Speed
& Agility
Hit & Run Baseball is now
offering group training for Baseball Specific
Speed & Agility. Yes, the drills and training
used will enhance all athletes’ performance, but
we will be taking this training to the level of
you learning how to apply these skills to the
field. If you were not learning how to apply
your Speed Training techniques for field use
before, you will definitely want to bring your
training to the NEXT LEVEL.
Finally,
some real BASEBALL SPECIFIC Speed and Agility Training. That’s right,
this program is going to focus on how you apply the latest methodologies
in Sports Performance Training and teach athletes how to apply your
peaked Speed and Agility skills to the place you need to use them most…
the Baseball Field!
In Baseball
/ Softball and most other sports, your ability to perform at the highest
level relies on your inherent SPEED, AGILITY and QUICKNESS.
·
Fool proof drills to reinforce the techniques of getting
an incredible jump!
·
The same techniques that make Olympic sprinters explosive
during acceleration!
·
Simple posture and body positions to AVOID which will
DECREASE the quickness of the "jump" and the speed of the acceleration!
·
Strength training exercises to increase overall power to
areas of the body NOT specifically trained in the past.
·
How to avoid the mistakes even the PROS are making!
·
The secret foot position that can make or break your
first move!
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Why the secret to explosive jumps are in your hands.
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How to reproduce the exact foundation of the "Lead
Stance" every single time a lead is taken.
·
Why commonly used "fancy" techniques may be getting your
base runners thrown out!
·
How to put incredible stress on the pitcher and catcher
every time a runner gets on base and takes a lead!
·
Tried and tested techniques guaranteed to cause quicker
acceleration.
·
An amazing secret that almost no one is using, to
increase the speed of the "jump", yet it is a biomechanical and physical
ability that must occur to create faster motions!
·
A proven method that takes away unwanted motions which
can cause a base runner to get thrown out at second of picked off at
first!
·
and MORE!
TRAINING SYSTEM
WHAT IS SPARQ?
First, the easy
part. SPARQ is an acronym, standing for Speed,
Power, Agility, Reaction and Quickness. Simple
enough. But what does that mean?
It means that
SPARQ training is to help athletes improve in
all of those areas through focused, dynamic
training. If they improve their overall
athleticism, there is no question they will
improve their game.
You’re already
fast? SPARQ can make you faster. You’ve never
made the team? SPARQ will help you make the cut.
While not every person is a born athlete,
through training every person can become a
complete athlete.
The first step is
to get your SPARQ Rating. SPARQ has
comprehensive assessment protocols for six
sports – football, boys’ soccer, girls’ soccer,
baseball, fastpitch, boys’ basketball and girls’
basketball, as well as a general athletic
assessment – designed to test the skills and
unique brand of athleticism relevant to each
sport. What these tests do is reveal to athletes
their strengths and weaknesses, helping them to
better target their training.
The result is a
more complete athlete – blazing speed, explosive
power, fluid agility, innate reaction and
jump-start quickness.
SPARQ is the
difference between being a player and being an
athlete.
What
is a SPARQ Rating
The SPARQ Rating is a number that identifies
overall athletic ability and is used by top
coaches and trainers around the nation as an
initial indicator of an athletes potential on
the field. While the conventional wisdom is that
athletes are born 'fast' or 'slow,' science has
shown that a training program focused on
retraining muscle fibers and neurons to react
more quickly and accurately can greatly increase
an athlete's speed, agility, and explosiveness.
The key value of the SPARQ Rating is that it
provides athletes with an invaluable tool for
staying motivated, measuring results, focusing
training, and maximizing their success on the
playing field.
When you enroll in the monthly Speed Agility
Program, you will be tested for your SPARQ
rating. This can be used to compare and contrast
with other athletes around the nation. Not only
does the athlete get hands on training, but also
the ability to get a rating that is recognized
as a standard measurement of overall athletic
ability.
What
is SPARQ Training?
What
you can measure you can improve. The SPARQ
Rating tells you precisely where your
opportunities are for improvement. SPARQ
Training gives athletes the drills, programs and
the information they need to work smarter and
get better faster.
SPARQ Training & Testing available for:
1. General fitness
2. Baseball / Fast Pitch Softball
3. Basketball
4. Football
5. Soccer
6. Track and Field
7. Youth Sports Conditioning – Boys & Girls
SPEED TRAINING FOR THE YOUTH ATHLETE
PLAYERS
First, let me
say that there is no age too young to start
learning the necessary muscle and motor skills
to peak their SPEED, increase their AGILITY and
enhance fast twitch QUICKNESS. Most of the
skills needed can be learned; its not all
physical as one might think. From the youngest
athlete to the professional level, there are
many facets to the training needed to peak your
Speed, Agility and Quickness.
SPEED
Although
running at a quickened pace appears to be an
extremely simple concept, developing good speed
is actually a very complex endeavor. Speed,
agility and quickness are physical attributes
that all athletes require regardless of the
sport. In fact, speed camps and speed-based
training programs are currently among the most
popular and trendy activities within the youth
sport industry… But, are we teaching young
athletes the proper application of speed?
What does
speed mean? Running at a quick velocity is
comprised of several bodily systems all working
synergistically with each other -
One of my biggest concerns within the youth
sporting world is when coaches and trainers use
‘adult style’ training strategies and equipment
when working with young athletes. Understand
that the above list represents some of the
physical attributes necessary to produce good
speed. Having said that, speed based camps could
and most certainly should include training time
for these aforementioned components. It takes a
PROGRAM of specific drills and techniques that
cover a wide array of activities.
The fact is that running for speed
is no different than any other athletic skill in
that it is an involved endeavor with much
technique which requires good coaching.
AGE-APPROPRIATE FUNCTIONAL TRAINING
This leads us
to a current problem with the very trendy “kids’
speed camps“. All too often, I watch coaches
hook external apparatus up to their young
athletes and proceed to ‘run’ them through a
series of sprints. These external devices are
either over-speed or resistance in nature and
serve different purposes. Over-speed devices
force the athlete to run a small percentage
quicker than normal. The science behind this is
that the nervous system will become accustom to
that pace of firing or sequencing and will adapt
(become faster). Resistance devices work to slow
the athlete down. Their basic purpose is to
create stronger muscular contractions through a
running motion which would support those muscles
becoming functionally stronger. Again, the end
result is increased speed.
The problem
lies in the fact that young athletes typically
lack the functional strength to benefit heavily
from this style of training. The core
musculature in most kids, for example, will
undoubtedly lack the ability to control the
pelvis appropriately through either over-speed
or resistance sprinting drills. Lost in the
contemporary world of sport and fitness is the
need to get back to basics. Simply put, if you
want to get young athletes to run faster then
TEACH THEM HOW. The biomechanics of most young
athletes is wild at best and if coaches would
concentrate on teaching kids how to move their
bodies in a fluid manner then that would result
in an exponential increase in speed within their
athletes.
Older athletes
(age 12 and up) have better neuromuscular skills
and can benefit further by introducing more
advanced techniques.
Bottom line -
Get back to basics and obtain the right
information. It has to be appropriate to the
athlete being trained. Biomechanical concerns
and fluidity of motion will have a much bigger
and safe impact on the speed of young athletes.
Its like “learning to walk before you can run”.
My key points
when developing speed in young athletes (5 – 11
yrs):
*The drills
implemented depend on the experience and needs
of the players.
AGILITY & QUICKNESS
·
Simply defined, quickness describes body limb
movement speed, acceleration, reactive ability
and explosiveness.
·
Agility is the ability to change direction
suddenly with minimal loss of speed, balance and
body control.
·
Agility is a complex skill that involves all six
fundamental aspects of a sport movement ( speed,
strength, timing, rhythm, balance and body
control)
All ages will
do various drills regarding Agility in general,
Lateral Agility and Power. This will include
Agility Hurdles and Cones, Speed Ladder and
Digital Laser Timed drills.
SPARQ Digital Laser Timing System
Speed &
Agility
Development Program -
Printable
Brochure
Click
on the SPARQ logo to view Promo Video:
