🏃‍♂️There is a hogh demand for fast players in almost every team sports. How to develop acceleration ability we discussed in the previous posts (”Speed & Speed-Strength Development”, “Resisted Sprinting”, “Uphill Sprinting” and ”On-Ice Resisted Sprinting”). 📈But the next problem we face as coaches is when to apply the training means to cause the delayed training effect in competition? Simply put, a specific training load causes a subsequent drop in manifestation of stressed physical quality followed by performance boost above the baseline [1]. 💪🏻You can ensure that it’s real by conducting a simple experiment: perform maximum number of push-ups possible, then rest 5 minutes and repeat push-ups. Obviously, 5 minutes is not enough to recover and you will do significantly less repetitions during the second set. But while increasing rest time by 5 minutes each week, eventually you will find a supercompensatory recovery interval, which will allow you to outperform the first set. Try it 🙂

🚀But let’s get back to speed development. The onset and magnitude of the delayed training effect depends on volume of training load (to develop speed intensity should be >95% [6]). According to Platonov, after speed training session with high load athletes’ velocity will be inhibited for 4 upcoming days following a sharp increase on the 5th day [2]. The same type of training with medium load causes the desired effect to happen earlier, on the 3rd day [2].

🏆The next problem is how to check if the delayed training effect was achieved on the competition day. Depending on the budget, different strategies (with varying degree of accuracy) could be implemented:
Expensive team GPS-tracking [3] or optical-tracking system [4, 5]. The best choice as you can precisely register the top speed of every athlete and amount of time spent above 95% of top speed during the game/competition [6].
Medium cost accelerometers that attach to skates or sports shoes [3, 7]. The top speed attained during the game/competition can be measured.
Finally, a low cost option: pre-game/competition measurement of CMJ using a jumping platform. The idea is based on a strong correlation between jumping and sprint performance [8].

Thank you for reading!

References:
1. Platonov, VN. Sports Training Periodization. General Theory and its Practical Application [in Russian].
2. Platonov, VN. Specific physical preparation of elite swimmers [in Russian].
3. Scott, MTU, Scott, TJ, Kelly, VG. The Validity and Reliability of Global Positioning Systems in Team Sport.
4. Pumpa, K, Thompson, KG. The Accuracy and Reliability of a New Optical Player Tracking System for Measuring Displacement of Soccer Players.
5. Zankavets, U. An analysis of acceleration of the KHL professional ice hockey players.
6. Francis, C. The Charlie Francis training system.
7. Mitschke, C, Kiesewetter, P, Milani, TL. The Effect of the Accelerometer Operating Range on Biomechanical Parameters: Stride Length, Velocity, and Peak Tibial Acceleration during Running.
8. Rodriguez-Rosell, D, et al. Traditional vs. Sport-Specific Vertical Jump Tests: Reliability, Validity, and Relationship With the Legs Strength and Sprint Performance in Adult and Teen Soccer and Basketball Players.