HOW TO USE WICKET DRILLS TO TEACH TOP SPEED TECHNIQUE AND MAXIMUM VELOCITY

Teaching speed and sprint technique should not be limited just to sprint drills. According to Jacksonville University Head Coach Ron Grigg, sprint drills do not directly translate to good sprint mechanics because the essential ingredient of force application to the ground is eliminated in most sprint drills. Sprint drills are good for teaching the mechical concepts. They are good for specific dynamic mobility. They train coordination in a general sense. And in some populations of young athletes or distance athletes, traditional sprint drills can serve as light plyometrics. Boo Schexnayder perhaps said the best quote: "While these exercises provide an opportunity to address many aspects of running mechanics, the intensities found in the exercises are not sufficient to elicit the reflexes found in competition. Thus, sprint drills do not improve running mechanics directly, creating carryover to the event itself becomes the task of the coach." So the best and most specific sprint drill is good sprinting itself. How can we create the carryover? The single best tool is the wicked drill created by Vince Anderson, now at Texas A&M.

Sprint drill fallacy:

Sprint drills do not translate to good sprint mechanics due to the elimination of force application. They are good for:

• Teaching concepts
• Specific dynamic mobility
• General coordination
• Light plyometrics

The Wicket Drill

The wicked drill requires the essential ingredient of force application in order to be successful. In the wicket drill we have initially six progressively longer spaced acceleration strides. This requires the athlete to produce force in order to develop momentum and velocity. After the six acceleration strides, we have 6-in banana hurdles or wickets systematically placed at ever increasing distances. Again, the athlete must apply force in order to cover ground and negotiate the wicket successfully. The wickets serve as a peripheral visual reminder for about proper ranges of motion at the arms and legs. The wickets give feedback to the coach while watching and to the athletes while performing.

The goal is to land in the middle of each wicket. The drills are often slightly submaximal, enough that it allows for thought and awareness of mechanics by the athlete. How can we progress wicket drill workouts? We can do it:

• By the number of wickets that we have the athlete run over in each repetition.
• By increasing the initial spacing of the wicket drill, which then, subsequently increases the spacing throughout the drill as our athletes improve.

When we're training speed technique, the wicket drill can be the main session, or when we're getting into speed development, the wicket drill may serve as a link between our specific warm-up and our main sprint development session. The wicked drill is good for all athletes that run: from your sprinters to your distance runners, including your jumpers.

Wicket drill explained:

• Wicket drill requires force application.
• Created by Vince Anderson (Texas A&M).
• 6 progressively longer acceleration strides. Requieres force to develop momentum/velocity.
• Into 6 inch "banana hurdles" or "wickets" systematically placed at ever increasing distances.
  • They must apply force to cover ground.
  • Wickets serve as a peripheral reminder.
  • Wickets give feedback to the coach and athlete.
• The goal is to land in the middle of each wicket.
• Slightly sub-maximal, so it allows for thought and awareness of mechanics.
• It can be progressed by number of wickets or spacing of wickets as athletes improve.
• It can be a main session early in the year, or part of a warm up later in the year.
• Good for all athletes that run (sprints to distance).

We can determine the effectiveness of the wicket drill through two indicators:

• One indicator of good sprint mechanics is to look at the positions of both knees upon ground contact. Good sprinting is indicated by knees that are exactly side by side, no spacing between the legs, at the instant of ground contact. The knees side by side during ground contact is also known as "the figure 4".
• The second indicator of good sprint mechanics is a split position of the athlete in flight phase in the wicket drill. We should observe in flight phase an excellent posture with open ranges of motion and synchronization of the arms and legs.

Bibliographic references:

• CompleteTrack. (2014). Using Wicket Drills to Teach Top Speed Technique & Maximum Velocity [Video file]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/QZ7Mt1fpMN8?si=hYGgT6j_WUHw2axJ