a different, more intense manner can help encourage the tactical athletes to not overlook these blocks of training.

Video 3. Lying leg curls in a total rep set.

Some examples:

• Band Pull-Aparts x 100
• Lying Leg Curls x 50
• Band Face-Pulls x 100

Drop Sets

Utilizing drop sets in training is great to increase the intensity of a set in a safe, seamless manner. When using drop sets in training for the tactical athlete, the concept won’t be exactly the same as many may first remember from reading Muscle & Fitness magazine. Instead of performing each set to complete failure, the athlete will work to a prescribed rep scheme—once completed, the weight will then be reduced 10-20% and performed again to failure, or a rep or two short.

When selecting exercises to perform with this method, they need to be adjustable, quick, and safe.

Weight Drop Set Examples

• Chin-Ups
• Bulgarian Split Squats
• Dumbbell Chest Supported Rows

Drop sets can also be performed by instead adjusting the position of an exercise, making it more or less advantageous throughout the series.

Mechanical Drop Set Examples

• TRX Inverted Rows
• Dumbbell Bench Press

Escalating Density Sets

I first read about escalating density training (EDT) years ago through a training manual written by Jim “Smitty” Smith. This training method focuses on short, intense bouts of work alternating between exercises for a listed time frame.

Select 2-3 exercises, movements that will not interfere with another, or train similar patterns/muscle groups. I would recommend keeping this simple by alternating between upper and lower body exercises. The exercises will be performed back-to-back, with little-to-no rest in between for the time frame.

The objective is to perform as many quality reps as possible, avoiding failure or poor-quality repetitions. The sets are performed up to 10 reps, saving a rep or two in reserve. If performed correctly, the reps will naturally drop throughout the set but allow the individual to accumulate a high workload.

If Escalating Density Training (EDT) is performed correctly, the reps will naturally drop throughout the set but allow the individual to accumulate a high workload. Share on X

Like the other protocols, weight selection is crucial for the method to be performed successfully. Performed too heavy and there will be limitations on the total work completed; performed too light and you will be hindering any positive gains that could be made.

This checks off a lot of training boxes for the tactical athlete due to the short time, anywhere between 5-20 minutes per set, and the ability to train total body through major movement patterns efficiently.

Here is an example listed below.

When progressing EDT sets, work on increasing the work being completed in the set through increasing the time or total reps completed; if exceeding those goals, then consider increasing the weight being used.

Examples:

• RDL /Chin-Ups
• Reverse Lunges /Single Arm Rows
• Kettlebell Overhead Press /Lateral Squats
• Floor Press /Front Squat         

Video 4. Escalating Density Training, alternating TRX rows with DB RDLs.

Conclusion

Tactical athletes can have a range of limitations that don’t allow for an “optimal” training schedule—they should, however, still follow a program designed to make progress while being flexible enough to adjust to their chaotic schedules.

Implementing the training methods presented in this article will help offer solutions to provide that framework to a training program.

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF

Speed kills.

As coaches, we have often heard and used this phrase—and for good reason. Speed is a critical factor in team sports: whether it’s outrunning angles on a football field, winning a 50-50 ball on the soccer pitch, or recovering possession in basketball, speed consistently proves to be a decisive advantage. Many coaches preach the value of speed, and athletes strive to improve it. The fundamental approach to speed training seems straightforward: run fast and do it often. Many athletes and coaches encounter a common roadblock, however—progress stagnates and the expected speed improvements plateau.

At this juncture, coaches can be temped to turn to various adjustments. Should we add more volume? More intensity? Or should we shift focus entirely? The answer, I believe, is rooted in a fundamental principle: precise, intentional, and consistent speed development must be the unwavering priority.

Sports are won and lost with speed—I’m in my 11th year of coaching (working primarily with college and high school athletes), and I have yet to see a slow and sluggish athlete thrive. Speed can provide a distinct advantage in team sports, especially at the high school level. Here at Madison-Ridgeland Academy (MRA), we are blessed with great kids who have a tremendous work ethic and are highly competitive, almost to a fault sometimes. What we are not blessed with—especially on the football field—is size. We are often outmatched physically. So, the question I had to ask myself was “How can we provide an X-Factor for our athletes?” And, I landed on making our system a speed-based program.

When programming for any of our teams, male or female, speed is in the forethought of my process. Does this make us faster? If the answer is “No,” I figure out a better way. Does that mean we neglect strength? Simply put, “No.” Strength is a pillar of our program—but the frame that we operate out of is that strength training is aiding us in our speed development.

When programming for any of our teams, male or female, speed is in the forethought of my process. Does this make us faster? If the answer is “No,” I figure out a better way, says @Coach_GAdams. Share on X

Breaking the Cycle of Inconsistency

Despite the desire for faster and more explosive athletes, many coaches fail to treat speed as the core focus of their training regimen. Speed work is often neglected during the in-season phase or undermined during the off-season by the overuse of long, slow conditioning drills that do little to nurture explosiveness.

If we are serious about improving speed, we need to break the cycle of inconsistency.

The first hurdle is making speed the cornerstone of our training philosophy. We need to approach every aspect of preparation—from practices to conditioning—through the lens of speed development. This requires a shift in mindset for most coaches. Speed must be ingrained as a core identity of the entire program, rather than treated as a temporary priority or an afterthought. Establishing this unwavering focus is essential for achieving transformative results.

Despite wanting faster & more explosive athletes, many coaches fail to treat speed as their core training focus. Speed work is often neglected in-season or undermined in the off-season by the overuse of long, slow conditioning. Share on X

Once we have made this paradigm shift, now we start chasing performance. When we can focus on the right things, speed improvements can come quickly. The puzzle, however, gets harder when those improvements start to plateau. Where do we go from here? How do we get the speed numbers to start improving again?

One of the most common pitfalls in speed training is the tendency to focus on volume rather than quality. When I first started, I believed that if we sprinted more often and worked harder, we would outlast the other team. However, when I evaluated the intent behind the work, I realized these “sprints” were often performed with submaximal effort, essentially turning them into fast jogs. By definition, that isn’t true sprinting—instead of gaining the speed advantage we were striving for, we were actually achieving the opposite.

This realization led me to reevaluate how we were programming our speed training. The belief that more is better often leads athletes and coaches to increase the number of sprints or conditioning drills, assuming that more repetitions will automatically lead to faster performance. However, speed is a skill that thrives on intensity and precision, not sheer volume. The misunderstanding here is rooted in the idea that endurance and speed can be trained the same way—but in reality, they require very different approaches.

In contrast to volume-based training, speed development thrives on short, high-quality efforts. To truly enhance speed, an athlete needs to perform sprints at maximum velocity, with full effort, and with complete recovery between each repetition. This ensures that each sprint is of the highest possible quality and trains the body to operate at peak efficiency. Speed training heavily taxes the central nervous system because it involves maximal or near-maximal efforts.

To truly enhance speed, an athlete needs to perform sprints at maximum velocity, with full effort, and with complete recovery between each repetition, says @Coach_GAdams. Share on X

Unlike aerobic or endurance work, where fatigue builds gradually, speed training requires immediate and explosive outputs, which engage fast-twitch muscle fibers and heavily stress the nervous system. These maximal outputs demand significant energy and create a high level of neuromuscular fatigue, which takes time to repair. Inadequate recovery can lead to chronic fatigue, slower sprint times, and the inability to maintain proper technique during high-speed efforts. Over time, this creates a vicious cycle where athletes are no longer training at their peak, reinforcing poor movement patterns and limiting overall speed potential.

Maximal effort speed training is essential for developing explosive sprint ability on the field, such as chasing down a ball, breaking away from defenders, or closing space on an opponent. These efforts typically last 5 to 10 seconds and require rest periods at a 1:10 to 1:20 ratio to maximize recovery and ensure high effort performance. For example, after a 10-second sprint, the athlete would rest for a minimum 100 to 200 seconds. This allows them to maintain proper sprint mechanics and exert maximal effort on each repetition, which is crucial for enhancing pure speed and game-changing explosiveness.

Speed is not just about raw athleticism; it’s about proper mechanics that ensure every ounce of energy is used effectively. Developing good sprint mechanics is crucial because the slightest inefficiency can cost valuable time and energy, especially when an athlete is fatigued.

Resisted Sprints & Best Practices with High School Athletes

Another solution I use to break through these plateaus is implementing various types of resisted sprinting. Resisted sprints are a highly effective tool for improving speed, acceleration, and power. These methods are often used to enhance an athlete’s ability to generate force, improve sprint mechanics, and develop explosiveness—all of which are critical components of speed. Resisted sprints involve adding external resistance, such as a sled, prowler, or band, to the athlete’s sprint.

The primary benefit of resisted sprints is the improvement in an athlete’s ability to generate force. When an athlete sprints with resistance, such as pulling a sled, their muscles must work harder to overcome the additional load. This increased demand trains the neuromuscular system to apply greater force during the sprint, particularly during the acceleration phase. The increased force production translates directly to unweighted sprints, where the athlete will be able to push harder and generate more power off the ground. In sprinting, force application is everything. The faster and harder an athlete can push off the ground, the faster they will accelerate. Resisted sprints strengthen the key muscles involved in sprinting, such as the glutes, hamstrings, and quads, making it easier to reach top speed faster.

In sprinting, force application is everything. The faster and harder an athlete can push off the ground, the faster they will accelerate, says @Coach_GAdams. Share on X

Resisted sprints are particularly effective for improving the acceleration phase of sprinting, which covers the first 10-30 yards. This phase requires the athlete to lean forward and generate significant horizontal force to build speed from a stationary or slow-moving position. Resisted sprint training forces the athlete to maintain an aggressive forward lean while driving their legs with more intensity to overcome resistance. In team sports, the ability to accelerate quickly can make the difference between getting to the ball first, making a defensive play, or winning a race. Athletes who improve their acceleration can close gaps faster, react quicker, and gain a competitive edge.

Resisted sprints also serve as a valuable tool for refining sprint mechanics, especially during acceleration. With resistance, athletes must focus on driving their knees forward, maintaining proper body angles, and extending their hips for maximal power. The added resistance forces athletes to stay in the proper acceleration posture longer, helping them reinforce good technique. Good sprint mechanics are crucial for reducing wasted energy and improving running efficiency. Resisted sprints force athletes to focus on their form while under pressure, which helps transfer these mechanics into regular, unweighted sprints. Athletes who maintain proper form are more likely to avoid injuries and improve their top-end speed.

Best Practices for Resisted Sprints

1. Gradual Progression: Start with light-to-moderate resistance and gradually increase the load as the athlete’s strength and mechanics improve. Too much resistance too soon can alter running mechanics and reduce the effectiveness of the drill.
2. Focus on Form: The goal is to enhance sprint mechanics, so athletes must maintain proper form while sprinting with resistance. Excessive resistance that causes athletes to “grind” through each step will do more harm than good. Athletes should still be sprinting, not struggling through the movement.
3. Monitor Distances: Resisted sprints are most effective for short distances, particularly the acceleration phase (10-30 yards). Sprinting with resistance over longer distances can lead to form breakdowns and inefficient movement patterns.
4. Incorporate Unresisted Sprints: Always pair resisted sprints with unresisted sprints in the same session. This helps athletes transfer the strength and power gains from the resisted sprints into regular sprinting form, enhancing overall speed development.

Always pair resisted sprints with unresisted sprints in the same session. This helps athletes transfer the strength and power gains from the resisted sprints into regular sprinting form, enhancing overall speed development. Share on X

The Importance of Timing & Tracking

Lastly, you have to track the data. I don’t care what implements you are using (timing gates, GPS, video analysis, stopwatch, etc.), but the numbers have to be monitored consistently. One of the most important tools and insights we have is the ability to track sprint times. Monitoring sprint times throughout the year provides invaluable insights into an athlete’s performance and progression. By consistently measuring sprint times, coaches and athletes can monitor speed development, identify trends, and address weaknesses that may be holding back overall performance.  

I focus on a few key metrics across all sports to optimize performance. Each week, we test a Fly 10 using both a 5-yard and a 20-yard lead-in. These times help us calculate a rolling average to monitor performance trends and provide athletes with regular opportunities to reset their personal bests. Ideally, athletes should match or surpass their personal bests at least once every four weeks.

Video 1. Running timed sprints.

Tracking these metrics serves two purposes: it encourages athletes to consistently strive for high performance and facilitates important conversations when times begin to decline. For instance, if an athlete’s performance drops, it can signal the need to address readiness, recovery, or potential injuries.

In addition to the Fly 10, we use GPS tracking to measure maximum speeds (MPH) in field sports, providing valuable insights into practice and game demands. Combining the Fly 10 data with GPS metrics allows us to align training with the physical demands of competition. We ensure athletes regularly reach max velocities during the week to condition their tissues and prepare them for the high-speed demands they may face in games. Together, these tools help us train effectively and ensure our athletes are ready to perform at their best on game day.

In team sports, where speed can be the deciding factor in key moments, regularly tracking sprint performance offers several crucial benefits. Tracking sprint times allows you to gauge an athlete’s speed development over time. By comparing sprint times from the start of the season to mid-season and the off-season, I can see whether the training program is yielding the intended results or if adjustments are needed.

Progress is not always linear. Speed training is different from strength training. It is not linear and can’t be. There are many variables and factors that play a role in good speed training sessions, MPH readings, or timed sprints. It is not as simple as “add a 5.” If that was the case, there would be no need for this article, we would all just preach “run faster than you did last week.” Sprint times provide objective data that shows whether an athlete is getting faster or if their performance is stagnating. This allows us to adjust the training focus—whether adding more intensity, focusing on mechanics, or addressing recovery needs.

By comparing sprint times from the start of the season to mid-season and the off-season, I can see whether the training program is yielding the intended results or if adjustments are needed, says @Coach_GAdams Share on X

Another benefit of tracking sprint times is that they can be a reliable indicator of an athlete’s freshness or fatigue levels. A sudden decline in sprint performance could signal overtraining, excessive volume, or inadequate recovery. By tracking times, you can spot early signs of fatigue that might lead to burnout or injury if left unchecked. In team sports, where players often face demanding schedules, knowing when an athlete’s speed is declining can prevent injuries. If I’m noticing a drop in sprint times over several weeks, it may be time to taper the athlete’s workload, adjust recovery protocols, or focus more on speed maintenance rather than volume-heavy conditioning.

Tracking sprint times over various distances is a powerful tool for breaking speed plateaus by identifying specific weak points in an athlete’s sprinting ability. For example, an athlete may excel in the acceleration phase (0-10 yards) but struggle to maintain top-end speed (20-40 yards). These insights allow you to break down the sprinting process and profile athletes based on their individual needs.

In team sports like soccer and football, the demands for sprinting vary—whether it’s quick bursts off the line, sustained sprints down the field, or rapid deceleration. By analyzing split times at different distances, you can pinpoint where an athlete is hitting a plateau and target specific aspects of their sprinting. Whether it’s refining acceleration mechanics, improving speed endurance, or enhancing change of direction, addressing these weak points with focused training allows athletes to break through performance barriers.

This targeted approach not only optimizes an athlete’s sprinting ability but ensures that training is aligned with the unique demands of their sport, leading to more comprehensive and sustained speed development.

Using speed training metrics like Fly 10 times to inform strength training involves identifying specific performance deficiencies—such as maximal velocity, acceleration, or force production—and tailoring programming to address them. For velocity-deficient athletes, who excel in short bursts but struggle to maintain or improve top-end speed, the focus should be on explosive and plyometric exercises (e.g., bounding, skips, or barbell jump squats), Olympic lift derivatives, and sprint-specific work with minimal emphasis on heavy, slow lifts. Force-deficient athletes, who lack power in acceleration or low-velocity movements, benefit from foundational strength exercises (e.g., squats, deadlifts), power-based movements like trap-bar jumps and heavy sled sprints, and plyometric drills such as depth or loaded jumps.

By analyzing metrics such as flying sprint times, split data trends, and force-velocity profiles, you can determine whether an athlete’s deficiency lies in velocity or force production. Adjusting the strength program accordingly ensures targeted improvements—velocity-deficient athletes emphasize rate of force development (RFD) and elasticity, while force-deficient athletes focus on building strength and applying force effectively. Resisted and assisted sprint variations complement both profiles, enhancing specific adaptations for speed and power development.

Another factor that is difficult to quantify—but is invaluable—is creating competition. Consistently tracking sprint times can be a great motivator for athletes. Knowing that their progress is being measured fosters a competitive environment, both within the team and for personal goals. Athletes can compare their current times to past performances or to teammates, fueling a drive to improve.

Furthermore, posting sprint times publicly or using leaderboards can foster team camaraderie and push athletes to strive for faster times, knowing they are being measured and compared in a way that reflects directly on game-day performance.

One of the key benefits of tracking sprint times is that it allows you to evaluate the effectiveness of specific training interventions. If you introduce a new speed training drill, implement resisted sprints, or adjust conditioning volumes, tracking sprint times can reveal whether these changes are having the desired effect. Objective feedback from sprint times helps you determine which training methods are working and which aren’t. If a new technique or program leads to better sprint times, you know you’re on the right track. Conversely, if sprint times stagnate or decline after introducing a certain drill or conditioning block, you can quickly adjust the program before it negatively impacts performance.

For example, if you implement resisted sprints to improve acceleration but don’t see faster 20-30 yards times after a few weeks, you might need to adjust the resistance load or revisit sprint mechanics drills to address the underlying issue. Sprint times offer real-time feedback to guide these decisions.

Where We’ve Been and Where We’re Going

Over the years, I’ve witnessed the transformative power of a speed-first approach in athlete development. Speed is the great equalizer in sports—regardless of size or strength, the ability to accelerate, maintain top-end velocity, and change direction quickly can define success. Watching athletes consistently set personal records and shave time off their Fly 10s throughout the season has been one of the most rewarding aspects of my coaching journey. These improvements are not just numbers on a stopwatch; they represent hours of hard work, focus, and the willingness to embrace a process rooted in precision and intentionality.

More importantly, these gains have a ripple effect on the athletes’ mindset. As their speed improves, so does their confidence and competitiveness. It’s one thing to tell an athlete they’re getting faster, but when they feel it—when they start beating their opponents to the ball, breaking away from defenders, or recovering to make game-changing plays—it changes the way they approach not just their sport, but their development as a whole. They become more engaged, more determined, and more willing to push their limits. For me as a coach, these moments are what make the process so fulfilling. Speed is more than a metric—it’s a catalyst for growth, both on and off the field.

Speed is more than a metric—it’s a catalyst for growth, both on and off the field, says @Coach_GAdams Share on X

O­­­­­ne moment that stands out is when a player who initially struggled with acceleration managed to cut nearly two-tenths of a second off their Fly 10 time after targeted interventions. It wasn’t just the time improvement that impressed me—it was the athlete’s newfound belief in their ability to compete and excel. These moments reaffirm the importance of addressing individual needs and tailoring our methods to maximize every athlete’s potential.

Building on this success, we’re developing a comprehensive system to profile athletes based on their specific deficiencies. Whether it’s insufficient force production, a lack of explosive acceleration, or difficulty sustaining top-end speed, this profiling system will enable us to design precise, individualized training plans. By integrating advanced tools like force-velocity profiling and GPS tracking, we’re gaining a deeper understanding of each athlete’s unique strengths and areas for growth.

This personalized approach does more than improve PRs or sprint times—it fosters a culture of accountability, growth, and excellence. Athletes aren’t just running faster; they’re learning to push their limits, embrace challenges, and set higher goals. As a coach, there’s nothing more fulfilling than seeing these lessons extend beyond the field, shaping their mindset for success in all aspects of life.

Looking ahead, our focus is clear: refine the profiling system, continue leveraging data to guide our training, and ensure that every athlete feels empowered to break through barriers. By staying committed to innovation and athlete-centered coaching, we’re not just building faster athletes—we’re building resilient, driven individuals ready to excel in competition and beyond.

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF

I am about to retire from teaching, which has a way of forcing you to look back on your career—which, for me, has included 35 years of coaching. As I reflect, I have been passionate in my pursuit of developing speed. As I reflect, I also wonder if I have the led the life of Captain Ahab in a self-destructive search for his white whale or that of Arthurian legend Perceval in his quest for the Holy Grail to save Camelot. My quest has taken me down many paths—some destructive, some enlightening.

Regardless of where I was on the journey—which still continues—I’ve always dealt with some form of strength and the kinds of strength that have been defined. We all know and love max strength. We can thank Supertraining and other Cold War-era literature for concepts like Speed Strength and Strength Speed, which really just define how fast a bar is moving in a weight room scenario. We can ask football coaches about Farmer Strength, which I guess is the ability to be explosive throwing things. I think I possess Old Man Strength which is the ability of an old guy to tap into his “muscle memory” and perform a feat of strength that wows younger people (the long-range result is the old guy then needs three visits to the chiropractor, but feels good emotionally that he still “has it”).

While all of those things are real and legitimate, I have always been searching for attributes that someone fast has and slow people don’t have: something I am calling Sprint Strength.

I have always been searching for attributes that someone fast HAS and slow people DON’T HAVE: something I am calling *Sprint Strength*, says @korfist. Share on X

One definition would be how fast you can be strong? Another might be how fast can you apply force into the ground? But it can also mean how does your body react with a large amount of force running through your body? What gets absorbed, what gets reused, what creates displacement of joints, and what turns to heat? That force can be what happens when your foot hits the ground, but it can also mean how it reacts to a limb that constantly stops, accelerates, and decelerates at a high velocity. My lifelong goal has been to find the Holy Grail strength that can turn 11.5 athletes into 10.3 speed demons. My white whale is Sprint Strength.

My Ahab moments would be a chronology of equipment acquisitions, most of which have ended up like the whale carcasses left behind The Pequod. The tools that have helped tremendously have been 1080 Motion equipment—not only in their training applications, but in the data I can mine from applying it. In addition to isolating specific movements that are vital to speed—like plantar flexion torque—I can also put higher amounts of force into a movement to see how the body will react. An example might include a leg getting pulled into flexion and the body responds with spinal flexion, either to lower the center of mass to not fall or use the spine to dissipate forces. Both initial reactions are neural in that safety and balance precede performance in every movement. Or, in more of a subjective assessment, athletes can feel other muscles jumping to help absorb the force, creating a muscular compensation pattern.

Fatigue can have the same impact. When performing an exercise forcing plantar flexion torque, after a few reps athletes with weak plantar flexion will note that they feel their hamstring start to fatigue. That is an indication that their plantar flexors lack endurance or strength to keep the movement going. Since the athlete has a rep target, their body resigns to help reach the target (more on plantar flexion later).

With access to weight room numbers, 1080 Sprint data, 1080 Synchro data, and video, I have started compiling various numbers and exercises that have carryover to sprinting fast. I think what surprised me the most was that it wasn’t about the highest maxes and big weight room numbers, but it was about thresholds—or, just the concept of being strong enough to go past the threshold or “speed barrier.” And once over that barrier, it will be enough to set up the next step. Speed is like a perfect story: one good step sets up another, until it doesn’t. And then we see how the body will solve the problem. So “call me Ishmael” and let’s see how this story unfolds.

Speed is like a perfect story: one good step sets up another, until it doesn’t. And then we see how the body will solve the problem, says @korfist. Share on X

Ahab Meets Inception: The Swing Leg

The story I have to tell here is not something I’m going to lay out in a chronological narrative. I want to be trendy and jump around to different moments of a sprint, ranging from a period of time in the cycle of the leg, to a different distance on the track, or even variables such as not running straight but curved. I promise I am not trying to be a fancy Christopher Nolan/ Quentin Tarantino type of writer—I am just collecting my thoughts as I prepare for my track season. To start this series, I want to look at the most important, undertrained aspect of running: the swing leg.

Research in the last 10 years has changed how we see sprinting. As we move further away from the 1980’s research that said the stronger the athlete, the faster the athlete, we start to look at other factors…because the strongest guy isn’t always the fastest. But since we have focused so much on strength, or Ground Reaction Force, we have forgotten the other vital aspect to all phases of a sprint… limb velocity.

Ken Clark’s multiple research papers on limb velocity were the first times I came across it mentioned in research. When I started my deep dive, I discovered Chinese researchers have recognized the importance of limb velocity as far back as 2014, with Y. Sun’s paper “How Joint Torques Affect Hamstring Injury Risk in Sprinting Swing-Stance Transition” followed by Y. Zhong’s paper “Joint Torque and Mechanical Power of Lower Extremity and Its Relevance to Hamstring Strain During Sprint Running.” The latter paper emphasizes an equation that makes the most sense to me in determining speed.

NET= MUS+GRA+EXF+MDT

• NET is the sum torque acting on a joint. Torque is what gives an athlete the power to pull their body forward 60 degrees from touchdown.
• MUS is power generated by muscle contractions.
• GRA is gravitational forces acting at the center of mass.
• EXF is generated at joints by GRF acting on the foot.
• MDT is the mechanical interactions occurring between limb segments and is the sum of all interaction torques produced by segment movements, such as the angular velocity and angular acceleration of segments.

Muscle power is agonist and antagonist muscles, multiplied by the angular velocity of the joint.

Both of these equations make more sense to me to determine running speed. We have relied on just vertical force for too long—mainly because it’s something we can measure in the weight room. These equations, instead, account for the athlete who can’t squat twice his body weight but can still run. They can also account for the athlete who can squat the house but can’t run. Maybe his limbs have become too heavy to move fast enough to run fast? Or their body weight has surpassed the threshold of what of what it can absorb and hold up? We can use this formula to describe a variety of athletes.

But in this article, we are looking at limb speed. Ken Clark showed in a brilliant YouTube and research paper that when our foot hits the ground, it has to pull our mass over a 60-degree range of motion. To pull your body over that range as quickly as possible, your hip has to create torque. Torque is a rotational element. Think of your body as a socket. Your foot is the actual socket and your leg is the lever that pulls it forward. The socket can go 360 degrees around—but we are stuck in a 60-degree range. We can create more torque by having a longer lever, which we can do to some extent by having a straighter leg on contact or by pushing the lever faster. In a real sense, that would mean bringing the leg faster down to the ground.

How do we train this?

A simple exercise is just a leg swing, but not like the one I see most teams warming up with. Our hip has to rotate or swing 60 degrees. When I see athletes swinging their leg, their torso rotates back and forth, so the range of motion is about half. I have my athletes support their torso by putting their hands on something fixed and focus on not moving their torso. And instead of swing for fun, have them swing with the intent of going as fast as possible. Because the power really comes in the reversal of the leg.

Video 1. Leg Swings.

But swinging a straight leg is not what happens when we run. Upon toe-off, we fold our lever (bend our knee) to reduce the drag (slow down) on our angular velocity (swing leg speed). We can train that too. Toe-off is the moment the foot comes off the ground at the end of the 60-degree range. Some of the speed of the toe-off comes from the energy created by the tension of the foot on the ground. More will come from a clean toe-off, meaning the ability of the foot to finish its rotation with the heel moving forward, not off to the side (see below).

From there, quite a bit of hip flexor activity brings the leg through. It starts with the iliopsoas complex and rectus femoris then takes over, reaching peak force when the swing leg knee is slightly in front of the stance leg. From that point, limb speed has to be reduced by 78% to prepare for the reversal of the limb, asking all the hamstrings to put on the breaks. This is why we try to find eccentric hamstring exercises to prevent strains, which occur at this point of the sprint cycle.

This concept may explain why high knee drills may not be helping your athlete get faster: the peak power, force, and velocity is at midpoint of the swing leg knee passing the stance knee. High knee, hip flexor drills accelerate vertically in an area where the limb is decelerating and reversing course in a sprint gait cycle.

Gaku Kakehata of the University of Tokyo has three great papers looking at this part of the running cycle. He creates two points in the gait cycle: a switch and a scissor.

1. A switch has a Part A and a Part B. Part A would be the high knee action and Part B would be the toe-off to knees passing each other.
2. A scissor is the relationship between the two legs.

Research showed that the Switch B is correlated with stride frequency. So, what can we do to get that leg to pull the toe off the ground and pull the thigh through faster? We can tap into reflexes. A stumble reflex is what prevents us from tripping. If the brain senses the foot is stuck, it will fire extra hard to get the foot down in time to prevent a trip or fall. We can access this quality in a couple ways. Simply, we can tap our foot into the ground and bring the knee forward as quickly as possible.

A stumble reflex is what prevents us from tripping. If the brain senses the foot is stuck, it will fire extra hard to get the foot down in time to prevent a trip or fall. We can access this quality in a couple ways, says @korfist. Share on X

Video 2. Tap and Go.

Or, we can take inspiration from Ayako Higashihara’s paper “Differences in the Recruitment Properties of the cortispinal pathway between the biceps femoris and rectus femoris muscles”—his research shows how the rectus femoris can “produce rapid increase in motor units” (or, have to turn on a lot faster to prevent a trip of fall). So, we need something to turn everything on faster. This coincides with Kakehata’s work showing that the faster the rec fem fires, the better the scenario for a good scissors and switch. Again, we can tap into a stumble reflex by putting our foot in an ankle cuff attached to a weight stack and let your leg go back 20 degrees. Give a little pull forward to create momentum in the stack, and let it drop for a moment to give the feeling of a trip, and then pull forward hard. In fancy terms, it is an oscillatory isometric for hip flexors.

Video 3. Slack and go.

Looking at how one limb functions by itself would be intralimb dynamics; or, in Kakehara’s paper, the rec fem and bicep femoris contract and reflex inside one limb. Looking at the relationship between the two limbs would be interlimb dynamics, or a scissor. Interlimb dynamics are what is required for us to move forward, but rarely developed or focused on in the weight room.

It starts with contact on the ground with one leg. If the contact is fast enough, it will help pull the hip of the swing leg forward 10 degrees. With the plant leg fixed on the ground, it forces the other half of the gluteus medius to do its other job, which is to rotate the hip forward once the knee is under the hip.

A simple way to understand this concept is to grab something heavy and try to do a biceps curl. If the weight is too heavy, it won’t move—but that won’t stop the contraction. The biceps will continue to fire, which is why your shoulder will roll forward. This concept would coincide with Marcus Pandy’s paper “How muscles maximize performance in accelerated sprinting” where the gluteus medius has an important role in acceleration. One end of the limb is locked on the ground, and as a result the other hip will rotate forward.

How can we train this? I like to do cable pulls with a cuff around the ankle. Usually, people will grab something to keep balance. It is an intralimb exercise because the hand supporting the body provides stability. If I take the hand off the support, now my opposite thigh has to support the hips to pull the leg through and it becomes an interlimb exercise. I like to add a step to excite my cross-crawl reflex.

Video 4. Step and go.

To add the hip rotation, I would do the same exercise, but block the opposite hip and allow the swing leg hip to rotate 10 degrees forward and back, forcing the plant leg glute med to do the work. There is some good research to show that the rotation of the hips is actually what improves our stride length.

To make it more interlimb, I would eliminate the block and use a step. I can attach my ankle or my thigh: ankle would be more rec fem and thigh would be more glute med. Regardless of my attachment point, I would want to step up to a box so I have an end target to really focus on my hip rotation.

Video 5. Hip Box

In terms of logistics for these exercises, I like a couple weeks of high force for 4-5 reps at a 3-5 sec contraction. 2-3 sets should be plenty. That’s followed by 2-3 weeks of some power movements for higher reps. A medium rubber band is an easy choice with the peak resistance at a point where the attached knee is passing the stance knee. I finish with really fast movements for reps of 20-30.

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF