The Certified Speed and Agility Trainer's Manual Richard Lansky, CSCS, ACSM HFI US

127 Pages·2008·1.77 MB·English

The Agility Training Institute Presents….
The Certifi ed Speed and Agility Trainer’s Manual
Richard Lansky, CSCS, ACSM HFI
USA Weightlifting Certifi ed U.S. International Coach

Director of Athletic Development
Optimum Performance Training, Inc.
and
Andrew Neitlich, MBA
Director of the Agility Training Institute
Copyright ATN Associates LLC and The Agility Training Institute. All rights reserved.
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Table of Contents
About Richard Lansky .......................................................................5
Requirements for Certifi cation ...........................................................8
Introduction: Speed Kills .................................................................10
Equipment ........................................................................................20
Safety ...............................................................................................23
Forms ...............................................................................................26
Assessment .......................................................................................34
Movement Prep and Dynamic Warm Ups .......................................46
Developing Linear Speed .................................................................58
Plyometric Drills ..............................................................................68
Lateral Speed and Agility .................................................................74
Multi-directional Agility Drills ........................................................82
Reaction (Chaos) Drills ....................................................................88
Program Design ...............................................................................90
Case Study 1: Tennis Player .............................................................95
Case Study 2: High School Football Running Back ......................101
Case Study 3: High School Baseball Player ..................................107
Camp Programs ..............................................................................109
Motivational Strategies ..................................................................117
Marketing Your Practice ................................................................118
Bibliography ..................................................................................128
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About Richard Lansky
As President and Director of Optimum Performance
Training, Inc. at the O.P.T.I. Sports & Fitness Clinic,
Rich is the driving force behind the company and its
success over the past two decades.
A Syracuse University graduate, he has worked
in the sports performance and strength and
conditioning fi elds for 20 years. He is an NSCA Certifi ed Strength
and Conditioning Specialist as well as an ACSM Certifi ed Health/
Fitness Instructor
He is heavily involved in the Olympic Sport of Weightlifting, serving
at both the state and national level. He holds the offi ce of the President
of the Florida Local Weightlifting Committee as well as serving on
the Board of Directors for USA Weightlifting. Rich also serves as
the Board Liaison and Coordinator for the USA Weightlifting Coaching
Committee. In addition, he coordinates and teaches the Club Coach,
Sports Performance Coach and Senior Coach Educational Clinics
throughout the Southeast USA.
Rich is certifi ed as a U.S. International Coach by USA Weightlifting
and has served as Assistant Coach for the Men’s Jr. World Team in
2003 and 2004, and as Assistant Coach for the Women’s Jr. World
Team in 2004. He was the Assistant Coach for the 2002 Men’s Team
at the Pan American Championships in Venezuela. In 2004, he was
the head coach for the National Squad that competed at the Mermet
Cup (USA vs. Australia) in Melbourne, Australia. In 2007, he served
as the head women’s coach for Team USA at the World University
Cup in Peru.
Rich also served as Team Leader for the Jr. Pan American and 16
and Under International Teams in Puerto Rico in 2003 and 2005.
He is also a USAW National Referee.
As a personal coach, he directs the training of over 50 athletes on
a daily basis, both at the OPTI Sports and Fitness Clinic and at
the Team Florida Gulfcoast Weightlifting Training Hall. He has
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personally coached four national champions, four American Open
Champions, two National Collegiate Champions, two National
School Age Champions, three Junior Olympic Champions, and one
Pan American Champion. One of his athletes has set multiple Jr.
American Records and two more have established Collegiate
American Records. Five of his athletes have earned spots on either
the USOTC Resident Squad or USOETC resident squad.
Internationally, he has personally helped develop and coach
his athletes as they represented the USA at the Junior Worlds,
NACACI Championships, the Pan American Championships, the
Jr. Pan American Championships, the School age Pan American
Championships, the World University Games, the Mermet Cup,
the Criollo Cup, the Mexican Olympic Festival, the Pan American
Games, and the Senior Worlds. His coaching travels have taken him
to Bulgaria, Belarus, Quatar, Peru, Venezuela, Canada, Mexico,
Guatemala, El Salvador, Santo Domingo, Puerto Rico, and Australia.
As the head coach and executive director of operations for the
former national powerhouse club, Team Florida weightlifting, his
squads have won team titles at the Nationals, the National Juniors,
National 23 and Under Championships, National School age
Championships and the American Open.
He has recently re-organized and started the Team Florida Gulfcoast
Weightlifting Club, a not for profi t sports and lifestyle education
club dedicated to using the drug-free Olympic sport of Weightlifting,
as a vehicle to improve the physical, social and psychological
well-being of Florida’s Gulfcoast area youth and young adults.
In addition to coaching weightlifting, he has worked with hundreds
of high school and collegiate athletes to become more explosive,
stronger and faster for the sports of football, baseball, soccer, track
and fi eld, tennis, wrestling, volleyball, rowing/crew, sailing, and
equestrian. He served as a strength and conditioning coach for
Booker High School Football, Weightlifting and Wrestling in the
early 90s, as a conditioning coach for Venice High School Wrestling
in the mid 90s, and as a Speed Coach for Cardinal Mooney High
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School Soccer, Celsius Tennis Academy and Bradenton Christian
Football during the past few years.
At the elite level, he works with professional football, baseball,
tennis and soccer athletes during their off seasons.

His NFL Combine and Pro Day Preparation programs are considered
to be state of the art in terms of enhancing participants’ abilities to
produce explosive force, power and speed while preparing them
for the specifi c drills and tests that they will experience at their pro
day, senior bowl, and combine. Over the past few years, his athletes
have experienced average increases of 4-6” in the vertical jump, and
12” in the long jump; they have also dropped anywhere from 2/10
to 4/10 of a second off of the pro agility, three cone, and forty-yard
sprint tests. (www.sportsperformance.com)
In addition to his hands-on work with athletes, Rich spends a great
deal of time as an educator to those in the weightlifting, strength and
conditioning and personal training fi elds. He has been called upon
to present at the 1997, 1998 and 2000 NSCA National Conference.
In addition he has lectured and taught at the NSCA State Clinic
Level, the American Fitness Professionals Association, and the School
Boards of various counties in the state of Florida. Rich has taught
certifi cation courses for Florida Special Olympics Power lifting,
the American College of Sports Medicine and USA Weightlifting.
He has been published in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning,
Training and Conditioning, Purepower Magazine, USA Weightlifting,
American Fitness Quarterly, City Tempo, and Medi-Scene.
Together with Sharol Cripe, RD and D.R. McLaughlin, he authored
the Fitness Expert Activity and Nutrition Guides. He has also hosted
a “conditioning tip of the week” on local television and radio. In
1997, Rich was awarded Coach of the Year honors by both Sarasota
County Special Olympics and Florida Special Olympics. In 1998,
he was awarded the Good Heart award for community service in
Sarasota, Florida.
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Requirements for Certifi cation
To receive your certifi cation you must:
1. Read all materials in this manual and study the video clips.
2. Be paid in full with your program.
3. Complete a test to assess your knowledge and understanding of
the material.
4. Complete and maintain a current CPR certifi cation.
5. Agree once again to the terms and conditions you agreed to when
you signed up for the program. Specifi cally you, your clients, your
attorneys, and your insurance companies agree to the following:
YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT FITNESS TRAINING, INCLUDING SPEED AND
AGILITY TRAINING, HAVE INHERENT PHYSICAL RISKS, INCLUDING
INJURY AND HEALTH RISKS, AND EVEN RISK OF DEATH. YOU AGREE
THAT RICH LANSKY, ANDREW NEITLICH, THE AGILITY TRAINING
INSTITUTE, ATN ASSOCIATES LLC, OPTIMUM PERFORMANCE TRAINING,
INC.(OPTI) AND ITS AFFILIATES AND ASSIGNEES, ARE NOT LIABLE FOR
ANY INJURY, HARM, OR DAMAGE, INLCUDING ALL RISK CONNECTED
HEREWITH, WHETHER FORESEEN OR UNFORESEEN, THAT YOU, OR YOUR
CLIENTS, INCUR USING OR ATTEMPTING TO USE THIS PROGRAM. YOU
AGREE TO INDEMNIFY AND HOLD HARMLESS THE PREVIOUSLY NAMED
INDIVIDUALS AND ENTITIES FOR ANY INJURIES, HARM, OR DAMAGE
THAT MAY RESULT. THIS INCLUDES ANY CLAIM BY YOU, OR YOUR FAMILY
ESTATE, HEIRS OR ASSIGNS, ARISING OUT OF YOUR ENROLLMENT
AND PARTICIPATION IN THIS COURSE. YOU FURTHER ACKNOWLEDGE
THAT YOU ARE IN GOOD PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH AND HAVE
CONSULTED A PHYSICIAN PRIOR TO STARTING THIS OR ANY OTHER
EXERCISE OR FITNESS TRAINING PROGRAM, AND – IF YOU ARE A
TRAINER OR COACH WHO TRAINS CLIENTS -- HAVE CONFIRMED THAT
YOUR CLIENTS HAVE DONE THE SAME. THIS PARAGRAPH APPLIES TO
ALL PROGRAMS OFFERED BY ATN ASSOCIATES LLC AND THE AGILITY
TRAINING INSTITUTE AS WELL AS ANY PROGRAM DEVELOPED BY
RICHARD LANSKY, OR OPTIMUM PERFORMANCE TRAINING.
YOU ALSO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE “CERTIFIED SPEED AND AGILITY
TRAINER” PROGRAMS ARE BASIC CERTIFICATION PROGRAMS PROVIDING
BASIC EDUCATION AND INFORMATION. PERSONAL TRAINING AND
FITNESS TRAINING ARE PROFESSIONS THAT REQUIRE ONGOING
EDUCATION AND IMPROVEMENT. CERTIFICATION THROUGH ATI
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INDICATES AT MOST THAT YOU HAVE DEMONSTRATED INTELLECTUAL
UNDERSTANDING OF THE MATERIALS IN OUR PROGRAMS, BUT NOT THE
PROVEN ABILITY TO TEACH CLIENTS SAFELY OR EFFECTIVELY. FURTHER
TRAINING MAY BE REQUIRED FOR YOU TO ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS AND
BE ABLE TO TEACH CLIENTS SAFELY, EFFECTIVELY, AND/OR WITHOUT
INJURY. THIS PROGRAM MAKES NO CLAIMS ABOUT YOUR OWN OR YOUR
CLIENTS’ SAFETY, NOR DOES IT ASSUME ANY LIABILITY WHATSOEVER
FOR WHAT OCCURS UNDER YOUR DIRECT OR INDIRECT SUPERVISION
OF CLIENTS.
IN ADDITION, OUR CERTIFICATION PROGRAM AND SPORTS TRAINING
PROGRAM IS IN NO WAY INTENDED TO QUALIFY YOU FOR LIABILITY
INSURANCE FOR ANY KIND OF FITNESS PROGRAM. IF YOU HAVE
PURCHASED OR PURCHASE LIABILITY INSURANCE AT ANY TIME BEFORE
OR AFTER YOUR MEMBERSHIP, YOU EXPLICITLY AGREE THAT THE
PREVIOUSLY NAMED INDIVIDUALS AND ENTITITES HAVE MADE NO
REPRESENTATIONS ABOUT YOUR ABILITY TO OFFER FITNESS PROGRAMS
OR SPEED AND AGILITY PROGRAMS SAFELY OR WITHOUT INJURY, AND
THAT WE ASSUME NO RESPONSIBILITY OR LIABILITY FOR YOUR USE OF
THE MATERIALS IN THIS PROGRAM.
ATI ALSO STRONGLY RECOMMENDS THAT BEFORE YOU BEGIN TRAINING
CLIENTS WITH THE METHODS AND TECHNIQUES DEPICTED IN THIS
MANUAL AND VIDEO THAT YOU SPEND TIME WORKING AS AN
APPRENTICE OR ASSISTANT TO A QUALIFIED AND EXPERIENCED
CERTIFIED STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING SPECIALIST WHO ALSO
HOLDS USA TRACK AND FIELD CERTIFICATION.

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Introduction: Speed Kills
We’ve all heard the adage that “speed kills.” Speed can be the difference
in wins and losses. It can be the difference in making or missing a
point. It can be the difference in avoiding an injury, or even in
surviving a life threatening situation.
In sports that involve sudden changes in direction and reaction to
ever changing stimuli – what I call “chaos sports” – you never know
what is coming. These sports include tennis, soccer, baseball, football,
basketball, volleyball, and any other sport requiring rapid reaction to
unpredictable stimuli – including emergency situations in real life.
These sports require what are called “open skills.” You must react
in the quickest time possible in any number of ways. A variety of
responses may be required. For instance, if you are returning a serve
in tennis, you might have to move left or right, forward or back, react
to a fl at ball or spin, and react to different speeds. Speed, reaction
time and agility can make a signifi cant difference in your performance
in open skill sports.
In contrast, “closed skill” sports are activities like a 100 meter dash
that have identical rules and characteristics every time that they
are performed. Closed skills are rehearsed skills with an expected
response to a cue. The distance is identical every time and everyone
tries to achieve the end goal the same way every time (e.g. run as
quickly as possible from point A to point B). In closed skill dominated
sports, speed also makes a signifi cant difference, especially with
tasks requiring the athlete to accelerate quickly and effi ciently.
Speed is a learnable motor skill that can be improved with proper
practice and effi cient technique. There are three things about speed
that you should know:
1. Speed is a basic biomotor skill.
2. Speed is highly trainable.
3. Speed is highly improvable.
Everyone can get faster. Can everyone make the Olympics? No.
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Can everyone take a second or two off their 40-yard time? No. But
with proper training, just about everyone can improve their 40 yard
time. For instance, we recently worked with an athlete getting ready
for the NFL combine who cut his recorded 40-yard dash time from
4.5 seconds to 4.39 seconds over the span of a season. This kind of
improvement makes the difference between barely making the NFL
draft to being a high-probability pick who earns hundreds of
thousands of dollars.
Similarly, everyone can become more agile. To borrow a defi nition
from respected sports performance coach Robb Rogers, agility is
the ability to perform various foot movement rhythms while
simultaneously demonstrating balance and body awareness.
There are a few factors that determine how much of an improvement
an athlete can make in his speed and agility. First, the younger the
chronological age of the athlete, the more improvements he or she
can make. The younger person hopefully hasn’t developed improper
or ineffi cient motor patterns yet. Also, a number of Eastern European
sports scientists have identifi ed specifi c ages when male and female
youngsters have an optimal “window” to develop speed and other
motor skills. According to the article “Sensitive Periods in Physical
Development” by Loki et al., these windows include:
- Static strength. Ages 13-16 for boys, and 11-13 for girls.
- Leg power. Ages 13-17 for boys and 10-12 for girls.
- Arm power. Ages 13-17 for boys and 10-13 for girls.
- Running speed. Ages 12-17 for boys and 10-13 for girls.
A second factor that infl uences athletic development is training age.
The training age can be thought of as the length of time that an
athlete has been training properly in the development of physical
skills and basic biomotor quality enhancement. This training age
also determines how much improvement an athlete can make in his
speed and agility. A 12-year old with no prior formal speed training
has a great deal of room for improving his speed. His training age
may be low, but his chronological age is at an optimum level for
speed development. Training age also infl uences the number and
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complexity of the types of exercises and drills that can be performed.
A third and related factor that infl uences an athlete’s ability to
improve his speed is his level of profi ciency and his training and
competition history. The higher the level of the athlete, the lower the
degree of potential improvement. This is due to the law of diminishing
returns. Nevertheless, even a small change in the speed of the high
level athlete can be extremely valuable. If you think that the time
difference between a fi rst place medal and third place medal in the
Olympic 100 meter sprint is often measured in hundredths of seconds,
it is easy to see that even small improvements could be the difference
between gold and bronze.
Most of you will fi nd a receptive audience for speed and agility
training in youth and children. These individuals have a young
chronological age, typically have a young training age, and are not
yet high-level athletes. Therefore, you can help them make excellent
gains in speed and make a huge difference in the lives of your clients.
Speed and agility are also infl uenced by other physical qualities:
- strength;
- power;
- fl exibility;
- mobility;
- coordination; and
- reaction time.
For this reason, your Speed and Agility Certifi cation program will
include an assessment of many of these factors before you work with
any client. By identifying weaknesses or potential muscle imbalances,
tightness and restriction, or even a lack of structural strength, the
speed and agility coach can target his training program to improve
these qualities and thus prepare the athlete for potential improvement.
We have seen athletes improve their 10 yard dash times and thus
their 40 yard times simply by increasing their base strength and
stability levels. For instance, if you help an athlete develop the
ability to put more force into the ground via enhanced strength and
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