Developing Youth Speed

Proven training system that improves

speed and quickness in any athlete.

Youth Speed Training - How to Sprint Faster

Original article published at EZineArticles.com

You probably have noticed in recent years sports teams are focused on speed, speed, and more speed. It's not surprise parents and coaches of youth athletes now want their youth athletes to get faster as well.

Learning to sprint faster is not that difficult, if you follow certain principles. The main principle is to improve the youth athlete's strength. This can be accomplished through several different speed training exercises and drills.

Sled sprints, or hill sprints, provide resistance the athlete must overcome. This resistance builds up strength that will later be used to propel the athlete faster as they sprint. For youth athletes, a sled weighing 10-30 pounds would be plenty heavy. A steep hill can also be used.

When performing these speed training exercises, it is important to keep the sprint no longer than 5 seconds in length. Athletes are only able to maintain maximum effort for up to 7 seconds. After this window, performance decreases quickly. Following each sprint, rest about 2 minutes. For younger athletes around ages 12-14, perform 2 sets of 5 sprints, resting 2 minutes between sprints and 5 minutes between sets. For high school athletes, aged 16-18, perform 3-4 sets of 4-5 sprints, resting 2 minutes between sprints, and 5-7 minutes between sets.

Another great exercise for learning how to sprint faster is push up sprints. To perform this exercise, athletes will lie on their stomachs, hands by their arm pits. When they are ready, or on a "go" command, they push up quickly and sprint as fast as they can. This should be done in one movement. For younger athletes aged 12-14, perform 3-4 sets of varying distances from 5-20 yards. Older athletes, 16-18 years old, can perform 3-5 sets of 20-40 yards.

These two exercises help build a foundation for learning how to sprint faster in youth athletes. They are easy to perform, and can be quite fun. By following the guidelines, you will notice an improvement in your athletes speed in a few weeks.