Speed-agility-quickness

How often do you hear causal sporting observers comment “look at that athlete he/she has good speed” or “he/she is very agile” or “that athlete is quick”? Well there are subtle differences between pure speed, agility, and quickness; and therefore, there are differences in the training methods to improve the physical attributes of speed, agilty, and quickness or SAQ.

 

Pure speed is referred to as the ability for an athlete to move from point A to point B in the fastest time possible usually in a straight line over longer distances (30m to 100m) e.g. 100m sprinters. Agility is the ability to move your body quickly and change direction under control e.g. wide receivers in football dodging oncoming tacklers. Whereas, quickness is the ability to react quickly to stimuli (visual, tactile or sound) to cover short distances in the quickest time possible e.g. goalkeepers reacting to a point blank shot.

 

In the majority of sports, and especially team sports, athletes have to possess all three types of movement attributes to excel. It is no coincidence that these attributes are witnessed in all elite level athletes regardless of position or sport. The proportional distribution will likely vary though e.g. athletes that lack pure speed will likely posses good agility and quickness, and vice versa, athletes who demonstrate average agility and quickness attributes will likely posses excellent pure speed.

 

It is important that athletes determine what areas of their SAQ need improvement, and then of course dedicate a proportion of their training time to enhance these areas. The foundation component of SAQ training is running form or bio-mechanics (body movement) and more specifically body posture. Once an athlete demonstrates a good understanding of this and can repeatedly demonstrate high levels of bio-mechanics and posture then the finer elements of agility and quickness training can be introduced to their routine.

 

My suggestion to young athletes is to spend time watching and observing “smooth” or “fluid” runners in attempt to visualize and replicate a more efficient running style. Many athletes will have to break bad habits with their running form, however, with perseverance the results will be well worth it.

Carig Dalrymple

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