Did you know that players spend 90% of a game in the acceleration phase?
If I was playing today and wanted to stand out from the pack then I would hands-down make working my acceleration a priority.
Unfortunately, it seems to be the case that players either don't realise that they spend 90% of a game in the acceleration phase and need to train it, or that coaches just don't incorporate it in their training sessions. This sadly means acceleration is not a focus and forgotten about.
If it's you as a player not realising or it's your coach not giving it the time it deserves - either way, you have an option.
Work on a skill that you spend the majority of the game using or be left behind.
But, it's easier said than done.
The hard part is knowing what you need to work on to dramatically improve your acceleration.
So, if I only had 5 minutes of your time to quickly explain what you need to be doing to dramatically improve your acceleration enabling you to fly past defenders then I would narrow it down to 2 things:
1. HORIZONTAL FORCE PRODUCTION
Acceleration is all about moving our body forward (horizontally) as fast as possible.
You are producing horizontal force every time your foot strikes the ground during acceleration.
Improve the amount of horizontal force your body can produce and you are now on the road to improving your acceleration.
A few of my favourite movements to improve horizontal force production are
And there are a bunch more!
But, these 3 are a great base to improve your horizontal force production.
2. TECHNIQUE
This is where most rugby players drop the ball.
They have power but they just don't get into the right position to use it.
This is where I'll use a series of drills that will train their body to get into the right position and that transfers onto the field.
Here are a few drills I like to use
1. Wall Drill (trains your body to get into a forward lean position and to push backwards)
2. Scissor Drill (trains your arms and legs to move in unison)
3. Load & Lift Start (trains your leg to push hard into the ground)
Again, these are just a few but they are a great start.
If you are keen to dive deeper into improving your child's acceleration with the right drills and exercises mapped out with the exact sets, reps and order that you need to be performing them in then you need to check out my ONLINE SPEED PROGRAMS that concentrates on what players spend 90% of the game in - Acceleration