Speed. It is the most coveted quality in just about any team sport.
The ability to accelerate and win races to loose pucks.
High top end velocity to fly past defenders on an end to end rush.
What coach doesn't want his or her players to have these impressive qualities? And can you ever be too fast?
Think about that for a second…is that possible? No, of course not.
Now, you certainly can have athletes who don't think fast enough to keep up with their speed, but that is another issue all together (more on that later). At the end of the day, speed kills. Unfortunately, you've either got it, or you don't, right?
Not so fast…speed and acceleration are trainable qualities. Just ask a track and field coach, or any performance coach worth their salt. These are things that can improve. Sure, some people are genetically built to have higher ceilings than others, but everyone can improve in this area.
If you disagree, go read “Mindset” by Carol Dweck. You, have a fixed mindset. And you should probably think about fixing that.
Yes, speed and speed qualities (I'll refer to acceleration and speed mostly as just “speed” from here on out however, please understand they are related but different) are subject to adaptation just like any other physiological quality.
Volume, intensity, technique, strength, power, etc. are all components of speed development. By understanding basic concepts of stimulus and response, stress and adaptation, work and rest, you can better understand how to go about improving speed.
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