Off-season speed training for post participants – Part 4: Change of direction

Our cod work during the off-season focuses on three types of cuts: shuffle, surf to sprint, sprint to sprint.

At the beginning of the off-season, the first exercise we implemented is to cut down about four yards of shuffle, with the cutting position marked by a cone.

We start with visually marked cutting points, allowing athletes to focus on their own footwork without having to care about their response to external stimuli. While we rarely see events in sports where athletes have to change direction based on predetermined constraints, it can take its place here with the intention of preparing for real cod productions. With athletes having to react unexpectedly, having less freedom can isolate joint positioning and angles and become a better teaching tool.

Here we can see the athletes make a predetermined cut in the shuffle, then shuffle, sprint to the sprint, and then sprint: