Be an Elite Coach, Build Elite Athletes

Things to develop your coaching and have a greater impact on your athletes. You define what your “elite” is!

By Isaac Leung, Athletic Skills

Hey reader,

Hope you have had a good week.

So in this newsletter, I chat about why you may use speed drills in your coaching and my top 3 movements I would use to improve speed and agility.

And before that, I question whether you should use instructions and constraints in your coaching or should you allow for more exploration and creativity?

Be an Elite Coach:

Set instructions and constraints or allow for chaos and exploration when coaching youth athletes?

I often hear both sides of the argument, where coaches and trainers may have differing approaches.

Setting instructions and guidelines can promote discipline and focus, helping athletes learn and develop a movement or skill with structure.

But in this case, some may be restricted in learning to solve a task independently and not all methods work for everyone.
 
Example: "You need to do X to get to Y, and then do Z to achieve this goal." There is only way to achieve the goal and the method is set. Either you succeed or you don’t.

On the other hand, allowing for chaos and exploration gives athletes the freedom to move and discover their own ways to develop methods for success.

This approach might take more time, and the success rate may not be as quick for some.

Example: "You have to get from A to B, but the ball can't touch the ground." - the method is now unknown to get to the goal so the athlete has to find a way and this may differ between individuals.

Which approach do you prefer in your coaching?

Or do you find a balance between both, depending on the age and ability of the athlete?

I don’t think there is a right or wrong but being too far either way may restrict motivation, learning and development of your athletes.

Build Elite Athletes:

Who Uses Running Drills? What Benefits Do They Offer to Your Training? Why Should You Integrate Them?

Many coaches use some form of running drills in their training, whether as part of a warm-up, a structured training program, or specific drill sessions.

Common examples include A-skips, high knees, wall drills, banded runs, and various forms of plyometrics.

However, when I ask coaches what they are aiming to achieve with a particular drill and why they chose it, many struggle to provide a clear or valid reason.

Here are four key reasons why you should incorporate running/speed drills with the athletes you coach:

1. Improve Speed and Agility.

2. Enhance Technique for Greater Efficiency.

3. Develop Power and Stiffness in the Ankle Joints.

4. Increase Mobility – Drills help you achieve a greater range of movement and open up your body.

Here are my 3 favourite drills I use when wanting to improve speed and add in to my training.

• Pogos - fast, punchy jumps on the floor generated from the ankles - see here by clicking this for the video.

• High Knee Bleeds in to a Run - Fast High Knees in a Tall Posture over 10m in to a 20m run through. Allows the player to transition from a drill in to action. Get the feeling of the body from the drill in action - see here by clicking this for the video.

• Fall Forward to Accelerate 10m - Gets the body to learn to be in a forward lean position, ideal for acceleration and forces the legs to drive forward and back and project the body forward - see here by clicking this for the video.

Do you use Speed Drills in your coaching?

Why do you use them?

What changes have you seen when using them in your athletes?

Hit reply and let me know!

Here is my podcast that explains more about running drills!

Here is my podcast where I talk about acceleration with lots of practical insights with a speed coach!

Need help with your coaching? Reply to this email and tell me your story...

Speak soon,

Isaac 🙂 

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