Improving Your Footspeed
I've been coaching youth basketball for many years and the one thing that I've seen is that some kids naturally know how to run while others are so inefficient in their running style that you can't help but wonder how much better they would be if they simply worked on their running form. The purpose of this post is to help kids improve their running form and thus help increase their foot speed. Problems with Inefficient Runners Relax - The main problem that I see with most kids who seem to run slower than they should is that they tense up. The main key to running is that you stay relaxed. You need to stay relaxed in the face, the shoulders, the arms, the hands, and you hips. Tightness in any of these areas can cause you to run slower than you are capable of. Foot Strike - Many kids are plodders. They run by slamming their feet on the ground instead of focusing on being light on their feet. Their heels make great contact with the ground and this serves as a brake