Background

Rugby games are won on Speed. Everybody admires the players who can side step and swerve through a defensive line. Even more important nowadays with the tight defensive patterns is this ability to escape a tackle by changing direction at the last minute. Or what about these 50/50 situations where reaction determines who gets the ball. Yes, talent and a natural athlete can do this, but fortunately we can train our players in this too. You have to create a stimulating mix of fitness exercises to achieve this. Cross-over's from athletics and other sports proved to be very successful. Innovative coaches improved the fitness of their players dramatically.

Another trend was the enormous improvement in defensive systems, the influence of Rugby League in both players and coaches helped Union to become very successful in this area.

So, you have very fit and strong players and a tight defensive line:

SO HOW DO YOU SCORE?

Be agile and fast! Within this term 'Speed, Agility and Quickness' is included:

• Reaction time & Speed of thought
• Acceleration over the first 20 to 40m
• Change direction in a blink
• Hold top pace and change pace
• Change direction off either foot and on full speed
• Speed of pass, handling
• Speed endurance, which is the ability to sprint repeatedly

This raised awareness in the need to develop players mobility and speed.

• Speed is essential, but mostly for the first 5 meters
• Coordination runs we know from athletics only partly work because we hardly run straight

Improvement of Speed, Agility and Quickness is based on training the nervous system:

• Dynamic Flex warm-up,
• Mechanics of fast movement,
• Activation of neural pathways, Innervation
• Conditioning, working on movement in a controlled environment, Accumulation of potential
• Explosion, fast muscle strength, also called elastic strength,
• Implementation, Expression of potential

These elements make up the SAQ CONTINUUM(TM):

Dynamic Flexibility Warm-Up

Moving the body while elongating muscles not only warms and stretches, it also provides an excellent place to teach balance and co-ordination. Examples include: walks, runs, skips, twists and standing motion.

No static stretching anymore, no prove of its effectiveness in warm-up has been found.

Mechanics

Co-ordination and programmed agility are instructed through light plyometrics, zigzagging through a row of markers, little shuttle runs, picking up the ball, head-roll and other similar exercises. The emphasis here is on teaching bio-mechanically sound movements to develop the all the motor skills the body needs to make high frequency movements possible.

Innervation (Activation of the neural pathways)

This transition from warm-up to high-demand periods of work is characterized by footwork drills for co-ordination, such as the Fast foot ladder, dance-like foot patterns, or read-and-react tennis ball drills similar to the baseball infielder's drills.

Accumulation of potential

This is the "conditioning" time of practice and programmed agility, but in very controlled quantities. The potential for injury is high if you mix fatigue with high quantities of drills and prolonged elapsed time of direction change. Obstacle course runs are great for varied stimuli movements.

Explosion

At this stage, where programmable and random agility is trained, work is done with medicine ball throws, high-quality plyometrics jumping over tackle bags and contact shields, and short speed bursts. Tennis ball drop and recovery drills, and resistance running either by players holding each others shirts, sprint harnesses and downhill running. Or over speed running, downhill are all part of the Explosion phase.

Look at the intensity of this work-out: this is the place for fast action, but not tongue-hanging-out fatigue.

Expression of potential

This stage is quite short in duration but imperative. Ample rest is essential. Here the athlete applies the day's menu of skill into high quality sport specific movements. Short, high intensity tag games and random agility tests work well. In this way, the athlete walks off the practice field with a sense of exhilaration at having moved in a fast and controlled manner.