Sprinting “like a jet plane taking off” will help produce Premier League star strikers of tomorrow, new research has revealed. A study conducted at the University of Essex, focusing on Tottenham Hotspur’s academy, demonstrated that that just a few words can instantly boost sprinting speed by 3 percent over 20 meters.
It would normally take weeks of targeted training to achieve such a large increase. These short bursts of acceleration are largely seen in goal-scoring situations and could be the difference in beating a defender and finding the net.
Dr Jason Moran, from the School of Sport, Rehabilitation and Exercise Sciences, discovered simple analogies increased performance in this key area. The study showed elite young players ran faster when focusing on their environment rather than their body.
Dr Moran said: “The words we speak to athletes have a demonstrable and instant effect on their performance. It’s long been known that it’s better to direct an athlete’s attention to the environment around them rather than focusing on their body positions which seems to interfere with the fluidity of movement. This could be enhanced even further by using certain analogies, for example, asking a player to ‘accelerate like a Ferrari’ may create a more evocative image in their mind instead of simply telling them to run fast.”
Research Findings and Methodology
The research used 20 members of the North London side’s academy, all between 14-15-years-old. Before taking part in sprint drills the promising players were given different directions before running.
External analogies telling them to “push the ground away’ achieved better results than “driving their legs into the ground.”
And top performances were encouraged by players being urged to “sprint as if you are a jet taking off into the sky ahead.”
In coaching, analogies can make it easier for someone to learn how to move their body in the right way by hiding complicated instructions within in simple spoken words. For example, by using analogies, a coach can tell an athlete how fast and in what position their body needs to be, without using hard-to-understand technical terms.
It is thought that this could be particularly advantageous in young learners who may show relatively lower levels of focus. Away from elite sport, it is thought these cues and coaching tactics could be used in PE lessons and at the grassroots.
Dr Moran added: “Although these findings focus on the highest level of youth football, it could easily be used in schools or on a Saturday morning. By using a simple analogy teachers and parents might be able to get the most out of their kids whatever the sport.”
Reference: “How effective are external cues and analogies in enhancing sprint and jump performance in academy soccer players?” by Jason Moran, Matt Allen, Joshua Butson, Urs Granacher, Raouf Hammami, Filipe Manuel Clemente, Megan Klabunde and Gavin Sandercock, 1 February 2024, Journal of Sports Sciences.
DOI: 10.1080/02640414.2024.2309814
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13 Comments
So then going in with the thought if. Like Goku sayain powers given by God. Actually Does something…. Does the image matter?
the article about sprinting faster reminds me of how I accomplished this in jr high. I saw a movie titled Billie starring Patty duke as a runner who concentrated on a beat as in music. she concentrated on the steady best then sped the beat up and ran faster. worked for me. ended up fastest in the 100/400 and was made to be last runner in relay to “catch” up. baton hand over was the hardest for some cause their speed slowed due to concentrating on hand over. good times tho
Why as you age do you decrease your speed?I feel stronger now than I did say maybe when I was 30.Is it muscle deterioration or something else?
This is complete bull crap. I wonder if it’s one of the joke “scientific” papers that gets debunked as a deliberate hoax three months later. Just written and submitted for the lulz.
The idea that you’re going to increase an elite athlete’s performance materially by sharing some mundane analogy is laughable.
The power of suggestion is a powerful thing the ability to convince yourself what you can achieve is truly remarkable convincing yourself that you can take off like a jet you don’t have to bury your feet into the ground but let your feet off the ground it’s possible if you just tell yourself and believe just the inkling of it words are powerful
I believe I can fly … maybe
I believe Joe Biden is competent … not so much
I believe in a “2 state solution” … only if that means giving half of California to the terrorists.
Walter Payton considered 1 of the best running backs. Used a similar but different technique. To focus his speed would run down hills (make him run faster than normally could)
He discovered by using this technique
by gradually increasing his sprints down hill. He said it did 2 things control & speed.
More information please
The power of thought is very powerful for sure. Try this, have your athlete do a thigh pop with a low load band around the ankle, the focus is to kick the cushion as hard and fast as possible and use that image when sprinting. The results are amazing.
nah, they had of just watched toystory 2 or something “run like wind Bullseye”
Definitely more ways for those rich fat cats attempt to out fish the fish farm but the farm is well equipped with detailed structure to maximize the creation of the fish to be ideal for more people to eat with more flow of space time and light to develop the resources to control the fish not to become man eating fish of the unnatural super human killer snakeheads to alter the outcome of the more peaceful species like the robot fish they created in which those created fish made by the ignorant dumb asses that thought they could constantly debunk the theory of the ultimate fish from the highest dimensional fish that shared same guidance that of the protected dolphin cause it new how to use its sonar.. cause as we know jaws fought with big teeth but the one with the better guidance system acted like a precise attack torpedo that even there rockets stay grounded due to fear of all the fish species rising against them. . Maybe it’s the whale that will eat them alive and spit them out in the burning world
Are you okay?
idk