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9S: SPEED CERTIFICATION MANUAL

Z-HEALTH® 9S: SPEED W. Eric Cobb, D.C.

9S: SPEED CERTIFICATION MANUAL

NOTICE OF COPYRIGHT & MEDICAL DISCLAIMER Copyright © 2016 by Z-Health® Performance Solutions, LLC Published and distributed in the United States by: Z-Health® Performance Solutions, LLC 8380 S. Kyrene Road, Suite 101 Tempe, AZ 85284 www.zhealtheducation.com All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any means or in any form whatsoever, nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted or otherwise copied for public or private use – other than as referenced material in articles and/or reviews - without the written permission of the author. 2nd Edition November 2016

Disclaimer The information provided by Z-Health Performance Solutions, LLC (“Z-Health”) is strictly intended for your general knowledge and for informational purposes only. The information contained in this or any Z-Health material, publications, or website (collectively “Z-Health Products”) is not to be construed as medical recommendations, medical advice, diagnosis, treatment or as professional advice, nor is it intended for use as a substitute for consultation with or advice given by a medical practitioner, health care practitioner, or fitness professional. Before beginning this or any exercise or nutritional program, you should consult with your physician. Neither Z-Health, its affiliates, agents nor any other party involved in the preparation, publication or distribution of the works presented herein is responsible for any errors or omissions in information provided in this or any Z-Health Product. Z-Health makes no representation and assumes no responsibility for the accuracy of information contained herein or in any Z-Health Product. Z-Health specifically disclaims all responsibility and shall not be responsible for any liability, loss or risk, injury, damage, personal or otherwise, which is incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use or application of any of the material contained in this product or any Z-Health Product. Z-Health does not recommend, endorse or make any representation about the efficacy, appropriateness or suitability of any specific tests, products, procedures, treatments, services, opinions, health care providers or other information that may be contained on or available through this product any Z-Health Product. Z-Health shall not be responsible or liable for the content, use, information, or products and services of these resources. Additionally, Z-Health shall not be held responsible for the conduct of any company, website or individual mentioned in this product, associated websites, or any Z-Health Product. You are encouraged to confirm any information obtained from or through this product or any Z-Health Product with other sources, and review all information regarding any medical condition or treatment with your physician. Should you have any healthcare-related questions, please call or see your physician or other healthcare provider immediately. You should never disregard medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read here or in any Z-Health Products. The opinions expressed in this publication represent the views of Z-Health Performance Solutions, LLC.

9S: SPEED CERTIFICATION MANUAL

Legalities Here are the basics that you need to understand about this course. All physical activity carries certain inherent risks. This is true of every drill and technique taught in this certification. You must exercise your own judgment, in conjunction with feedback from your client and their chosen healthcare professionals, about which drills to apply in training them. You must also maintain a high level of awareness of your athlete’s general physical condition day-to-day and moderate their work rate appropriately. Remember, that one thing that sets Z-Health apart is our laser-sharp focus on constant attention and re-assessment! Understand that this course is a COACHING course. A coach provides information, drills, motivation, and inspiration to his or her athletes to promote positive, powerful performance changes. Every skill set in this course should be viewed from that standpoint. You are responsible for understanding the applicable laws in your state with regards to what you can legally do under your licensure. If you have questions, contact an attorney. We will do our very best to provide you as much information as possible in this arena, but ultimately the responsibility to practice your profession ethically and legally falls on you. Do not, under any circumstances, countermand the orders of your client’s physician. Unless you are legally licensed to do so, do not, under any circumstances, tell a client that they have a specific disease process. This course is NOT training you to diagnose medical conditions. Nor are we training you to provide medical advice. Remember that you must protect your business and professional employment first and foremost and that sports training can result in severe injury – particularly when athletes attempt to progress too quickly. In training yourself and your clients, go slowly, be careful, and exercise superior professional judgment in what you do and what you allow your athletes to do.

“The race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, but that’s the way to bet.” 
 - Damon Runyon

9S: SPEED CERTIFICATION MANUAL

TABLE OF CONTENTS Perceptual Reframing & The Perceptual Gap......................................................................... 7 Contextual Speed...................................................................................................................................... 8 The Z-Health Threat Neuromatrix – High Road & Low Road Responses.................................................. 9

The OODA Loop – Colonel John R. Boyd............................................................................ 10 The OODA Loop - Conditioning Our Decision Making.......................................................................... 11

The O.O.D.A. Loop.............................................................................................................. 11 OODA and the Threat Neuromatrix........................................................................................................ 12 The Z-Health OODA-Threat Loop........................................................................................................... 14 Examples of OODA Threats.................................................................................................................... 14 The Z-Health OODA-Threat Loop Diagram............................................................................................ 15

The Z-Health O.O.D.A. Threat Loop.................................................................................... 15 Building Faster Athletes – The Z-Health Way....................................................................... 16 Visual System Neurology..................................................................................................... 17 The Primary Visual Structures.................................................................................................................. 17 Key Points on the Visual System.............................................................................................................. 19 Vision Rehabilitation, Physical Preparation and Technical Mastery......................................................... 20 Bottom-Up or Top-Down Approach........................................................................................................ 22

Tools for Improving Visual Acuity, Visual Fields and Accommodation.................................. 23 Cranial Nerve Neuromechanics............................................................................................................... 23

Visual Cranial Nerve Neuromechanics.................................................................................. 26 Optic Nerve Tensioning and Slacking..................................................................................................... 26 Oculomotor Nerve Tensioning and Slacking........................................................................................... 27 Trochlear Nerve Tensioning and Slacking................................................................................................ 31 Abducens Nerve Tensioning and Slacking.............................................................................................. 32

Visual Training Tools - Acuity & Accommodation................................................................. 33 Binasal Occlusion.................................................................................................................................... 33 Pinhole Lenses......................................................................................................................................... 34 Colored Lenses........................................................................................................................................ 35 Hemifield Lenses..................................................................................................................................... 37 Visual Reset Drills.................................................................................................................................... 38 Peripheral Awareness Chart.................................................................................................................... 40 Padula Transformation Cube................................................................................................................... 41 Four Square Chart Fixations.................................................................................................................... 42 Near Far Chart......................................................................................................................................... 43

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Tools for Improving Binocular Vision, Stereopsis and Vergence.......................................... 44 Worth Four-Dot Test – Version 1............................................................................................................. 44 Woth 4-Dot Version 1 Interpretation:...................................................................................................... 44 Worth Four-Dot Test – Version 2............................................................................................................. 45 Worth 4-Dot Version 2 Interpretation:..................................................................................................... 45 Brock String Drill #1 - Smooth Transitions............................................................................................... 46 Brock String Drill #2 – Combined Vergence and Pursuits....................................................................... 47 Brock String Drill #3 – Multiple Strings.................................................................................................... 48 Stop ‘N Go Fusion Trainer....................................................................................................................... 49 Barrel Cards............................................................................................................................................. 50 Free Space Fusion Cards......................................................................................................................... 51

Tools for Improving Visual Perception Skills......................................................................... 52 Arrow Chart – Verbal Only....................................................................................................................... 52 Arrow Chart – Verbal + Body................................................................................................................... 52 Eye Blink/Clock Drill................................................................................................................................ 53 Blauer Tactical Systems Emotional Climate Training Drill........................................................................ 54 Strobe Glasses......................................................................................................................................... 55

Improving Visual Skills Using the Z-Health 8 Levels Model.................................................. 56 Tactical Application of Visual Skills...................................................................................... 58 Sport-Specific Visual Tasks...................................................................................................................... 59

9S: Speed Linear Speed Development................................................................................ 61 9S Speed Certification Sprinting/Linear Speed Concepts...................................................................... 61 Linear Speed Development: PAL (Posture, Arm Action, Leg Action)...................................................... 62

Speed Training Drills - Arm & Leg Action............................................................................ 66 Arm Swings.............................................................................................................................................. 66 Speed Training Drills - Arm Swing........................................................................................................... 67 Speed Training Drills - Leg Drills............................................................................................................. 69 Ankling.................................................................................................................................................... 69 Stiff Leg Run............................................................................................................................................ 69

Speed Training Drills - The A-March Drills............................................................................ 70 A March Unilateral................................................................................................................................... 70 A March Bilateral..................................................................................................................................... 70 A Skip Bilateral........................................................................................................................................ 71 A Run....................................................................................................................................................... 71 A Skip Lateral.......................................................................................................................................... 72 Fast Leg Drill........................................................................................................................................... 72

9S: SPEED CERTIFICATION MANUAL Speed Training Drills - Acceleration & Multi-Directional Speed........................................... 73 Fall Forward............................................................................................................................................. 73 Wall Drill – Static ..................................................................................................................................... 73 Wall Drill – 1 Cycle................................................................................................................................... 74 Wall Drill – 1/3/5...................................................................................................................................... 74 Lateral Wall Drill...................................................................................................................................... 75 Partner Push Drill..................................................................................................................................... 75 Partner Push Contrast Drill...................................................................................................................... 76 Knee Hug Drill......................................................................................................................................... 76 Knee Hug and Go................................................................................................................................... 77 Falling Start............................................................................................................................................. 77

Cutting Technique................................................................................................................ 78 The Speed Cut........................................................................................................................................ 79 The Power Cut ........................................................................................................................................ 80

Additional Running Technique Drills.................................................................................... 81 Backward Running................................................................................................................................... 81 Deceleration to Static Athletic Ready...................................................................................................... 82 Deceleration to Staggered Athletic Stance............................................................................................. 82 Additional Acceleration Drills.................................................................................................................. 83

9S: Speed Agility Training - Primary Concepts & Training Drills........................................... 84 Illinois Agility Test.................................................................................................................................... 85 Agility Shuttle Run Test............................................................................................................................ 86 Zig Zag Test............................................................................................................................................. 87 Quadrant Jump Test................................................................................................................................ 88 Agility “T” Test........................................................................................................................................ 89 Side-Step Test......................................................................................................................................... 90 3-Cone Shuttle Drill Test.......................................................................................................................... 91 Box Drill Fitness Test............................................................................................................................... 92 Arrowhead Agility Drill............................................................................................................................ 93 Lane Agility Drill...................................................................................................................................... 94 4 Corner Drill........................................................................................................................................... 95 Agility Wheel Drill.................................................................................................................................... 96 Rats and Rabbits Agility Game................................................................................................................ 97 Knee Tag.................................................................................................................................................. 98 Shoulder Tag........................................................................................................................................... 99

9S: Speed Assisted/Resisted Training Concepts.................................................................. 99 Assisted Training Drills.......................................................................................................................... 100 Resisted Training Drills.......................................................................................................................... 100

Video Movement Analysis................................................................................................. 101 Technical Aspects of Video Analysis...................................................................................................... 102

PERCEPTUAL REFRAMING & THE PERCEPTUAL GAP One of the most interesting phenomena in speed training is what we refer to as Perceptual Speed. In a strictly scientific sense, perceptual speed is defined this way:

Perceptual Speed: Ability to rapidly and accurately search, compare (for visual similarities or differences) and identify visual elements presented side-by-side or separated in a visual field. Recent research suggests perceptual speed may be an intermediate stratum ability (between narrow and broad) defined by four narrow sub-abilities: 1. Pattern Recognition – The ability to quickly recognize visual patterns; 2. Scanning – The ability to scan, compare, and understand visual stimuli; 3. Memory – The ability to perform visual perceptual speed tasks that place significant demands on immediate short-term memory, and 4. Complex – The ability to perform visual pattern recognition tasks that impose additional cognitive demands such as spatial visualization, estimating and interpolating, and heightened memory span loads. In Z-Health, we use a slightly less academic definition of Perceptual Speed as it relates to human performance. Rather than viewing it as an isolated physiologic measure, we understand Perceptual Speed as a combination of onboard “hardware” and hundreds of thousands of repetitions or “enculturation” of perceptions – the “software.” In short, this means that while the functioning of our physiologic hardware is extremely important in our perceptual speed, in the real world how we use that hardware is a training or “software” issue. When you consider perceptual speed from this perspective it can quickly be understood that the typical human perception of speed/time is specifically trained over millions of repetitions, unconsciously, and primarily through inattention. This means that through a multi-year enculturation process, our athletes have been taught to think in terms of seconds, minutes, hours, days, months and years. However, in the world of high-performance sports, the difference between winning and losing is often measured in thousandths of a second. Very few people understand just how important it is to maximize, and take advantage of, every potential timesaving opportunity as an athlete. This is what we call, The Perceptual Gap. The fact is that our athletes are constantly faced with a multiyear inculcation into perceiving the world in discrete bits of time. Unfortunately, these perceptions are almost always of chunks of time that are far too LONG compared to what must occur within the sporting environment. In fact, in the real world 1/1000th of a second often makes the difference not just between winning and losing but also between life and death.

Can we change this? Absolutely.

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One of our goals is to invoke neuroplasticity to help our athletes learn to perceive the world in ever-faster “chunks” of time. Every drill in this course is designed to make this happen.

Contextual Speed What exactly is contextual speed? In order to properly understand this, let’s begin with a quote by Ian Jeffries, the creator of the Gamespeed™ system of training.

“Speed is often considered one of the most crucial elements of sports performance - but would track sprinters be the best performers in other sports, such as football, basketball, or soccer? While speed is important, what is more critical is the ability to use speed in the context of the game, which is the concept of gamespeed. Effective gamespeed can be defined as “context-specific, where an athlete maximizes sports performance via the application of sport-specific movement of optimal velocity, precision, efficiency, and control, in anticipation of, and in response to, the key perceptual stimuli and skill requirements of the game.” This statement clearly summarizes the major challenge facing coaches today in relation to speed development. While we all recognize fast athletes - because of the nature of the human nervous system - our attention is often focused on the fact that they are fast, rather than that they are skilled. However, when we review the very basic principles of Z-Health, we see that everything is a skill. Which means that going fast, particularly in the context of sport, is a skill they can be practiced and developed or lost through inactivity. Our job as top 1% coaches is to understand the context in which our athletes need to be faster. Once we understand this context, we can design drills intelligently to maximize our athlete’s true genetic potential so that they can manifest speed appropriately within the context of their sport or activity. As we do this, the speed training process changes from, “How do I make you faster?” to “How do I make you faster in a way that makes you better?” When considering the above statements, the idea of evaluating athletic speed development can seem overwhelming. If we have to be contextually-specific in our speed development, and because there are so many sports with differing techniques, equipment and goals, the idea of being a “speed coach” can be incredibly daunting or even seem impossible. This is EXACTLY how many amateur and professional coaches feel. While these coaches recognize the need for speed in their athletes, they rarely include specific speed development strategies in their coaching programs because focused, intentional speed development seems too complex. Many of them haphazardly include different “speed drills” into their programs, but this shotgun approach rarely causes optimal speed development for their athletes. Ultimately, this leads most coaches to believe that athletes “either have it or they don’t,” and the emphasis moves from physical development to tactical development very early in the training process – often with negative consequences.

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Consistent and regular practice of efficient speed drills and mechanics can spell the difference between high-level success and failure in virtually every sport and there IS a systematic paradigm that will allow us as coaches to identify and train the key aspects of speed for every athlete. As we begin to look at this speed paradigm, keep these basic principles in mind: 1. Athletic speed is relevant to the context in which it is used. In fact, it is easy to go too fast in many sports and lose. 2. For many fitness clients, foundational athletic movements may be all that is ever required to improve their day-to-day and general-purpose athletic speed. 3. As the skill and competition level of the athlete increases more detail must be applied to developing speed within the context of the skills required for the sport.

The Z-Health Threat Neuromatrix – High Road & Low Road Responses One of the most important concepts in the Threat Neuromatrix from an athletic standpoint is the understanding of the “Low Road and High Road” response to threat as described by Dr. Joseph LeDoux. Here is a quick synopsis of Dr. Ledoux’s concept by Jocelyn Selim:

“The amygdala, which directs signal traffic in the brain when danger lurks, receives quick and dirty information directly from the thalamus in a route that neuroscientist Joseph LeDoux dubs the low road. This shortcut allows the brain to start responding to a threat within a few thousandths of a second. The amygdala also receives information via a high road from the visual cortex. Although the high road encodes much more detailed and specific information, the extra step takes at least twice as long— and could mean the difference between life and death. LeDoux says the disconnection between the two routes may underlie some disorders: ‘While in terms of survival it may be better to mistake a stick for a snake, people who have pathological fears may be treating sticks as snakes much of the time.’”

The High Road/Low Road Response

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THE OODA LOOP – COLONEL JOHN R. BOYD Information Adapted From Wikipedia Entry Colonel John (Richard) Boyd (January 23, 1927 – March 9, 1997) was a United States Air Force fighter pilot and Pentagon consultant of the late 20th century, whose theories have been highly influential in the military, sports, and business. As a high school graduate, Boyd enlisted in the United States Army and served in the Army Air Forces from 1945 to 1947, assigned as a swimming instructor in occupied Japan. After graduating from the University of Iowa, he served as a U.S. Air Force officer from July 8, 1951, until his retirement on August 31, 1975. He was dubbed “Forty Second Boyd” for his standing bet as an instructor pilot that beginning from a position of disadvantage, he could defeat any opposing pilot in air combat maneuvering in less than forty seconds. Boyd’s key concept was that of the decision cycle or OODA Loop, the process by which an entity (either an individual or an organization) reacts to an event. According to this idea, the key to victory is to be able to create situations wherein one can make appropriate decisions more quickly than one’s opponent. The construct was originally a theory of achieving success in air-to-air combat, developed out of Boyd’s Energy-Maneuverability theory and his observations on air combat between MiGs and F-86s in Korea. Harry Hillaker (chief designer of the F-16) said of the OODA theory, “Time is the dominant parameter. The pilot who goes through the OODA cycle in the shortest time prevails because his opponent is caught responding to situations that have already changed.” Boyd hypothesized that all intelligent organisms and organizations undergo a continuous cycle of interaction with their environment. Boyd breaks this cycle down to four interrelated and overlapping processes through which one cycles continuously:

Observation: The collection of data by means of the senses. Orientation: The analysis and synthesis of data to form one’s current mental perspective. Decision: The determination of a course of action based on one’s current mental perspective. Action: The physical playing-out of decisions. Of course, while this is taking place, the situation may be changing. It is sometimes necessary to cancel a planned action in order to meet the changes. This decision cycle is thus known as the OODA loop. Boyd emphasized that this decision cycle is the central mechanism enabling adaptation and is therefore critical to survival. In 2007, strategy writer Robert Greene discussed the loop in a post called OODA and You. He insisted that it was “deeply relevant to any kind of competitive environment: business, politics, sports, even the struggle of organisms to survive”, and claimed to have been initially “struck by its brilliance”.

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The OODA Loop - Conditioning Our Decision Making

THE O.O.D.A. LOOP

In the Z-Health model of speed development, the OODA Loop is one of the most important and useful paradigms currently available. The elegance of the model allows it to be applied in simple training exercises, but also in much more complex situations. It is also a valuable model to use as a framework for unpacking Neural Chunks and re-learning motor skills.

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OODA and the Threat Neuromatrix As mentioned earlier, the conceptual framework of this course is the seamless blending of the Threat Neuromatrix with the OODA Loop concept. To make this integration possible, it is essential to clearly understand the four elements of the OODA Loop. Let’s look at each one in isolation:

Observation This is the task of sensing the world both external and internal to oneself. As you can see, observation skills are the foundation in speed and they encompass the three primary systems of the body for environmental interaction that we are already familiar with from prior courses. What is obvious from looking at the OODA Loop, is the fact that the quality and observational skills that our athletes bring to their lives is a key component in developing optimal speed.

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Orientation This multi-factorial skill set refers to fitting our observations to our predispositions and expectations about the world in order to arrive at an interpretation of the situation one is facing. It involves various kinds of filtering and processing, and also formulating decision alternatives. According to Boyd, the heart of OODA is Orientation. It provides guidance and implicit control to the rest of OODA, including Observing, Deciding, and Acting. Thus, Orientation is the focus in the OODA loop. It:

“Shapes the way we interact with the environment-hence orientation shapes the way we observe, the way we decide, the way we act. . . Orientation shapes the character of present observationorientation-decision-action loops-while these present loops shape the character of future orientation. (From Boyd, 1987, “Organic Design and Control,” p. 16) If you refer back to Boyd’s OODA Loop graphic, you will see that orientation includes an interactive web of 5 critical elements. Each of these elements plays an incredibly important role in helping us as coaches design speed development drills for our athletes. Those five elements are: • Cultural Traditions • Genetic Heritage • New Information • Analysis/Synthesis • Previous Experiences

“Orientation is; the worldview, the schemata, the mental models, the views of reality, the insights, intuitions, hunches, beliefs and perceptions of the various participants. We create working models of the world by making and manipulating analogies in our minds. With these working models we perceive and define our world (6). They are our maps of reality – and they are implicit.”

Decision This is the ultimate “end” of the process of reviewing alternative actions and selecting an alternative. Boyd views the decision as a hypothesis.

Action When all of the hard OOD-work is done, the process of implementing one’s alternative is action. Boyd views action as testing a hypothesis, and obviously, the results of acting are available for observation, and the loop starts again.

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The Z-Health OODA-Threat Loop Explained Remember that the OODA Loop was established as a means of understanding that speed and agility were and are the telling factors in real-world combat. As such, the OODA Loop, in combination with the Threat Neuromatrix, should be seen as a construct that allows us to systematically analyze an athlete CONTEXTUALLY – identifying the highest threats present both internally and externally. From this understanding, we as coaches can then use this form of analysis to create training drills and programs that are individualized contextually AND focus on reducing the primary threats that stand as speed barriers. Also, as we continue to work with our athletes, systematically testing and training to reduce or modulate performance threats, we can then begin INOCULATING our athletes against threat as well.

Examples of OODA Threats Observation Threats • Visual • Vestibular • Somatosensory

Orientation Threats • Lack of Sport Acculturation • Training Heritage • Previous Experiences/Beliefs • Analysis Speed

Decision Threats • Hick’s Law • Fitt’s Law • Personal Permission • Professional Permission • Strategy/Tactics

Action Threats • Movement Initiation • Movement Transition • Movement Actualization • 9S Attributes

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The Z-Health OODA-Threat Loop Diagram

THE Z-HEALTH O.O.D.A. THREAT LOOP

Let’s take a look at the (slight) modifications that a Z-Health Threat Neuromatrix perspective would bring to the OODA Loop:

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BUILDING FASTER ATHLETES – THE Z-HEALTH WAY On the path to creating faster athletes there are four primary training factors that must be considered: 1. Movement Rehabilitation – As a well-trained Z-Health practitioner you are intimately familiar with the large number of potential “threats” that can inhibit performance. The first step in creating a faster athlete is to assess and rehabilitate under-performing input/interpretation/output loops. For many clients this is ALL that they will ever need to perform at the level of their expectations. Think of this aspect of training as primarily Threat Reduction. 2. Physical Attribute Development – Becoming a faster athlete requires the tissues of the body to strengthen and adapt to the increasing forces being applied. General physical preparation is about Threat Inoculation. 3. Technical Mastery – High-level expertise demands an exemplary mastery of the technical aspects of performance. For our general clients we want to offer them ongoing technical instruction in the foundational athletic movement skills as a core part of their training. In competitive/elite athletes THE MAJORITY of their training time with us should be spent working toward ongoing technical improvements of their sport. 4. Tactical Application – Finally, the ultimate expression of 1-3 occurs in the actual context of your athlete’s life and/or competition. Translation of the work done above into training drills that cement appropriate tactical application is the goal. This is, of course, highly sport and context-specific.

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VISUAL SYSTEM NEUROLOGY “Vision is a dynamic interactive process of motor and sensory function, mediated by the eyes for the purpose of simultaneous organization of posture, movement and spatial orientation, for manipulation of the environment and, to its highest degree, of perception and thought.” - Dr. William Padula Visual information is, by far, the most dominant sensory system in sighted individuals. Most estimates in the literature state that 70-90% of the sensory input received by an athlete arrives via the visual system. Each eye has approximately 1,000,000 axons (nerve fibers) that make up the optic nerve. Compare this to what we know about the corticospinal tract, which is responsible for roughly 90% of the brain’s output to control voluntary movement. The corticospinal tract ALSO contains roughly 1,000,000 fibers. This should give us some idea of the vast importance of the visual system on human function. To deepen our understanding, let’s begin with basic visual anatomy.

The Primary Visual Structures Eye/Retina – Light enters the eye and is refracted by passing through the cornea. Once through the cornea, it passes through the pupil and is refracted further by the lens. The compound lens of the cornea and lens working together project an inverted image onto the retina. The retina consists of roughly 130 million photoreceptors that absorb light. These photoreceptors contain protein molecules known as opsins. There are 3 primary types of opsins: • Rod Opsins • Cone Opsins • Melanopsin Rods are found primarily in the periphery of the retina and are used to see in low levels of light and to sense motion. Cones are found primarily in the center (fovea) of the retina. These photoreceptors are used to distinguish color and fine details. There are 3 different types of cones that are sensitive to different wavelengths of light: • Short – Blue • Middle – Green • Long – Red Melanopsin are opsins found only on the periphery of the retina and do not appear to play a role in image formation. Instead, they are involved in the setting of the human circadian rhythm and endocrine responses to dark and light. They appear to be most sensitive to blue light.

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The retina is a fascinating area because there is a large amount of signal processing that occurs in the retina prior to transmission to the brain. The 130 million photoreceptors eventually communicate to the brain through the axons of the optic nerve, which is composed of roughly 1,200,000 axons. The final results of this processing results in five different types of ganglion cells that transmit visual information to the brain. They are: • M Cells – Magnocellular cells are sensitive to depth. • P Cells – Parvocellular cells are sensitive to color. • K Cells – Koniocellular cells are sensitive to color. • ipRGCs – Intrinsically Photosensitive Retinal Ganglion Cells are sensitive to light and contain melanopsin. • Ganglion Cells that project to the superior colliculus for eye movements. These retinal ganglion cells send signals that pass through the optic nerve and optic chiasm to reach the optic tract where they travel to three primary destinations: 1. Lateral Geniculate Nucleus – The LGN is a sensory relay nucleus that is located in the thalamus. It acts as a visual processing center with different layers dedicated to input from M Cells and P Cells. After processing input it sends signals on to the primary visual cortex in the occipital lobe. It also has crosstalk communication with the brainstem, cortex and primary visual cortex. 2. Pretectal Nucleus – Found in the midbrain, the pretectal nucleus utilizes incoming input from the retina to help control pupillary constriction. It also appears to play a role in mediating somatosensory and nociceptive pathways. 3. Superior Colliculus – The superior colliculus receives input from the optic tract, occipital cortex and the spinotectal tract. Because of its link to posture, movement and balance, the SC sends fiber tracts to all other areas of higher cortical function. It is currently believed that the AMBIENT visual system becomes a part of the sensorimotor feedback loop in the midbrain. This means that the SC acts as an integrator of ambient vision, proprioception, vestibular and tactile systems in order to allow for accurate higher cortical functions.

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Finally, visual information is processed in the visual cortex, which is the largest system in the human brain. The initial processing here is quite crude and with increasing complexity the stream of visual data moves into the Visual Association Area where it divides into two streams: • Dorsal Stream – The dorsal stream is known as the “where/ how” stream. It directs spatial attention and connects with areas of the brain involved in motor control of the eyes, hands, and body that rely on movement and location information. • Ventral Stream – The ventral stream is known as the “what” stream. It is involved in recognizing and identifying visual information such as shape and purpose.

Key Points on the Visual System 1. Vision is the dominant sense making up 70-90% of all sensory input. 2. Human vision has two distinct parts: • Foveal or Focal Vision - This is the portion of the visual field dedicated to object recognition, high detail resolution and depth perception. Focal visual images are projected onto the fovea, which is the center of the retina in order to maximize visual acuity. Focal vision is considered to be consciously processed input. Foveal vision makes up roughly 6 degrees of the visual field, with the central 2 degrees being sharpest. • Ambient or Peripheral Vision – This is the portion of the visual field dedicated to visual function in low light and movement recognition. It generally has poor acuity and is considered to be processed more preconsciously than foveal vision. For general purposes monocular peripheral vision is: ○○ 60 Degrees Superior ○○ 75 Degrees Inferior ○○ 60 Degrees Medial/Nasal ○○ 100-110 Degrees Lateral/Temporal 3. Most brain systems are driven by a need to create clear foveal vision.

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Vision Rehabilitation, Physical Preparation and Technical Mastery Like every other form of exteroception, many athletes need to first rehabilitate the visual system before they can gain the greatest benefit from specific technical or tactical visual training. Depending upon the presentation and history of the athlete there are two primary perspectives to consider when choosing assessments and training drills:

1. The Visual Needs Hierarchy 2. Bottom Up or Top Down Approach The Visual Needs Hierarchy Many behavioral optometrist follow a visual needs hierarchy that is a useful model:

Visual Perception Vergence Stereopsis Binocular Vision Saccades Pursuits

While you are likely familiar with each of these terms, let’s briefly define them, from basic to advanced, to insure a common vernacular: Visual Acuity – The clarity or sharpness of vision, which includes both static and dynamic components. Visual Field – The human visual field represents the total area of “viewing space” available both monocularly and binocularly. In normal athletes, the monocular visual field is:

Attentional Control Gaze Stabilization Accommodation Visual Field

• 60 Degrees Nasally • 107-110 Degrees Temporally • 70 Degrees Superiorly • 80 Degrees Inferiorly

VIsual Acuity

In our discussions, you can consider the visual field as a combination of both foveal and peripheral (ambient) vision. Ambient vision is incredibly important in our work as Z-Health practitioners because it can be considered “visual proprioception.” Much of ambient vision processing is precognitive and is functionally related to superior colliculi and midbrain function. Optimal ambient vision sets the visual foundations, in conjunction with other forms of sensory input, to allow the more cognitive process of foveal vision to be successful.

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Accommodation – This is the process that allows the lens of the eye to change shape in order to alter the optical power of the eye in order to maintain clear focus on objects at different distances. It is controlled by higher-order pathways and requires optimal functioning of the parasympathetic nervous system. Gaze Stabilization and Attention – This is the ability of each eye to maintain a steady fixation on a point in space. The physical act of fixation involves the frontal eye fields, superior colliculus and subcortical brain regions. Fixation is also a test of global attention. Any brain issue that prevents the cortex from inhibiting the brainstem can result in poor attentional control. Smooth Pursuits – These are eye movements that are required when tracking a moving object through an environment. The neurology of smooth pursuits is complex and involves the ipsilateral parietal, temporal, occipital and frontal lobes as well as the superior colliculus, pons and cerebellum. Saccades – A saccade is a quick, simultaneous movement of both eyes between two points of fixation. Neurologically, saccades involve the frontal lobe, superior colliculus and cerebellum. Binocular Vision – This is the ability for both eyes to maintain bifoveal fixation on a single object of interest. If this ability is impaired, athletes will suffer from visual suppression or diplopia (double vision). Stereopsis – This refers to the ability to see an object three-dimensionally and to perceive depth. Vergence – Both convergence and divergence fit into this category and they represent disconjugate eye movements in which the eyes are moving in different directions. Vergence movements involved the midbrain, pons, frontal lobe, parietal lobe, temporal lobe, occipital lobe and cerebellum. Visual Perception – This is its own category because it requires the combination of multiple skills and abilities. There is believed to be a hierarchy within visual perception that includes: • Visual Attention • Pattern Recognition • Visual Memory • Visual Cognition

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Bottom-Up or Top-Down Approach Experience has shown that there are two distinct groups of athletes who need very different approaches to visual retraining.

Top-Down Approach The top-down approach primarily uses the frontal cortex and visual attention in combination with a variety of training drills to rehabilitate and improve visual processing. Generally speaking, athletes who respond best to this approach: 1. Have fewer visual complaints. 2. Are less likely to have a history of mTBI 3. Are not, or are only mildly, light sensitive 4. Have a mostly-intact vestibular system 5. Are fairly “normal” in most visual tests 6. Are less aware that their problems may be related to visual function Training Concepts: Assess and train the different visual skills to increase the speed, accuracy and endurance of their visual functions.

Bottom-Up Approach From a classification perspective, this group of athletes is slightly “worse” than the above. General presenting complaints are: 1. Likely to have more visual complaints 2. More likely to have a history of TBI 3. Highly light sensitive 4. Highly sound sensitive 5. Often display problems with vestibular function 6. Visual ability is highly influenced by stress and lack of sleep 7. Resistant to doing visual work because it makes them feel worse Training Concepts: Use pinhole glasses, tinted lenses and binasal occlusion along with other midbrain inhibition tools to decrease visual fatigue. Focus on respiration, proprioceptive and gentle vestibular drills in order to decrease the threat of visual training.

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TOOLS FOR IMPROVING VISUAL ACUITY, VISUAL FIELDS AND ACCOMMODATION • • • • • • • • • •

Cranial Nerve Neuromechanics Binasal Occlusion Glasses Pinhole Glasses Colored Lenses and Overlays Hemifield Glasses Visual Reset Drills Peripheral Awareness Chart Padula Transformation Cube Four Square Chart Fixations Near Far Chart

Cranial Nerve Neuromechanics Neuromechanic drills are among the most ubiquitous tools in Z-Health. Research evidence continues to mount regarding the positive effects of gentle, specific mobilization on neural tissue. With our emphasis on improving visual function in 9S: Speed it stands to reason that we can apply similar principles of the peripheral neuromechanic drills to impact the cranial nerves directly involved in visual processing.

Indications for Visual System Neuromechanics • • • • • • •

Acuity Deficits Problems with Accommodation Decreased Peripheral Fields Pain/Discomfort with Visual Effort Visually Induced Headaches Dry Eyes Poor Eye Movement Control

Contraindications • • • • • • •

Glaucoma Diabetes Retinal Detachment Recent Surgery Blood Thinners Trigeminal Neuralgia Use Common Sense!

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Visual System Neuromechanics Basic Rules 1. Assess and Reassess a. Visual Acuity b. Peripheral Fields c. Eye Movements d. Depth Judgment e. Resistance to Direct Pressure – Use Light Pressure and Remove Contacts! f. Resistance to Directional Pressure 2. Keep the tension very low (3/10 Max!) when applying a tensioning technique. Remember that with neuromechanics, less is more. 3. Alter the sequence as needed to create tension. 4. If the athlete is in pain, consider performing: a. Slacking b. Sliding c. Tensioning to the same nerve on the contralateral side 5. With visual system neuromechanics, breathing can be very important as a part of the mobilization. Generally speaking, more tension will be created on the neural tissues during inhalation. 6. There are two primary ways to position the eyes to target specific neural structures: a. Active eye positioning b. Passive positioning using very light finger pressure 7. If using the fingers to position the eyes for the drills this should be DONE BY THE ATHLETE AND NOT THE COACH. 8. If you are familiar with pressure checking, you can pressure check the eye into the tensioning or slacking position before performing the exercise. 9. VERY IMPORTANT – Because this can be a “strange” stimulus your athletes may have some brief blurring of vision for 5-10 minutes after a drill. Take this into account in your reassessments.

Two Forms of Neural Mobilization 1. Tensioning Sequences – In tensioning exercises, both the proximal and distal ends of the nerve are separated to increase tension within the neural structures and then released. 2. Slacking Sequences – These exercises can take two forms: a. Both the proximal and distal ends of the nerve are completely unloaded to decrease overall threat. b. Or, the proximal end of the nerve can be tensioned while the distal end is released from tension. This movement sequence is then reversed. Butler and Shacklock refer to this as a “slider”.

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The Four Primary Nerves and The Six Extraocular Muscles of the Visual System • • • •

Optic Nerve (CN II) Oculomotor Nerve (CN III) Trochlear Nerve (CN IV) Abducens Nerve (CN VI)

• • • • • •

Superior Rectus Inferior Rectus Medial Rectus Lateral Rectus Superior Oblique Inferior Oblique

These are the primary targets for our neuromechanic tensioning and slacking. This will be accomplished through cervical mobilizations and eye positions. Each neuromechanic drill is detailed on the following pages.

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VISUAL CRANIAL NERVE NEUROMECHANICS Optic Nerve Tensioning Position 1. Upper Cervical Flexion 2. Upper Cervical Lateral Flexion Away 3. Ipsilateral Eye Position Up and Out

R Eye Tensioning

Optic Nerve Slacking Position 1. Upper Cervical Extension 2. Upper Cervical Lateral Flexion Toward 3. Ipsilateral Eye Position Down and In

R Eye Slacking

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VISUAL CRANIAL NERVE NEUROMECHANICS Oculomotor Nerve Tensioning and Slacking Because the oculomotor nerve innervates four of the six primary extraocular muscles there are four different neural techniques possible. In each case the mobilization movements should be done during an inhalation.

Superior Rectus Tensioning 1. Upper Cervical Flexion 2. Upper Cervical Lateral Flexion Away 3. Ipsilateral Eye Position Down in the Midline

R Eye Tensioning Superior Rectus Slacking 1. Upper Cervical Extension 2. Upper Cervical Lateral Flexion Toward 3. Ipsilateral Eye Position Up in the Midline

R Eye Slacking

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VISUAL CRANIAL NERVE NEUROMECHANICS Inferior Rectus Tensioning 1. Upper Cervical Flexion 2. Upper Cervical Lateral Flexion Away 3. Ipsilateral Eye Position Up in the Midline

R Eye Tensioning

Inferior Rectus Slacking 1. Upper Cervical Extension 2. Upper Cervical Lateral Flexion Toward 3. Ipsilateral Eye Position Down in the Midline

R Eye Slacking

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VISUAL CRANIAL NERVE NEUROMECHANICS Medial Rectus Tensioning 1. Upper Cervical Flexion 2. Upper Cervical Lateral Flexion Away 3. Ipsilateral Eye Position Lateral

R Eye Tensioning

Medial Rectus Slacking 1. Upper Cervical Extension 2. Upper Cervical Lateral Flexion Toward 3. Ipsilateral Eye Position Medial

R Eye Slacking

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VISUAL CRANIAL NERVE NEUROMECHANICS Inferior Oblique Tensioning 1. Upper Cervical Flexion 2. Upper Cervical Lateral Flexion Away 3. Ipsilateral Eye Position Down and Out

R Eye Tensioning

Inferior Oblique Slacking 1. Upper Cervical Extension 2. Upper Cervical Lateral Flexion Toward 3. Ipsilateral Eye Position Up and In

R Eye Slacking

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VISUAL CRANIAL NERVE NEUROMECHANICS Trochlear Nerve Tensioning and Slacking Trochlear Nerve Tensioning 1. Upper Cervical Flexion 2. Upper Cervical Lateral Flexion Away 3. Ipsilateral Eye Position Up and Out

R Eye Tensioning

Trochlear Nerve Slacking 1. Upper Cervical Extension 2. Upper Cervical Lateral Flexion Toward 3. Ipsilateral Eye Position Down and In

R Eye Slacking

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VISUAL CRANIAL NERVE NEUROMECHANICS Abducens Nerve Tensioning and Slacking Abducens Nerve Tensioning 1. Upper Cervical Flexion 2. Upper Cervical Lateral Flexion Away 3. Ipsilateral Eye Position Medial

R Eye Tensioning

Abducens Nerve Slacking 1. Upper Cervical Extension 2. Upper Cervical Lateral Flexion Toward 3. Ipsilateral Eye Position Lateral

R Eye Slacking

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VISUAL TRAINING TOOLS - ACUITY & ACCOMMODATION Binasal Occlusion Used for over 50 years, binasal occlusion is a fantastic tool for many clients who struggle with other vision training approaches. From the Z-Health perspective, it is most often of use when you find athletes that struggle with:

1. 2. 3. 4.

Esophoria Suppression Overactive Mesencephalon Poor Peripheral Vision

Generally speaking, you want to consider using binasal occlusion if your athlete fits into the bottom-up training category. Application of binasal occlusion is very easy. All you need are a pair of uncorrected lenses and two pieces of translucent tape. The tape is applied to the nasal section of each lens and the width of the tape can be tested to determine what level of occlusion is necessary to achieve maximum benefit. Like most training drills, the intention with binasal occlusion is not to wear the lenses indefinitely, but rather to wear them for brief periods of time to alleviate fatigue or as an adjunct to other training drills. Generally speaking, begin with 3-10 minutes of use, working up to 2-3 hours/day as testing dictates.

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VISUAL TRAINING TOOLS - ACUITY & ACCOMMODATION Pinhole Lenses Background on Pinhole Glasses: (Adapted from WIkipedia) Pinhole glasses, also known as stenopeic glasses, are eyeglasses with a series of pinhole-sized perforations filling an opaque sheet of plastic in place of each lens. Similar to the workings of a pinhole camera, each perforation allows only a very narrow beam of light to enter the eye, which reduces the size of the circle of confusion on the retina and increases depth of field. In eyes with refractive error, the result is often a clearer image. Unlike conventional prescription glasses, pinhole glasses produce a clear image without the pincushion effect around the edges (which makes straight lines appear curved). While pinhole glasses are useful for people who are both near- and far-sighted, they are not recommended for people with over 6 diopters of myopia. Additionally, pinhole glasses reduce brightness and peripheral vision, and thus should not be used for driving or when operating machinery. Pinhole glasses have been marketed by various companies on the claim that—combined with certain eye exercises—they could permanently improve eyesight. These claims have been analyzed, but no scientific evidence has been found to support them, and the claims are no longer allowed to be made in the United States under the terms of a legal settlement with the Federal Trade Commission.

Purpose: In our experience, use of pinhole glasses can make a large difference for some athletes in decreasing visual threat and confusion. While we recognize the above research conclusions, safe usage of the pinhole glasses in combination with other visual and sports training drills has anecdotally proven extremely beneficial for many athletes.

Procedure: 1. Use the pinhole glasses in any foveal visual drill in order to increase visual acuity. 2. Consider using pinhole glasses for athletes who appear to require a bottom-up training approach. 3. Have the athlete wear the glasses for 1-10 minutes during a physical warm-up prior to moving on to more intense visual work.

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VISUAL TRAINING TOOLS - ACUITY & ACCOMMODATION Colored Lenses The use of colored lenses and overlays has a long (and confusing) history in the visual training field with a convoluted research history. In this course, we are going to look at colors from the most widely-used approach in sports vision and then branch out into a broader neurologic perspective.

Use of Colors in Modern Sports Vision The application of specific tints to lenses can impact on overall visual clarity and decision making in sports by altering the clarity of colors and enhancing contrast sensitivity. The colors most currently used are:

Vermillion/Rose/Red • Improve Contrast Sensitivity • Improve VA in Low Light Conditions • Enhance Object Detail Against Blue and Green Backgrounds

Blue • Blocks Blue Light • Brightens Yellow Light • Better for Daytime Sports

Gray/Green • Improves Contrast Sensitivity • Improves Depth Perception Against Green Background • Better in Bright Outdoor Light

Amber/Yellow • • • • • • • •

Filters Blue Light Enhances Depth Perception Increases Fine Detail Accentuates Red Works Well in Hazy Conditions Works Well in Low Light Conditions Great for Indoor Sports Under Florescent Lights Computer Work

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VISUAL TRAINING TOOLS - ACUITY & ACCOMMODATION Color and the Brain The impact of color on brain function, while discussed for many years, is only now becoming a popular topic of research. As a result, there is little high quality research that can be accessed. What we can say at this point with a high degree of certainty is that color DOES influence brain function, and that there are large degrees of individuality in this process. For our work we want to remember a few concepts: In current research it appears that blue and red are more influential in total brain activation than other colors. 1. Red – Red colors appear to increase brain activity. However, the way in which this happens may be through an increase in anxiety states. Strong red colors, through behavioral associations, appear to amplify sympathetic tone. This, in turn, can improve reaction speed and increase force output in a healthy athlete. Conversely, in an athlete who displays sympathetic overactivation, red can increase complaints. 2. Blue – Recent research indicates that blue colors may cause even greater brain activation than either red or green. The supposition behind this relates to the biological impact of blue light on the human body. Blue light exposure is related to stimulation of specific melanopsin receptors in the retina that influence the human circadian rhythm. As a result of this, the color blue potentially decreases sympathetic tone. 3. In some studies on migraine sufferers, both red and blue increase symptoms. This is likely due to the fact that both colors increase overall brain activity.

Color Recommendations 1. To increase physical responses in a healthy athlete or to increase sympathetic tone – test shades of red. 2. To increase relaxation in a healthy athlete or to decrease sympathetic tone – test shades of blue. 3. For athletes with significant indications of brain (particularly mesencephalic) overactivation test darker colors – browns and grays. 4. Greens appear to be among the most neutral of all colors and may be a good “starting” color for athletes who are responding negatively to red or blue.

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VISUAL TRAINING TOOLS - ACUITY & ACCOMMODATION Hemifield Lenses Hemifield lenses are a fascinating and useful tool in brain-based approaches to training. In short, hemifield lenses are glasses in which either the right or left hemifields are blocked or specifically colored in order to preferentially activate one hemisphere of the brain. The basic principles of hemifield glasses are based on the nasal and temporal processing of vision which you can see in the diagram below:

Recommended Usage 1. Hemifield glasses can be a powerful tool in cortical activation and inhibition. 2. If your athlete shows signs of significant cortical or subcortical inhibition that strongly points to one hemisphere use CLEAR and BLACK hemifield lenses to activate the inhibited side. a. To activate the right hemisphere the CLEAR side of the lens should be placed on the lateral side of the left eye and medial side of the right eye. b. To activate the left hemisphere the CLEAR side of the lens should be placed on the lateral side of the right eye and medial side of the left eye. 3. If you suspect that there is a larger issue with the mesencephalon there is some anecdotal support for using RED/BLUE hemifield glasses instead. a. If you want to INHIBIT the RIGHT MESENCEPHALON – the RED portion of the hemifield glasses should be placed on the lateral side of the left eye and medial side of the right eye. b. If you want to INHIBIT the LEFT MESENCEPHALON – the RED portion of the hemifield glasses should be placed on the lateral side of the right eye and medial side of the left eye.

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VISUAL TRAINING TOOLS - ACUITY & ACCOMMODATION Visual Reset Drills Eye Massage 1. We are going to apply eye massage to several areas of the orbit. Generally, follow this procedure: a. Use 1-3 fingers. b. Palpate for areas of soreness. c. Begin with 5 seconds of light pressure. d. Follow the pressure with circular massage for 5-10 seconds and then move to the next point. e. Areas of significant tenderness can be worked on for up to a minute each. 2. We will work on six distinct areas: a. Central Inferior Orbit b. Medial Inferior Orbit c. Lateral Inferior Orbit d. Central Superior Orbit e. Medial Superior Orbit f. Lateral Superior Orbit 3. You can pressure check each area for a specific direction of stretch.

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VISUAL TRAINING TOOLS - ACUITY & ACCOMMODATION Palming Popularized by an early vision training pioneer - Dr. Bates of The Bates Method of Eyesight Improvement palming can create significant relaxation of the eyes. 1. Close your eyes. 2. Use both hands and cover your closed eyes – either interlacing your fingers or overlapping them. You want to create a nice seal to keep out light. 3. Now, relax, breathe and pay attention to what you are “seeing.” You may see flashes of light, sparkles, or “fireworks.” 4. Rest in this position and try to decrease the amount or number of “fireworks” you see. Because no light is reaching your eyes during this time, you really should only be “seeing” black. 5. Stay in this position and continue to relax your eyes for 30 seconds up to 10 minutes.

Rapid Blinking 1. Set a stopwatch so you can judge your time. 2. Next, consciously blink your eyes as rapidly as you can while keeping the rest of your body relaxed. 3. Try to do this for 5-10 seconds. 4. Once you stop, allow any blurriness to clear and then notice if your eyes feel more relaxed or if there is a sharpening of your visual clarity.

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VISUAL TRAINING TOOLS - ACUITY & ACCOMMODATION Peripheral Awareness Chart Purpose: The Peripheral Awareness Chart is a tool that should be used regularly for your athletes as a “reminder” to continually work on expanding their awareness of their field of vision.

Procedure: 1. Cover one eye with an eye patch. 2. Have the athlete hold the Peripheral Awareness Chart approximately 12-14 inches (30-35cm) from their face. 3. Concentrate on the central figure and relax. 4. Direct the athlete to become aware of the surrounding letters without moving the eyes. 5. Note the relative difficulty of each section of letters. 6. Switch the eye patch to the opposite side and repeat. 7. As awareness improves, practice this exercise in multiple body and head/neck positions. 8. Once a basic increase in awareness allows the athlete to identify most of the letters, utilize the card during more physically strenuous activities to promote a maintained peripheral awareness under physical stress. 9. Ideally, the athlete should practice this 5-10 minutes per day.

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VISUAL TRAINING TOOLS - ACUITY & ACCOMMODATION Padula Transformation Cube Purpose: Developed by Dr. William Padula, this tool is designed to help athletes learn to “release” focalization and activate the peripheral awareness visual system while maintaining steady gaze.

Procedure: 1. Have the athlete sit or stand in a comfortable, relaxed position with good posture. 2. Hold the chart 12-16 inches (30-35cm) from the eyes. 3. Have the athlete focus on the Snellen chart reading the lowest comfortable line. 4. Ask the athlete, “Which cube seems more forward, red or green?” 5. Ask the athlete if they can allow the opposite color cube to come forward. 6. You may need to offer additional peripheral stimulus at first in order to help the athlete allow the cubes to exchange position. 7. Once the basic shift is learned, the athlete should work on “rocking” between the red and green cubes. 8. Use of a metronome, breathing or other tools can be used to advance this exercise. 9. It is also possible to use multiple charts to practice saccades in combination with peripheral awareness.

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VISUAL TRAINING TOOLS - ACUITY & ACCOMMODATION Four Square Chart Fixations Purpose: This drill is an advanced version of saccadic movement training with an emphasis on peripheral vision.

Procedure: 1. Place the four square letter charts on a wall approximately 3 feet/1 meter apart. 2. The athlete should stand 6 feet/2 meters from the charts. Remind them to relax. 3. Begin in the upper left chart and read the top line. 4. Keep the eyes focused on the last letter of the first chart and locate the first letter of the next chart using peripheral vision. 5. Move the eyes smoothly to chart two and read the top line. 6. Repeat steps 3-5 moving to the subsequent charts. 7. Repeat this process reading the second line of each chart. Continue this sequence until each line is worked through. 8. Repeat the drill moving in a counter-clockwise direction. 9. Finally, repeat the drill moving in a diagonal pattern.

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VISUAL TRAINING TOOLS - ACUITY & ACCOMMODATION Near Far Chart Purpose: This test uses two different letter charts to test focusing (distance accommodation) speed and flexibility at different distances. This is a complex task that requires interaction between the Optic, Oculomotor, and Abducens Nerves (CN II, CN III, & CN VI). The goal for our athletes is to increase their capability beyond S-Phase levels and perform this task quickly and accurately.

Procedure: 1. Place the large letter chart on a wall at the farthest distance at which the athlete can still see clearly. 2. Patch one eye. 3. Have the athlete hold the small letter chart approximately 6-12 inches (15-30cm) from his/her eyes. 4. Have the athlete read the letters of the top row on the far chart. 5. Switch to the near chart and repeat. 6. Tell the athlete to wait until the letters are clear before reading them. 7. Practice 5 minutes 2x/day.

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TOOLS FOR IMPROVING BINOCULAR VISION, STEREOPSIS AND VERGENCE • • • • •

Worth Four-Dot Test – 2 Versions Brock String Variations Stop “n Go Fusion Trainer Barrel Cards Free Space Fusion Cards

Worth Four-Dot Test – Version 1 Purpose: To determine if an athlete is experiencing visual suppression and in which eye.

Procedure: 1. Athlete should wear any lens prescription they currently use – contacts or glasses. 2. Have the athlete put on red/green glasses with the red lens in front of the right eye. 3. Hold the Worth Four-Dot flashlight up approximately 2 feet (60cm) from the athlete with the red dot facing up. 4. Ask the athlete how many dots they see. They should see four. 5. Now slowly move the light away from the athlete to approximately 10 feet (3m) and ask them if anything changes. 6. Finish the test by walking the light slowly toward the athlete reaching 6 inches (15cm) from the nose – again asking if anything changes.

Woth 4-Dot Interpretation: • • • •

4 Dots = No suppression and eyes are generally well aligned. 3 Dots = Right Eye Suppression 2 Dots = Left Eye Suppression 5 Dots = Diplopia

Note: If your athlete has red/green color blindness they cannot perform this test.

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VISION TRAINING TOOLS - STEREOPSIS & VERGENCE Worth Four-Dot Test – Version 2 Purpose: To determine if an athlete is experiencing visual suppression during eye movements

Procedure: 1. First perform W4D Version 1. Insure that the athlete is not suppressing in a neutral gaze at any distance. 2. Now, instruct the athlete to keep the head still as you move the light sequentially into each of the 8 cardinal directions just as in smooth pursuit testing. 3. It is very easy to move the light beyond the frame of the glasses so keep the range of motion small. 4. Take note of any suppression occurring and in what direction.

Worth 4-Dot Interpretation: • • • •

4 Dots = No suppression and eyes are generally well aligned. 3 Dots = Right Eye Suppression 2 Dots = Left Eye Suppression 5 Dots = Diplopia

Note: If your athlete has red/green color blindness they cannot perform this test.

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VISION TRAINING TOOLS - STEREOPSIS & VERGENCE Brock String #1 - Smooth Transitions From your original practice in S-Phase, you should be quite comfortable with Brock string usage. However, the exercises taught in S-Phase are only the most rudimentary of the available drills with this excellent tool. Like many vision drills, the Brock string is primarily intended to help your athletes develop, stabilize and improve their ability to both converge and diverge the eyes. One of the challenges found in utilizing the Brock string with athletes is having a simple explanation about what the tool does and what they need to accomplish. Here is a simple “speech” recommended in the exceptional text, Clinical Management of Binocular Disorders, by Scheiman and Wick:

“This is a procedure that is designed to teach you how to improve your ability to cross your eyes. The technique is set up to provide you with feedback about what your eyes are doing at all times. The way the visual system works is that wherever your eyes are pointing, you perceive single vision. All other objects in front or behind the object you are looking at will be seen as double. Look at the green bead and you will see one green bead, two red beads behind it, and a string that crosses right at the green bead and forms the letter “X.” The strings should look as if they are extensions of your right and left eyes. Where you perceive the two strings cross is actually where your eyes are aimed. Thus, if you are trying to look at the green bead, but the strings appear to cross further away than the bead, this is an indication that you are looking too far away. Use this information to try to correct your eye position and look closer.”

Purpose: To increase the fluidity of your athlete’s binocular fusion. This is an advanced version of the same drill you have already been performing from S-Phase with the Brock string. However, instead of simply focusing on whether or not your athlete can see the appropriate images when looking at each bead, the emphasis now changes to making slow, smooth, gradual shifts from bead to bead.

Procedure: 1. Begin the drill by focusing on the distant bead. 2. Once the visual image is stabilized, follow the STRING up to the next bead. This will create a smooth “traveling X.” 3. Continue this process slowly working up and down the length of the string.

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VISION TRAINING TOOLS - STEREOPSIS & VERGENCE Brock String Drill #2 – Combined Vergence and Pursuits This is a more advanced drill that your athletes should move to only after they are able to perform the basic Brock string drills correctly.

Purpose: To combine binocular fusion with smooth pursuit movements.

Procedure: 1. Perform the drill using a shortened Brock string. The string should be tied to a pencil or other implement that the athlete can hold in one hand. Generally, because of the shortened available space, only two beads are used. 2. While holding the string to the bridge of the nose with one hand and the pencil in the other, practice the basic static Brock string drill with each bead. 3. Once these sight pictures are normal and clear, fixate the far bead and then move the string in slow circular motions while maintaining the fusion on the target bead. 4. Move to the next bead and repeat.

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VISION TRAINING TOOLS - STEREOPSIS & VERGENCE Brock String Drill #3 – Multiple Strings Because of the necessity to have excellent ocular control in many different directions and heights in most sports, this set of drills should be a staple training exercise for most athletes in dynamic, reactive sports. It is the same Brock string exercise that you are already familiar with, but it will be performed with multiple strings set at different heights and positions.

Purpose: To significantly increase the demands on your athlete’s binocular visual abilities in different eye positions and orientations.

Procedure: 1. Set up either two or three Brock strings all having an origin in a different position of gaze. For example, you could set up the drill with one string to the athlete’s right, one in the center position, and one to the left. 2. Hold all three strings at the bridge of the nose. 3. Without moving the head, have your athlete move from target to target and string to string based on your commands. 4. The objective is to regain good binocular fusion as quickly as possible with each change. 5. You can set the beads at random distances on each string to either increase or decrease the difficultly of the drill. 6. You can also increase the difficulty of this exercise by having the athlete move at increasingly faster tempos. Use a metronome to regulate the timing.

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VISION TRAINING TOOLS - STEREOPSIS & VERGENCE Stop ‘N Go Fusion Trainer Purpose: To teach accurate convergence and divergence using immediate color feedback to improve your athlete’s understanding of how to successfully coordinate these binocular movements.

Procedure: 1. Athlete will wear a pair of red/green glasses with the red filter covering the right eye. 2. Have the athlete hold up the fusion trainer at eye level approximately 12-16 inches (30-40cm) from the eyes. 3. The red circle should be in front of the right eye. (Red to Red, Green to Green) 4. With both eyes open the athlete should see a red and green dot. With either eye closed they should see a black dot and a dot that is the same color as the open eye.

Convergence Practice: 1. Have the athlete hold a pencil between their eyes and card. 2. Move the pencil toward the eyes while paying attention to the dots on the card. 3. As they converge, a third solid BLACK circle should form in the center of the card while the two circles on the outside of the card become transparent. 4. Once the athlete can make the black dot appear, have them move the card slowly away and toward them.

Divergence Practice: 1. Have the athlete hold a pencil behind the card. 2. Move the pencil away from the eyes into the distance while paying attention to the dots on the card. 3. As they diverge, a third TRANSPARENT circle should form in the center of the card while the two circles on the outside of the card become darker. 4. Once the athlete can make the transparent circle appear, have them move the card slowly away and toward them. Once the athlete has the ability to do both accurately, practice rocking between the two eye postures.

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VISION TRAINING TOOLS - STEREOPSIS & VERGENCE Barrel Cards Purpose: Improve and stabilize your athlete’s ability to converge the eyes comfortably while improving the near point of convergence. The barrel card is a white card with three colored barrel-shaped dots on each side – one set green, the other set red. It is an excellent tool to help your athletes develop the kinesthetic feeling of convergence.

Procedure: 1. Hold the Barrel card against the bridge of the nose and fixate on the barrel that is farthest away from the eyes. If the athlete is converging appropriately, a barrel of mixed green and red color should be seen with the other two barrels seen as double. 2. Once the athlete can see the barrel farthest away, shift focus to the next barrel in line for 10 seconds. 3. Repeat with the closest barrel for 10 seconds. 4. Continue moving from barrel to barrel for up to 5 minutes.

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VISION TRAINING TOOLS - STEREOPSIS & VERGENCE Free Space Fusion Cards Purpose: Similar to the Barrel card, the Lifesaver card is used to increase the ability to converge and diverge the eyes with little effort.

Procedure: 1. Hold the transparent Free Fusion card about 16 inches (40 cm) from your nose. 2. Place the pencil tip slightly below and between the circles (red and green). 3. Stare at the pencil tip. 4. Slowly move the pencil tip away from the paper and closer to you while looking at the pencil tip the whole time. 5. As you pull the pencil tip closer, you should NOTICE that the two colored circles on either side of the pencil are getting blurry and may start to split apart. Remember to keep your eyes on the pencil tip as you pull it closer to you. 6. As you continue, you should notice that the green circles and red circles may merge and create a third circle located directly under your pencil tip. 7. Try to clear that third circle by slowly moving the pencil slightly forward and backward until you get it clear. 8. The circle will appear to float directly under where the pencil tip is. 9. Hold the clear reddish and greenish circle for at least ten seconds. 10. Take the pencil away and try to keep that third circle clear. 11. Hold for another ten seconds. 12. Repeat this exercise, only this time try to make the circles appear clearly by looking farther away. 13. You can increase the difficulty of this drill by nodding the head while maintaining visual clarity.

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TOOLS FOR IMPROVING VISUAL PERCEPTION SKILLS • Arrow Charts – 2 Versions • Eye Blink/Clock Drill • BTS Emotional Climate Drill

Arrow Chart – Verbal Only Purpose: To quickly identify directions (up, down, right and left). There is some evidence that movement, coordination and pain disorders all interfere with laterality recognition. This drill helps challenge this capacity.

Procedure: 1. Attach the arrow chart to the wall at eye level. 2. Standing in good posture, the athlete will say the direction of the arrow that the coach points out. 3. Next, the athlete will call the direction opposite the arrow pointed to by the coach.

Arrow Chart – Verbal + Body Purpose: Same as above.

Procedure: 1. Same as above except that this time the athlete will be moving through the chart as fast as possible calling and pointing in the direction of the arrows. 2. Repeat the above calling and pointing in the opposite direction. 3. You can increase the load of this exercise by utilizing a metronome.

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VISION TRAINING TOOLS - VISUAL PERCEPTION Eye Blink/Clock Drill Purpose: This drill serves multiple functions, but primarily as a perceptual reframing and peripheral vision drill. The primary goal of the drill is to increase the athlete’s perception of how much information they are capable of perceiving in a very short time frame.

Procedure: 1. Stand in a neutral stance or athletic stance facing a partner. 2. Athlete closes his eyes and slowly counts to 3. While eyes are closed, partner moves around the athlete quietly, picks a position and assumes an athletic position or other stance. 3. At the count of three, the athlete will simply blink and re-close the eyes. 4. Athlete will now describe the location, stance, arm and hand, head and neck, etc. position of the partner. 5. After the verbal description, the athlete turns, with the eyes still closed, to face the opponent in an appropriate sports position or stance. 6. Drill concludes with the athlete opening the eyes to assess the accuracy of their evaluation.

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VISION TRAINING TOOLS - VISUAL PERCEPTION Blauer Tactical Systems Emotional Climate Training Drill Purpose: This is the definition of the drill used by Blauer Tactical Systems - A multifaceted drill that helps the operator process more information sooner and faster. Meticulous repetitions of primary attacks are dissected at safe speeds so PRE-CONTACT CUES (from breathing to eye shifts etc.) can be analyzed. The Role-player performs like a ‘ball machine’ launching the same attack (with the same pre-contact cue), at a controlled pre-determined speed, over & over. Special attention must be paid to applying realistic start points (i.e. a sucker punch is launched from a natural posture, not a sportive posture. The six-stage drill fully dissects and defines every nuance of an INITIATION ATTACK and shows the operator opportunities for evasion, interception and recovery/counter attack. While this drill originated in the combatives field, it is of use in virtually all dynamic, reactive sports. It is a perceptual reframing drill that is fantastically effective in “slowing the game down” for many athletes.

Procedure: The drill has six distinct stages in its traditional combatives format. It can be altered for application in more sports-specific arenas. Wean the Flinch – The athlete will experience an opponent moving toward them at slow speed over and over until they can do so without it inducing any level of startle. Narrate Pre-Contact Cues – After the athlete can experience the opponent’s movement from a standpoint of “safety,” the next step is for the athlete to verbally call out all of the small movements or pre-contact cues performed by the opponent. Safe/Unsafe – In this stage, the opponent does not move until the athlete initiates the drill by saying the word “safe.” The athlete continues to call out the word safe until the opponent reaches a distance at which the athlete would now be “unsafe” This is an extremely important part of the perceptual reframing process. Primal – In this stage of the drill, the athlete attempts to NOT MOVE until it is virtually “too late” to experience the primal startle response to their opponent. Protective – At this stage, the athlete allows their countering movement to their opponent to occur sooner than in the primal stage, but still too late to respond “ideally.” Tactical – In the final stage of the drill, the athlete may pre-position themselves to respond in the best possible way to their opponent’s pre-contact cues.

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VISION TRAINING TOOLS - VISUAL PERCEPTION Strobe Glasses Purpose: Stroboscopic training is a “strengthening” exercise for building speed of recognition and visual accuracy. In traditional training, the use of a strobe light in a darkened room has been used to force athletes to maintain performance with progressively less visual information.

Procedure: 1. Begin using the strobe goggles with the fastest rate of strobe activity to induce the least amount of visual challenge. 2. With the goggles in place, play “catch” or other catching or hitting games. 3. As success rates improve, you can decrease the speed of the strobe effect to increase difficulty.

Note: It is well known that many epileptics and others prone to seizure disorders react negatively to strobe activity. It is essential that you ask about this in history and obtain an informed consent if you choose to use strobe training with an athlete.

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IMPROVING VISUAL SKILLS USING THE Z-HEALTH 8 LEVELS MODEL The first step in rehabilitating the visual system for better performance is to focus on improving visual acuity and the visual field size. This is key for two distinct reasons: 1. Visual Acuity directly impacts all other visual skills, and 2. Improved Visual Acuity has the greatest impact on client compliance with visual system training. Note: In working in this area we need to first have the athlete cleared by their eye care professional! If you are not an optometrist or ophthalmologist it is essential that you have your athletes see their health provider to insure that their eyes are healthy enough for sports vision work.

Remember These Are Suggestions – Not The Only Way! 1. Receptors a. Use Differing Levels of Light, Color and Contrast b. Stimulate Peripheral Fields c. Stack Other Exteroceptive, Proprioceptive and Interoceptive Inputs i. Breathing ii. Mobility iii. Vestibular iv. Sensory Stimuli v. Etc

2. Peripheral Nerve a. Cranial Nerve Neuromechanics i. Optic ii. Oculomotor iii. Trochlear iv. Abducens

3. Spinal Cord a. Mobilize Cervical Spine b. Mobilize Jaw c. Mobilize Cranium

4. Cerebellum a. Spinal Extension b. Vestibular Stimulus c. Complex, Non-Linear Movements

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IMPROVING VISUAL SKILLS USING THE Z-HEALTH 8 LEVELS MODEL (CON’T) 5. Brainstem a. Cranial Nerves 3-12 b. Respiration i. Exhalation Focused for Mesencephalon ii. Deep Inhalation for Pons iii. Rhythmic Upper Chest Breathing for Pons c. Overactive Mesencephalon i. Colored Lenses/Overlays ii. Binasal Occlusion Glasses iii. Pinhole Lenses iv. Earplugs

6. Thalamus a. Contralateral Sensory Stimulation b. Hemifield Glasses

7. Insula a. Respiration b. Gut Mobilization c. Pelvic Floor Drills d. Tongue/Throat Drills

8. Cortex (Needs to Be Hemisphere-Specific) a. Voluntary Movement b. Sound Processing c. Vestibular Function d. Eye Movements e. Sensory Stimulus

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TACTICAL APPLICATION OF VISUAL SKILLS The tactical application of visual skills is obviously sport dependent. However, there are some basic concepts and rules that can be applied that should help you in designing more specific visual drills for your athletes. Most sports vision experts agree that the primary prerequisite in dealing with the visual system of athletes is the visual task analysis. A task analysis, much like a needs analysis, is nothing more than a way to create a frame of reference for the requisite skills required for any given activity. With the wide variety of sports available, the visual skill requirements are quite varied but share many basic commonalities. In this course, we will create broad general classification schemes to quickly identify the skills your athletes may need to excel. A useful delineation used by some sports vision experts divides sport into two primary categories:

Dynamic Reactive Sports typically require an athlete to split attention between central and peripheral visual information, while at the same time requiring the rapid processing of dynamic visual features with both the athlete and the target in motion. Non-Dynamic Precision Sports are characterized by significant demands on the central visual system. The goal in these sports is typically to determine directional and spatial features, as well as maintaining central visual focus on specific targets. As mentioned previously, however, while the central visual system is vital in these sports, never forget the peripheral visual system’s importance in maintaining balance in these athletes. To fully understand these categories, it is important to have a working knowledge of the different components of the visual system that are heavily involved in these sports activities. What follows is a review of these components. Please Note: Much of the following information is covered in depth in Graham Erickson’s excellent text, Sports Vision: Vision Care for the Enhancement of Sports Performance. The reader is referred to this text for further details on these topics.

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Sport-Specific Visual Tasks Static - Static sports allow for a steady, non-moving image to be processed. An example of this would be something like archery, golf, free-throw shooting, and target shooting. Non-Static - Non-static sports describe a condition in which the visual information is in motion. This requires the athlete be capable of constantly processing changes in visual information. An example of this would be a running back in football, or tennis player in the middle of a rally. Non-Dynamic - This concept is related not to the object(s) the athlete is focusing on but rather the action of the athlete. If the athlete is not moving or relatively stationary this is considered non-dynamic. Dynamic – On the other hand, if the athlete is in motion the sport activity is now considered dynamic. Quick – Visual endurance requirements vary a great deal across the spectrum of sports. Quick visual skills require only short-term intense focus interspersed with periods of rest. Sustained – Some sports require the athlete to be capable of taking in and processing visual information for many hours with high levels of precision. This is considered a sustained vision task. Contrast Levels – Sports often require a great deal of contrast sensitivity on the part of athletes. They must be able to notice and make use of subtle changes in contrast brought on by the weather, environment, lighting conditions, speed of motion, backgrounds, etc. Target Size – While this may seem obvious, target sizes vary widely in different sports. It becomes more complex, however, when you realize that target sizes must also be understood in the context of the size of the field of play. The capacity to see a target is closely tied into contrast sensitivity as well because the spin induced on most sports objects can make them harder to visually identify. Boundaries – Sports vary tremendously in the size of the playing arena. As a result, there can be huge differences among athletes and their need to utilize peripheral visual skills. To better understand this, consider the differences between playing table tennis and football. Visual Time - As any athlete knows, sport situations have a very defined time signature. In other words, there is a limited amount of time available to access visual information, decode it, and act on it. One of the most common examples used in sports vision therapy, is that of professional baseball. Generally speaking, if the batter is attempting to hit a 90 mph fastball, he has approximately 400 ms between the release of the pitch and the time the ball arrives at the plate. Completing a swing requires approximately 150 ms which means that the batter has approximately 250 ms to process the incoming visual information, decide on an appropriate response, and act on it. Additional time signatures can be found in multiple sports, many of which indicate that athletes may have between 7 and 9 milliseconds in which to compute a “time to contact” with a moving object. This requires exceptionally high levels of visual time analysis. Distance – Obviously some sports require better distance vision than others. Understanding the distance vision requirements can and should have a profound effect on drill selection and performance.

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Directional Localization – While this is one of the more vague visual skills in verbal description, directional localization is vital in many sports. It is defined as the ability to determine the exact direction of visual information. For example, the capacity to determine the exact placement of a target, object, or opponent in relationship to the terrain is a large part of this skill. Many examples of directional localization are found in golf, particularly in the ability to discriminate the subtleties of the green to determine the best path for putting. Depth Discrimination and Spatial Localization - Like directional localization, depth discrimination involves the capacity of an athlete to judge the distances occurring within the sport. This may involve the determination of distance from a competitor, an object, a goal, or teammate. Gaze Angles - Many sports require the eye to be placed into odd positions. As a result, it is important to understand the positional demands that your athletes are facing. As an example, volleyball players are often required to look up, where other sports require a great deal of lateral eye positioning or movement. Cognitive and Cardiovascular Stress - Stress is a constant for most athletes. Whether it is internally derived stress from a desire to do well, or externally derived stress from opposing fans, extraneous noises and information, etc., we know that it will be there. Additionally, we know most sports place considerable demands on the cardiovascular and muscular systems. While the research is scanty in this particular field, there is a growing body of evidence that overall body fatigue, and physical stressors, degrade visual and cognitive decision-making. In other words, we are seeing that the body is extremely intertwined, and that visual fatigue may coincide or even precede other forms of physical fatigue. Visual Attention Demands – As is obvious by this time, sports require different visual components from athletes. For example, a target shooter may primarily require significant skills with central vision. Conversely, peripheral vision plays a dominant role in many other sports. Finally, in most team sports, significant demands are placed on both central and peripheral visual skills and require the capacity to move between them seamlessly.

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9S: SPEED LINEAR SPEED DEVELOPMENT Sprint speed has been the focus of a tremendous amount of research over the last 50-60 years. It appears that throughout most cultures, raw speed as an attribute has always attracted tremendous interest. Every 4 years one of the premier events of the Summer Olympic Games is the 100-meter sprint with the winner being crowned “the fastest man/woman alive.” As you delve into the mechanics involved in high-speed linear movement, it is extremely important that you continually reframe your interest in this area within the Perceptual/Contextual format that we have been discussing thus far in the manual.

For most athletes, while pure linear speed is a wonderful attribute, it is ONLY of use if it can be properly controlled and applied at the right time.

9S Speed Certification Sprinting/Linear Speed Concepts 1. Maximum linear speed plays a role in only a few sports – mostly track and field events. 2. Acceleration, however, is essential in almost every dynamic, reactive sport. 3. Linear speed development should, as a result, be broken down into different components with the biggest emphasis for most athletes being placed on acceleration. 4. Linear speed practice is an excellent training process for teaching body control, coordination and efficient use of different body attributes. 5. Linear speed is a product of two primary factors: a. Stride Rate – The amount of time required to complete a stride cycle. b. Stride Length – The distance covered with each stride. 6. These two factors must be developed or increased via increased technical efficiency and force production – rather than through conscious efforts to increase them, as this often results in injury. 7. Ideal sprint stride length is approximately 2.3-2.5 times the athlete’s leg length – measuring from the top of the greater trochanter to the floor. 8. Linear speed development can be broken down in many ways. The simplest format to use for most dynamic sport athletes comes from Vern Gambetta – the PAL system: a. Posture b. Arm Action c. Leg Action 9. Linear speed mechanics have a very distinct kinesthetic “feel” that must be developed over time and repetition. 10. As linear speed develops, it must be integrated into other speed/agility drills without a loss of technique. 11. Few sports allow for perfect sprint technique. As a result, modifications on linear speed mechanics should be introduced in a sport-specific manner as linear speed skills develop. In other words, most athletes do not need “perfect” sprint technique, but rather sport-specific sprint technique.

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12. Linear speed and acceleration development does not require a high number of drills, but rather the consistent practice of a select few with a definitive focus on increasing speed. 13. As in agility training, strength, mobility and end ROM of control are all vital for elite levels of performance. 14. Technique is the limiting factor for speed. Therefore, programming for linear speed should always revolve around development of better technique and perfection of fundamental mechanics before including more advanced training concepts. Without good foundational technique more advanced training programs can be dangerous. With that said, let’s examine the basic components of linear speed development. As you read the literature in this arena, you will see a great deal of discrepancy in the terminology used. In this course, we will use two primary, conceptual frameworks – one that is easy to remember and one that is more detailed and specific.

Linear Speed Model #1: PAL The first model we will use is taken from the brilliant, and highly respected sports conditioning coach Vern Gambetta. As one of the most experienced coaches in history at this point, he offers a great deal of everyday “wisdom” in his approaches. When dealing with the basic mechanics of sprinting, he introduces the basic acronym, PAL:

Posture, Arm Action, Leg Action Posture: This concept relates to the maintenance of a relatively “neutral” pelvis along with a lengthened, tall body. Many sprinters historically have created a significant anterior pelvic tilt, leading to greater stress on the low back as well as the hamstrings. This inefficient patterning is often blamed for predisposing sprinters to the many hamstring injuries seen in the sport. As a result, many speed coaches firmly believe that worldclass sprint speed begins with an extremely strong torso. This concept is generally taught with the following commands: • Head Up • Hips Up

Arm Action: The arm action in sprinting has been the subject of some of the biggest debates in the sport. Some coaches feel that the arms contribute nothing to a sprint while others firmly believe that they are the primary controller for the legs. Regardless of the particular camp scientists find themselves in the majority of actual sprinters absolutely emphasize the arms in training as a major component of their speed. Also, some neuroscientists believe that much of the central pattern generator (CPG) activity involved in gait is arm-driven. As a result, in the Z-Health model, we place great practical emphasis on the arms in sprinting.

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Posture, Arm Action, Leg Action (Con’t) The arm action in sprinting is actually quite complex and should be taught using the following general rules: • Elbow angles vary from 60-140 degrees. Many speed coaches recommend using the approach you are already familiar with from SPhase known as the loose 90-degree position. • Emphasis should be placed on driving the arms backward – not forward. • Arms recover into flexion by the elastic stretch created by the backward arm action. This is important because the capacity to perform intentional concentric contractions in both directions goes down as speed goes up. • The hands should be in a loose-extended and cupped position (potato chip) or held in a loose fist. • Arms should not deviate laterally or cross the midline.

Leg Action: The leg actions in sprinting are extremely complex and have been extensively analyzed to provide a clear picture of what makes up excellent speed mechanics. To understand this clearly, we will break the leg actions down into four different phases taken from the work of Loren Seagrave. He classifies them in order of importance: 1. Ground Phase – Also known as the support phase, this is the moment during a sprint when the foot is actually in contact with the ground, and as a result is the only moment the sprinter has the opportunity to alter their flight path. It is divided into two phases: a. Frontside Phase – The goal of this phase is to move the athlete horizontally from touchdown through midstance to take-off. The thigh should continue accelerating while the foot is grounded. Some coaches tell the athlete to “explode through the track” to emphasize this movement although this concept has been met with some level of dissent. b. Backside Phase – This begins at mid-stance when the center of gravity is over the base of support. The primary cue for the athlete is to continue to push into the ground from the hip. 2. Ground Preparation Phase – This comes slightly before ground phase and involves the active preparation of the foot and leg to strike the ground. As the leg accelerates toward the ground, the knee must remain relaxed to create the most effective lever system during this phase. With the ankle dorsiflexed and the knee relaxed, the knee will passively extend into what is known as the “foreleg reach.” Note this is a passive movement primarily – not active. At the point of near full extension of the knee, the athlete co-contracts the muscles around the knee generating a “negative” or backward-focused foot speed that should minimize braking forces.

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Posture, Arm Action, Leg Action (Con’t) 3. Recovery Mechanics – Seagrave subdivides this process into two distinct phases: a. Residual Phase – This phase begins at take-off and concludes when the thigh begins to accelerate forward. The idea here is that the residual phase offers the best opportunity to reduce the time required to recover the limb. Many sprinters struggle in this arena and allow the hip to overextend. This is typically dealt with by ensuring a neutral pelvis position and utilizing the “Toes Up” cue. Research indicates that faster sprinters initiate anterior compartment activity to increase dorsiflexion much sooner than slower sprinters – in some cases as early as mid-stance. b. Recovery Phase – This phase begins with a forward (sometimes called a positive) acceleration of the thigh. The goal here is to maximize thigh acceleration through the optimal range. This should primarily be accomplished via the use of stored elastic energy in the hip flexors. From a physics standpoint, the goal is to make the leg as short as possible as fast as possible. This is accomplished by focusing on ankle dorsiflexion primarily and emphasizing “stepping over’ the opposite knee. 4. Transition Phase – This phase begins with an abrupt deceleration of the thigh during the recovery phase. It corresponds with take off on the opposing leg. The primary goal of this phase is to make use of the momentum created by the leg to “unload” the body or “make it lighter.” This should result in increased horizontal and vertical projection in the direction of travel.

The 100-Meter Race With all of this detail applied to the mechanics of sprinting, the discussion is still not complete! One of the first things to understand is that there is no such thing as “just sprinting” in the world of sports. Even a race as short as the 100 meters has distinct phases that all require different abilities and foci. The 100-meter race is typically broken down into different components, with some coaches noting 5, 6, 7 or more components. 1. Reaction – This begins when the gun is fired and the first movement is initiated. 2. Acceleration Phase – This is the earliest portion of the accelerative process and generally involves the athlete driving hard into the ground for 6-9 steps. 3. Transition Phase – While still a part of the acceleration, this phase is when the athlete is moving out of acceleration into more maximum velocity mechanics. This usually occurs around the 40-50 meter mark. 4. Maximum Velocity – This is when the athlete is moving the fastest. For most 100-meter sprinters this occurs between 4-6 seconds and is maintained for 10-30 meters. Slower runners reach this velocity faster. 5. Speed Maintenance Phase – At this phase, the sprinter is trying to bring maximal relaxation to maintain the top running speed for as long as possible. The goal is to minimize the coming deceleration.

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Posture, Arm Action, Leg Action (Con’t) While there are a great many lessons to be taken from all of the above, many of the mechanical lessons have been summarized nicely in Modern Speed by Adrian Faccioni

Coaching Implications 1. The less distance that an athlete’s foot moves in front of their center of gravity with each step, the less are the braking forces applied to the ground and the faster the athlete should be able to run. 2. The vertical forces in sprinting are greater than the horizontal ones, which means the athlete has to be very strong to be able to minimize collapse of the center of gravity with each ground contact. 3. The stronger the athlete is in the ankle-flexors, knee and hip-extensors, the less the collapse at the point of foot contact, leading to decreased ground-contact time and increased running velocity. 4. The foot of the recovery leg should pass about equal with the knee of the support leg. 5. Efficient front-side mechanics (knee-lift) improves acceleration and decreases the stress placed upon the hamstring muscle groups. 6. The optimal stride rate and stride length is not the maximum possible of each – it is the best combination of the two attributes which leads to ultimate speed success (this combination is dependent upon the athlete’s attributes). 7. The main difference between elite and sub-elite sprint athletes is in cadence (stride rate) and this should therefore be a major focus of training year-round. 8. Most athletes overstride trying to offset the lack of stride rate. Sprint programs should emphasize maximizing stride rate through fast leg-turnover drills and good technique. 9. The more efficient an athlete’s sprint technique, the less energy is required to sprint, therefore the more energy the athlete has to continue to sprint at high intensity at the end of a match or competition. 10. Ankle pre-tension drills will help decrease ground-contact time and increase speed and agility in players.

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SPEED TRAINING DRILLS - ARM & LEG ACTION As we look at the various speed drills in this course, we will emphasize a progressive training system that works on different components of the sprint cycle. However, what can never be taken for granted is the necessity to ACTUALLY RUN! It is easy to get carried away in perfecting these different drills and lose sight of the fact that the only real purpose is to build sport-specific strength and more precise movement chunks. Prior to initiating a full sprint training section, a thorough warm-up should be conducted to prime the body for movement. Special Note: Most sprint coaches are very selective in the surface that they train their athletes on. In general, for sprint drills, athletes should train on a track or grass whenever possible. Turf fields are an acceptable third option.

Arm Swings Arm swing drills have multiple uses. Generally, they are used to teach the correct arm action during maximum velocity running. Additionally, they can be practiced for acceleration, curvilinear running, and used within all agility drills. Most speed experts agree that arm actions accomplish three primary tasks: 1. Arm action balances the forces created by the legs 2. It helps to initiate the actions of the legs, and pull them into correct sequence 3. Potentially, limits running speed With these concepts in mind, let’s look at several distinct arm swing drills for your athletes:

• • • • •

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Long to Short Arm Action Arm Swing - Seated Arm Swing - Standing Arm Swing - Walking Arm Swing - Jogging

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Speed Training Drills - Arm Swing Long To Short Arm Action Procedure: The athlete will stand in a slightly staggered stance. 1. Beginning with the arms straight and the hands extended with fingers relaxed and slightly cupped, the athlete drives the arms alternately forward so that the hands are above head level with the elbow straight, and then directly back until the hands reach well behind the hips. 2. As the movement continues the athlete begins to bend the elbows progressively toward 90-degrees. 3. The drill finishes after the athlete reaches the typical sprinting range of motion and speed. Note: This should be a pendulum like motion from the shoulders not the elbow, with minimal torso rotation.

Arm Swing Drill - Seated Procedure: 1. The athlete will sit and extend the legs in front of the body. 2. Athletes should sit in a long spine position and place the arms in the cheek-to-cheek running position. 3. On command, the athlete will initiate sprinting motions with the arms with the focus being on driving the arms backward aggressively so that the hands end next to the hip. Note: The athlete will often bounce from hip to hip during this drill.

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Speed Training Drills - Arm Swing Arm Swing Drill - Standing Procedure: 1. The athlete will stand in neutral stance, while maintaining a good long spine position. 2. Begin with the arms in the cheek-to-cheek running position with the hands loosely cupped or held in a loose fist. 3. On command, swing the arms as previously described, focusing on the pendulum like motion from the shoulder. Note: In most cases athletes should learn this drill with a 90° bend at the elbow. Recent research shows that in the shoulder flexion portion of the motion some athletes may close the space to 75° and in the extension portion the arm may open to a maximum of 155º.

Arm Swing Drill - Walking Procedure: • Perform the same standing arm swing drill linking it to the correct leg motions during walking.

Arm Swing Drill - Jogging Procedure: • Perform the same standing arm swing drill linking it to the correct leg motions during jogging.

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Speed Training Drills - Leg Drills Ankling These drills are useful for helping your athlete develop the ability to attain and build specific strength and effective dorsiflexion at the ankle during ground contact.

Procedure: 1. Beginning from a neutral stance, the athlete will move forward over 10 yards. 2. The legs are kept relatively straight, with the primary movement coming from the ankle joint. 3. The toes are lifted actively toward the knee and then snapped down into plantar flexion allowing the athlete to land on the ball of the foot. 4. After mastering the basic movements, the athlete should use normal sprinting arm mechanics during this drill.

Stiff Leg Run Procedure: 1. This drill is a higher version of the ankling drill. The athlete will begin in a neutral stance and move forward over 10 to 15 yards. 2. The legs are kept relatively straight with the movement coming at the ankle joint. 3. The toes are actively lifted toward the knee, allowing the athlete to actively land on the ball of the foot creating forward momentum. 4. The athlete should utilize good upper body running mechanics.

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SPEED TRAINING DRILLS - THE A-MARCH DRILLS The A series, designed by sprint coach Gerard Mach, is a brilliant series of drills designed to bring together excellent lower body mechanics in combination with the arm swing drills. They are initially done at a slow pace, and move from single leg walking drills, through skipping drills eventually into full running drills. As originally devised, these drills were specifically used to develop sprint specific strength, posture and to help engrain the basic motor patterns of good sprint technique. While there is nothing magical about these drills, and they do not and cannot replace the simple practice of sprinting, they are an excellent tool and should have a place in every coach’s curriculum.

A March Unilateral Procedure: 1. Begin in a neutral stance with hands on hips. 2. Bring the right heel up to the level of the stance leg knee, maintaining ankle dorsiflexion and big toe extension. 3. When the heel reaches the optimal height create a small cycling motion of lower leg insuring the knee angle does not exceed 90 degrees. 4. Using the hip/glutes, drive the ball of the foot into the ground just in front of the body’s center of gravity, with the outside edge of the foot making first contact. 5. Emphasize a small pawing motion to pull the center of gravity over the foot. 6. Take a normal step forward with the left leg and repeat.

A March Bilateral Procedure: 1. Begin in a neutral stance with hands on hips. 2. Initiate the action as described above with the right leg. 3. As the right foot contacts the ground and pulls the body forward, initiate the same marching motion with the left leg. 4. As the drill continues, focus on feeling the knee being driven upwards by the contact of the foot into the ground. This is the original intent of the drill, that is more easily felt in the A skip. 5. Add the arms into the movement as the leg mechanics improve.

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A Skip Bilateral Procedure: 1. Begin in a neutral stance arms stretched in front of the body or hands on hips. 2. Cue your athletes to think “hop, hop” mentally to establish a rhythm. 3. Begin hopping with both feet, just clearing the ground. 4. Bring the right heel up to the level of the stance leg knee, maintaining ankle dorsiflexion and big toe extension. 5. When the heel reaches the optimal height create a small cycling motion of lower leg insuring the knee angle does not exceed 90 degrees. 6. Using the hip/glutes, drive the ball of the foot into the ground just in front of the body’s center of gravity, with the outside edge of the foot making first contact. It should make contact no further than ½ footlength in front of the support leg. 7. The key is that the cycling/active leg should make ground contact SIMULTANEOUSLY with the hop on the stance leg. 8. Repeat in rhythm on the opposite side.

A Run Procedure: 1. Begin in a neutral stance. 2. Initiate a slow/moderate speed run utilizing all the mechanics practiced in all the previous A Drill series. 3. Emphasize: a. Ankle Dorsiflexion b. Toe Extension c. Heel-to-Hip d. Hip Flexion e. Stepping over stance knee f. Aggressive drive into ground g. Ball of foot contact on outside edge of foot just in front of the center of gravity h. Proper arm swing mechanics i. Excellent upper body posture and stability

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A Skip Lateral Procedure: 1. Begin in a neutral stance with hands on hips. 2. Begin with a standard A Skip. 3. Once the rhythm is established change from a forward skip into a lateral skip. 4. The key here is to keep as much of the standard technique as possible, but in the initial knee lift the athlete will bring the knee toward the opposite hip emulating a crossover step. 5. The foot contact should continue to drive the athlete laterally as opposed to forward in this drill

Fast Leg Drill Procedure: 1. Begin in a neutral stance with excellent sprint posture. 2. Slowly jog forward. 3. Focus on one leg and perform a sprint leg and arm cycle on that side and return to jogging. 4. Once the technique is mastered on one side, switch the practice to the opposite leg. 5. Ideally, the technique should evolve into: a. Slow jog. b. 2 fast legs on right c. 2 jogging steps d. 2 fast legs on left 6. The athlete must emphasize perfect technique in this drill based on all of the above work.

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SPEED TRAINING DRILLS - ACCELERATION & MULTI-DIRECTIONAL SPEED According to most athletic research, the number one prerequistie to athletic success in most sports is the 10m acceleration. Obviously, this does not hold true in track and field, but in most other sports the vast majority of focus for technical speed development should be on acceleration mechanics. There are three keys to excellent acceleration:

1. Forward Body Lean 2. Strong/Violent Pushes Backward Into Ground 3. Accentuated Knee Drive We will use the following drills to teach these concepts to our athletes and develop their skill and strength to perform them at higher speeds and with greater intensity.

Fall Forward Procedure: 1. Stand in neutral stance one meter away from a partner. 2. Maintain a straight line posture and fall into partner. 3. Hold the leaning position for five seconds and return to the starting position. 4. Repeat

Wall Drill – Static Procedure: 1. Begin in neutral stance one meter away from a wall or other solid object. 2. Lean forward holding a straight line posture and reach out with the hands to contact the wall. 3. The body should be leaning forward at least 45 degrees. 4. Perform an A series marching motion with the right leg and freeze in the up position. 5. Come up on the toes of the stance leg and contract the glute on the stance leg as well. 6. Hold this position for 5 seconds. 7. Switch and repeat on the opposite side.

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Wall Drill – 1 Cycle Procedure: 1. Begin in neutral stance one meter away from a wall or other solid object. 2. Lean forward holding a straight line posture and reach out with the hands until in contact with the wall. 3. The body should be leaning forward at least 45 degrees. 4. Perform an A series marching motion with the right leg and freeze in the up position momentarily. Insure the athlete is up on the toes of the stance leg and contracts the glute of the stance leg as well. 5. After a brief pause, drive the right leg down to the ground in an A series motion, while driving the left leg up in the reciprocal A drill motion. 6. This is considered one repetition cycle. 7. Switch and repeat on the opposite side. 8. Insure the athlete’s posture does not change during the movement.

Wall Drill – 1/3/5 Procedure: 1. Begin in neutral stance one meter away from a wall or other solid object. 2. Lean forward holding a straight line posture and reach out with the hands until in contact with the wall. 3. The body should be leaning forward at least 45 degrees. 4. Perform an A series marching motion with the right leg and freeze in the up position momentarily. Insure the athlete is up on the toes of the stance leg and contracts the glute of the stance leg as well. 5. After a brief pause, drive the right leg down to the ground in an A series motion, while driving the left leg up in the reciprocal A drill motion. 6. This is considered one repetition cycle. Continue for either 2 or 4 more cycles. 7. Switch and repeat on the opposite side. 8. Insure the athlete’s posture does not change during the movement.

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Lateral Wall Drill Procedure: 1. Begin standing 90 degrees in neutral stance one meter away from a wall or other solid object 2. Lean laterally into the wall supporting yourself with one arm holding a straight line posture. 3. Perform an A series marching motion with the outside leg, but instead of moving up and down, drive the knee across the midline of the body. Freeze in the up position momentarily. Insure the athlete is up on the toes of the stance leg and contracts the glute of the stance leg as well. 4. After a brief pause, drive the leg down to the ground in an A series motion. 5. Switch and repeat on the opposite side. 6. Insure the athlete’s posture does not change during the movement.

Partner Push Drill Procedure: 1. Begin in neutral stance one meter away from a partner. 2. Lean forward holding a straight-line posture. Partner keeps hands on athlete’s shoulders until the body is leaning forward at least 45 degrees. 3. Perform an A series marching motion with the right leg and freeze in the up position momentarily. Insure the athlete is up on the toes of the stance leg and contracts the glute of the stance leg as well. 4. After a brief pause, drive the right leg down to the ground in an A series motion, while driving the left leg up in the reciprocal A drill motion. 5. Attempt to drive partner backward for 6 full cycles against offered resistance. 6. Insure the athlete’s posture does not change during the movement.

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Partner Push Contrast Drill Procedure: 1. Begin in neutral stance one meter away from a partner. 2. Lean forward holding a straight line posture. Partner keeps hands on athlete’s shoulders until the body is leaning forward at least 45 degrees. 3. Perform an A series marching motion with the right leg and freeze in the up position momentarily. Insure the athlete is up on the toes of the stance leg and contracts the glute of the stance leg as well. 4. After a brief pause, drive the right leg down to the ground in an A series motion, while driving the left leg up in the reciprocal A drill motion. 5. Attempt to drive partner backward for 3-5 full cycles against offered resistance. 6. Partner will reduce the resistance to 0 over the next 3 cycles, turn and run. 7. Athlete attempts to catch up by correctly applying force into the ground.

Knee Hug Drill Procedure: 1. Begin in neutral stance. 2. Pull the knee of the right leg to the chest. 3. While doing so create, full extension of the driving leg including ankle plantar flexion. 4. Release the leg creating a piston-like drive into the ground. 5. Repeat on the other side.

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Knee Hug and Go Procedure: 1. Begin in the Knee Hug Drill Position 2. Partner provides support by putting hands on both shoulders of the athlete. 3. Athlete leans forward as in the falling start drill while maintaining a long spine position. 4. At 45 degrees forward lean, the partner releases support forcing the athlete to release the leg, driving into the ground to run out.

Falling Start Procedure: 1. Stand in neutral stance. 2. Maintain a straight-line posture and fall forward until the body naturally moves into a running position. 3. Accelerate forward for 5 yards and decelerate gradually. 4. Repeat

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CUTTING TECHNIQUE Mastering high-level cutting technique is essential for team sport success. Cutting involves quick, angular changes of direction during a sprinting motion. There are two primary types of cuts:

1. Speed Cut 2. Power Cut James Radcliffe describes these two types of cuts: Speed Cuts: These are drills that train the ability to cut off of the inside leg at sharper and sharper angles. Eventually, speed cut breaks need to be reaction-oriented based on a stimulus over the inside step that requires the player to redirect his motion. We set up weave drills that imitate slalom courses, which teach the athletes to shift over the inside leg to maintain speed while changing direction, much like a 200-meter sprinter leans into a curve. This is an important skill for defensive linemen in pass rushes and tight ends on quick routes. Power Cuts: Power cutting develops the ability to cut off of the outside foot. When making a power cut, some athletes are inclined to take a “false step,” stepping out away from the intended direction, which makes their movement less efficient. That pattern needs to be corrected, as it often indicates a lack of postural stability, balance, or functional leg strength. The goal of power cutting drills is to develop the ability to make cuts away from the plant foot, in order to truly distance the hips from the break point

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The Speed Cut The Speed Cut uses the foot closest to direction of travel as the plant foot.

Procedure: 1. Begin in neutral stance and move into a brisk walk toward a cone or other target. 2. At the cone, perform a speed cut on a 15 degree angle. The basic mechanics for a speed cut are: a. As the athlete approaches the target, the center of gravity should lower. b. At the point of the cut, plant the cutting foot with the toes facing forward. The foot should land almost flatfooted with the weight biased toward the ball of the foot. c. Roll off the inside foot – the foot nearest the intended direction of movement. In other words, if you are cutting left, it will be your left foot. d. Perform an angular cross-over step with the right leg, while rotating the upper body to create the basic linear acceleration position. 3. Repeat on the opposite side. 4. As strength and stability increase, change the difficulty of the drill by increasing the speed of the approach and increasing the angle of the cut.

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The Power Cut The Power Cut uses the foot away from the direction of travel as the plant foot.

Procedure: 1. Begin in neutral stance and move into a brisk walk toward a cone or other target. 2. At the cone, perform a power cut on a 15 degree angle. The basic mechanics for a power cut are: a. As the athlete approaches the target, the center of gravity should lower. b. The base will widen slightly. c. At the point of the cut, plant the cutting foot with the toes facing forward. The foot should land almost flatfooted with the weight biased toward the ball of the foot. d. At the point the foot plants, perform a “sit, dip and drive” motion initiating movement to the opposite side. e. As the athlete completes the cut the upper body should rotate to create the basic linear acceleration position. 3. Repeat on the opposite side. 4. As strength and stability increase, change the difficulty of the drill by increasing the speed of the approach and increasing the angle of the cut.

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ADDITIONAL RUNNING TECHNIQUE DRILLS Backward Running While this technique, especially for speed or distance, has not made its way into many popular SAQ training regimens, it is a powerful athletic tool and conditioning technique. The process is quite simple to describe, but quite challenging to perform.

Procedure: 1. Begin in good neutral stance. 2. Perform the basic movement of the A run but give a slightly backward momentum. 3. Insure that the athlete stays on the balls of the feet throughout the run. 4. Emphasize good hip extension during the run.

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ADDITIONAL ACCELERATION & DECELERATION DRILLS Deceleration to Static Athletic Ready Procedure: 1. Begin with a brisk walk toward a cone or target area. 2. As the athlete approaches the target the center of gravity should lower. 3. Stride length should shorten. 4. The base should widen. 5. Land with the weight toward the ball of the foot but emphasizing a near flat foot position. 6. Maintain effective shin and trunk angles, as well as arm and head/eye positions.

Deceleration to Staggered Athletic Stance Procedure: 1. Begin with a brisk walk toward a cone or target area. 2. As the athlete approaches the target the center of gravity should lower. 3. Stride length should shorten and the base should widen. 4. Land with the weight toward the ball of the foot but emphasizing a near flat foot position. 5. Maintain effective shin and trunk angles, as well as arm and head/eye positions. 6. End position should have the athlete in a staggered stance with one foot placed slightly in front of the other. This will result in the body facing right or left.

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Additional Acceleration Drills 1. Walking Start 2. Rolling Start 3. Side Flow + Go 4. All Fours Seat Roll + Go 5. Forward Roll + Go 6. Push + Go 7. Shoulder Bump + Go 8. Seated Start + Go 9. Multiple Hops + Go Remember: For each movement/acceleration drill, using additional OODA Loop variables can increase complexity. Examples are below:

Visual • • • • • • •

Colors Motion Numbers Letters Lights Opponent Perceptual Cues Ball or Sports Implement

Auditory • Commands • Directions • Confusion

Cognitive/Tactical • • • •

Sport Based Decision Making If/Then Statements Sequencing Actions after Acceleration Shot Clock or Countdown Timer

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9S: SPEED AGILITY TRAINING - PRIMARY CONCEPTS Agility is defined as “the ability to change direction or orientation of the body based on rapid processing of internal or external information quickly and accurately without significant loss of speed.” This should be contrasted to what most people consider to be “agility” training, which is better defined as Change of Direction Speed. Properly designed and performed agility training may have the greatest direct transfer into higher-level sport performance. Unfortunately, agility has traditionally been very difficult to “train” for because it is a multi-factorial attribute that requires significant contribution and coordination from every body system. Most coaches default to Change of Direction Speed training, but this is not ideal. The primary issue is that, often, agility training has only made athletes better at doing the training drills. It is one of the speed training areas that has demonstrated very poor carryover in the real world in most cases. For agility work within the context of the 9S: Speed Certification, we will follow the standard Z-Health path: 1. Establish baseline competencies. 2. Progressively expand those competencies based on the individual skill of the athlete. 3. Identify and help correct 9S attribute problems that arise along the way. Additionally, agility training should be directly matched to the training level of the athlete: 1. Novice – Correct Technique 2. Intermediate – Correct Technique Performed At Speed Proactively 3. Advanced/Elite – Correct Technique Performed At Speed Reactively And finally, here are some additional reminders about agility design, performance, and training: 1. Strength, mobility and end ROM control are all vital for elite levels of agility. 2. Agility movements fall primarily into the DECISION/ACTION portion of the OODA Loop process while CODS training is primarily ACTION only! 3. Baseline agility skills include: a. Fast Feet & Fast Hands b. Center of Gravity Control c. Starting Movements d. Transition Movements e. Falling and Rising Movements f. Acceleration g. Change of Direction h. Stopping 4. Perceptual agility is the primary key to physical agility.

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9S: SPEED AGILITY TRAINING DRILLS What follows are a collection of widely used CODS/agility drills and tests. When normative data is available, it has been provided in your reference section. The most important thing to understand in this section is that all of these drills can be modified in numerous ways to influence a variety of OODA Loop factors. Let’s begin by learning the basic drill patterns and concepts and we will add additional elements into the mix at the end of this section.

Illinois Agility Test The Illinois Agility Test (Getchell, 1979) is a commonly used test of agility in sports, and as such there are many norms available.

Procedure: 1. Set cones as diagrammed. Course is 10 meters by 5 meters. Four cones are used to mark the start, finish and the two turning points. Another four cones are placed down the center an equal distance apart. Each cone in the center is spaced 3.3 meters apart. 2. Athlete lies prone with their head to the start line and hands by their shoulders. 3. On the ‘Go’ command the stopwatch is started. 4. Athlete gets up as quickly as possible and runs around the course in the direction indicated, without knocking the cones over, to the finish line.

Normative Data for 16-19 year olds:

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Agility Shuttle Run Test This test describes the procedure as used in the President’s Challenge Fitness Awards. The variations listed below give other ways to also perform this test.

Procedure: 1. Set up two lines of cones or line markings 30 feet (10m) apart. 2. Place two blocks of wood, balls, or other objects behind one of the lines. 3. Athlete begins test from a standard athletic ready position, or 4 point stance. 4. On the go command athlete runs to the other line, picks up a block and returns to place it behind the starting line, then returns to pick up the second block and runs with it back across the line.

Variations: 1. Vary the number of shuttles performed. 2. Vary the distance. 3. Remove the objects from the test.

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Zig Zag Test Procedure: 1. Set up course based on diagram below. A standard zig zag course is with four cones placed on the corners of a rectangle 10 feet x 16 feet (3m x 5m), with one more cone placed in the center. 2. Cones are labeled 1 to 5 around the rectangle going along the longer side first, and the center cone is 2. 3. The athlete begins at cone 1 on the Go command and runs the following pattern: 2, 3, 4, 2, 5, 1.

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Quadrant Jump Test Procedure: 1. Similar to the hexagon test, a quadrant is marked out on the floor, as illustrated in the diagram (3 feet is about 90 cm). 2. Mark the starting line and number each quadrant. 3. Athlete stands with both feet together at the starting line. 4. On the command ‘go’, jump ahead across the line into the first quadrant then back to the starting line. 5. As quickly as possible the athlete continues to jump in sequence successively into quadrants 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, etc. 6. This pattern is continued as rapidly as possible for 10 seconds. 7. After a rest, repeat. 8. Repeat in the opposite direction. 9. The average score from two 10-second trials is the athlete’s score. It is calculated by the number of correct jumps less a penalty deduction. One point is awarded each time the athlete lands with both feet entirely within the correct quadrant during the 10 second trial, with a penalty of 0.5 point subtracted each time the subject touches a line and for each time the subject lands with one or both feet in an incorrect quadrant. Reference: Johnson, B.L.; Nelson, J.K., (1986) Quadrant Jump Test [Non-Running Type Agility Test].

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Agility “T” Test Procedure: 1. Set out four cones as illustrated in a T-shape. 2. Athlete begins at cone 1. 3. On the go command the athlete sprints to cone 2 and touches the base of the cone with their right hand. 4. Side flow to cone 3 and touch its base with the left hand. 5. Side flow to cone 4 and touch its base with the right hand. 6. Side flow back to cone 2, touch it with the left hand. 7. Run backward to cone 1. 8. Perform 3 trials. Scoring: The trial will not be counted if the athlete crosses one foot in front of the other while moving sideways, fails to touch the base of the cones, or fails to face forward throughout the test. Take the best time of three successful trials to the nearest 0.1 seconds. The table below shows some scores for adult team sport athletes.

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Side-Step Test Procedure: 1. Using tape set up three lines 1 foot (30 cm) apart. 2. Athlete stands at the center line, then jumps 30cm to the side and touches a line with the closest foot, jumps back to the center then jumps 30 cm to the other side, then back to the center. This is one complete cycle. 3. The subject tries to complete as many cycles as possible in one minute.

Scoring: One complete cycle is recorded as 1, and half a cycle as 0.5. The score is expressed as the number of repetitions in one minute. Some normative values are presented below.

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3-Cone Shuttle Drill Test This test is part of the fitness testing battery for the NFL Combine replacing the “4 Cone” or “Box” drill. It is also sometimes called the L-Drill.

Procedure: 1. Three marker cones are placed according to the diagram below to form an “L” with cones at the corner and at each end 15 feet (5m) apart. 2. Athlete starts in a 3-point stance next to Cone 1. 3. On the go command run to Cone 2, bend down and touch a line with the right hand. 4. Then turn and run back to Cone 1, bend down and touch that line with the right hand. 5. Then run back to Cone 2 and around the outside of it, weaving inside Cone 3, then around the outside of Cones 3 and 2 before finishing at Cone 1. 6. Athlete must run forward while altering his running direction, as opposed to strictly stopping and starting in opposite directions. 7. Perform the 3-cone drill for each side - first time curve to the left, second time curve to the right.

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Box Drill Fitness Test Procedure: 1. Four marker cones are placed 10 meters apart in a square. 2. Athlete starts in a three-point stance next to Cone 1. 3. On the go command sprint to cone 2, then sideflow to cone 3. 4. Backpedal to cone 4 and finish by turning and sprinting thru the line at cone 1. 5. The athlete must go around the outside of each cone.

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Arrowhead Agility Drill Procedure: 1. Five cones are placed according to the diagram below, with three marker cones placed in an arrowhead shape, and one set of cones or line marker to indicate the start and finish line. 2. Athlete starts with their foot behind the starting line in a sprint start position. 3. On the go command athlete runs as fast a possible to the middle cone 2, turns to run around the side of cone 4 or 5, around the far cone 3 and back through the start/finish line. 4. The athlete completes four trails, two to the left then two to the right. 5. The trial does not count if they step over a cone instead of around it.

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Lane Agility Drill The Lane Agility Drill is a test of agility in basketball. This drill is part of the fitness testing battery for SPARQ basketball and NBA Draft.

Procedure: 1. Set up the cones as illustrated in the diagram. 2. The test is based on the pro-sized foul lane, which is 16ft wide x 19ft deep (5m x 5.8m). 3. Athlete starts with one foot behind the start line. 4. Athlete initiates the test and timer with first movement. 5. Athlete runs forward to cone 2 and changes the movement to a sideflow moving across to cone 4. 6. Backpedal to cone 5. 7. Sideflow back to cone 1 and touch the floor. 8. Athlete now reverses all the above movements to return to the starting line.

Scoring: Record the best time to complete the test in seconds to the nearest two decimal places. A foul includes moving or knocking down a cone, cutting a corner of the drill, sprinting sideways instead of defensive-shuffling, crossing the feet, not touching the change-of-direction line, or falling down. The table below lists expected score ranges for players of different positions.

From: Agility Drills by Chip Sigmon, FIBA Assist Magazine, 17, 2005, p62

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4 Corner Drill Procedure: 1. Start with four cones in a square pattern, each 15-21 feet (5-7m) apart. 2. Begin on the right side of cone 1 and sprint to cone 2. 3. Stay to the outside of the cone and sprint to cone 3. 4. Sprint around the outside of cone 3 to cone 4. 5. Stay to the outside of cone 4 and sprint to the finish line.

Variations: 1. Start on stomach. 2. Start from back. 3. Use different transitional movement at each cone.

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Agility Wheel Drill Procedure: 1. Set up 9 cones in a circle, each cone 15-16 feet (5m) apart, as diagrammed. 2. Stand in the center of the circle at cone 9. 3. On command, sprint to cone 1, then back-pedal back to the center. 4. Sprint to cone 2 and sprint back to the center. 5. Sideflow to cone 3 and sideflow back to the center. 6. Sprint to cone 4 and sprint back to the center. 7. Backpedal to cone 5 and sprint back to the center. 8. Sprint to cone 6 and sprint back to the center. 9. Sprint to cone 7 and sprint back to the center. 10. Sideflow to cone 8 and sideflow through the center to finish.

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Rats and Rabbits Agility Game Procedure: 1. This is a multi-player game that emphasizes multiple components of agility and speed. Line up in two single file lines approximately one arm’s length apart. The two lines should be in the middle of two sets of cones approximately 5 meters from the players on each side. 2. One side is designated as Rabbits – the other as Rats. 3. Coach will call either Rats or Rabbits. 4. Players of the called name will need to turn and sprint to safety without being tagged by their opponent who will now be chasing them. 5. One point goes to the athlete if they reach safety. One point goes to the opponent if they catch them before they reach the safety line. 6. Rotate pairings of athletes every 5 points.

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Knee Tag Procedure: 1. Athletes pair up. 2. On the go command, athletes will attempt to score a point by tagging their opponent’s knees with either hand, while avoiding being tagged. 3. Play to 5 or 10 points.

Shoulder Tag Procedure: 1. Athletes pair up. 2. On the go command, athletes will attempt to score a point by tagging their opponent’s shoulders with either hand, while avoiding being tagged. 3. Play to 5 or 10 points.

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9S: SPEED ASSISTED/RESISTED TRAINING CONCEPTS Assisted/Resisted training drills are specific, ADVANCED techniques to enforce increased strength and enhanced neural activity for increased speed development. Because of the high forces and speeds involved, both assisted and resisted training have high potential for injury and technique disruption. These forms of training should be considered SUPPLEMENTAL – not primary forms of speed development for most athletes. From the Z-Health perspective, these drills should be considered two very different forms of threat familiarization leading progressively to adaptation. • Resisted training can be considered “high-speed weight training.” • Assisted training can be considered “moving at supraphysiologic speeds or overspeed training.” The general principles for successful application of these methods are: 1. Use them with intermediate and above athletes with good technique. 2. Keep training volume low. 3. For assisted running, the athlete should not move faster than 106% of their maximum speed. 4. If doing downhill sprinting, the hill grade should not be more than 3%. 5. For resisted training, new research indicates that heavier sled towing and sled pushing creates greater speed gains than lighter sled towing. 6. Use between 30-45% of the athletes bodyweight for sled work. 7. For uphill running the slope of the hill should be between 5-15 degrees. Finally, recent research indicates that there are different benefits for these two methods: • Assisted sprint training appears to better increase speed for sprints under 14m. • Resisted sprint training appears to have a greater effect on sprints between 14-36m.

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Assisted Training Drills • Elastic Band Tows – Linear • Elastic Band Tows – Lateral • Elastic Band Tows – Posterior • Assisted Band Work – Lower Limbs • Assisted Band Work – Upper Limbs • Partner Assisted Work – Upper Limbs

Resisted Training Drills • Partner Push • Weighted Sled March • Weighted Sled Run • Elastic Band March • Elastic Band Run

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VIDEO MOVEMENT ANALYSIS “If a picture is worth a thousand words, imagine what 25 pictures per second must be worth…” Video motion analysis (“Action Observation” in the literature) is becoming a primary training tool for many athletes, coaches and trainers. As we know, the key function that we have as coaches is to provide appropriate, relevant and accurate feedback to our athletes to help them learn skills as quickly as possible. Learning research indicates that both intrinsic and extrinsic learning models are useful. Extrinsic learning is based on obtaining feedback and correction to improve technique. Based on the neural hierarchy and the primacy of the visual system, the use of video feedback appears to have a verifiably positive impact on skill acquisition. Additionally, the use of video allows for athletes to be “tracked over time” so that they can monitor their own improvement – which can be exceptionally motivating. Video analysis allows for individual movements, techniques and tactics to all be analyzed at multiple speeds at minute intervals. As you begin exploring the use of video analysis with your athletes and clients, there are some important points to remember: 1. Do not give too much information. The software that we will be using can provide tremendous amounts of detailed information. This is NOT necessary for successful implementation of the information for your athlete. Focus on one point of technique for correction at any one time. 2. Show positives and negatives. Most coaches when first using video technology use it as a highspeed “criticism technology.” It should NOT be used to only highlight faults, but also to emphasize excellent portions of movement – helping athletes build better internal maps of what they should repeat. 3. Encourage athletes to participate in the analysis and discuss the results. This is a part of the deep practice mindset we are inculcating. 4. Use of video analysis should be FOCUSED on the critical body parts/movements. Otherwise, athletes often do not know what to watch for. Use the software tools to circle areas of interest. 5. Watch better athletes before you training or perform – this enhances technique. 6. If you are already a high level athlete, do not watch lower level performance before you train or compete. Analysis typically shows a performance decrement when this occurs.

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Technical Aspects of Video Analysis 1. Decide what information you want to evaluate. For technique analysis, you will want to zoom as close as possible to the action for better viewing. For field performance and tactics, zoom out to give the athlete full-field perspective. 2. Ideally, use a cameraphone on a tripod when possible. 3. Use the basic R-Phase assessment concepts of directly in front, directly behind or at 90 degrees to have a repeatable camera view to work with. 4. PRACTICE with your equipment before using it with athletes!

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