By Lee Taft

One of the arts of being a good coach is using proper verbal cuing. In this article I want to talk about a cue that you can use that will physically and mentally change how your athletes move.

Many times we see athletes moving incorrectly and don’t quite know what to say or do to fix their issues. The funny thing is it is often a simple fix that is remedied by using the correct words. As a former physical education teacher and a coach for many years, I understand the power of proper verbal cuing.

At the Lee Taft Speed Academy, we have athletes of all levels training year-round improving their athleticism. After several weeks of coaching, the athletes begin to take on the postures and movement styles consistent with our training styles. Of course each athlete has his or her own unique characteristics of movement. Every now and again an athlete will have a difficult time making a sharp cut or change of direction move. We might even see them during a game moving less efficiently than they could. It is my job and my staff’s job to recognize the missing link and to coach the athletes on what to do. This is truly the art of coaching.

One of the major issues we consistently see with new athletes and athletes that don’t like to bend their knees in general is a loss of efficient change of direction ability. These athletes tend to allow their center of mass to get out of control. This is a golden rule at the Lee Taft Speed Academy. Never let the center of mass get out of control. Because the issue is usually related to the athlete standing too tall when cutting or changing direction aggressively I use the term staying down or “staying in the tunnel.” This simple cue makes a clear mental picture for the athletes to see themselves staying low. So when the athletes are beginning to engage in a play that will require them to make quick change of directions we need to encourage them to “stay in the tunnel” to make quicker cuts.

Why does this work?
In order for an athlete to make a quick change of direction and not allow the center of mass to get out of control, the legs must find the correct angle. What do I mean by the legs find the angle? The body is remarkable at instinctively repositioning its limbs to react during athletic movements. The legs will naturally move wider to stop the body during deceleration or change of direction, but this natural instinct can be less effective if the athletes does not stay in the tunnel or stay low.

When an athlete is low and an angle needs to be found to decelerate or change direction the athlete can quickly plant the leg wide enough to make an efficient cut. Also, the athlete can still have plenty of knee bend to aggressively accelerate out of the cut. But when an athlete comes into a deceleration or sharp change of direction move and the hips are too tall, the legs are too straight during the plant to aggressively push off. This normally results in a poor change of direction move seen as loss of balance and poor quickness.

The solution is to teach the athletes to get lower and stay in the tunnel so they can finish the move efficiently and effectively.

So when observing multidirectional speed skills be aware of how athletes move in and out of change of direction moves.

Ground Breaking 2

Ground Breaking 2 will make you into the guru on coaching athletic speed. Not only will you be able to evaluate athletic skills such as; many forms of cutting, acceleration, deceleration/change of direction, jumping/landing, first step quickness in any direction, lateral speed mechanics, tactical quickness, retreating skills, and so much more, you will also be able to correct your athletes on the spot with highly targeted coaching cues. Your athletes will love you!