Drills to increase speed/quickness

On the 14u team I coach I have 3 girls that are not the most fleet of foot. They all have really good gloves and can swing a great stick but when it comes to speed and quickness, it's lacking. Does anyone have some drills that I can run that will help improve some foot speed and/or overall speed?

That is a tough question honestly. You say they aren't quick, but are they infielders? Outfielders? What do you mean by not being quick? Do they just get a late jump on the ball? Hard to answer without knowing what they are or aren't doing.

But generally, you can google speed and agility drills, cone drills, ladder drills etc. Should help with some of it.

Overall speed... well some have it some don't. They can reach their potential by running correctly... there are some good 45 degree wall drills you can do, and parachute drills....

CoachKevin said:

Overall speed... well some have it some don't. They can reach their potential by running correctly

Click to expand...

I would say this is the best advice overall you are going to receive. Ill add in Speed is good but smart running is just as good. If you take a good angle or a good read on a ball at the plate they will be fine.

Like most anything else, running gets better with practice. While no amount of practice can turn someone inherently slow into a speedster, you can make most slower runners fastER.

Sprints...lots of them...emphasizing proper running form. Mix short (10-20 yards) with longer sprints (40-60 yards) along with changes in direction. Emphasize the driving start, getting the knees up, slight forward lean, and keeping the elbows in with as little upper body twist and head movement as possible. It takes time and weeks of dedicated workouts lasting up to an hour including stretching and warm-up/down jogs. It's hard work, but you'll have a very well conditioned softball player.

Many slower kids have poor hip flexor strength and struggle to lift their knees high when they run. High knees leads to a longer more powerful stride.

You don't need any special equipment or complex drills to improve on this issue.

Try the 100 up drill to increase strength and flexibility. Start at 25 or so if 100 is too much and add more reps as they get stronger. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1EBrxUCiGs

Add in some wall running with high knees. 10 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest. Start with 5 sets.

Also, have them do some standing broad jumps. These will build power and explosiveness in the quads and glutes to help them get a fast start. Standing broad jumps also build strength and endurance in the calves and hip flexors. Start with 2 sets of 5 and build up to 5 sets of 5.

Finally, an agility ladder will help them get quicker feet. There are lots of agility ladder drills available on youtube.

Here are two really good resources on speed/agility:

https://www.defrancostraining.com/2-essential-training-methods-for-improving-agility/

https://www.defrancostraining.com/best-methods-improving-sport-specific-agility/

IMHO nothing beats speed rope for quick feet. That is jumping rope really really fast. Many kids actually enjoy jumping rope and if you start small but build up over time you will definitely see a difference. 15 to 20 second bursts to begin going as fast as they can and try to increase revolutions over time. All you need is a decent jump rope which is cheap and you can do it just about anywhere. Not only does it help with quick feet it helps strengthen the core and burn stomach fat.

There are some really good jump rope youtube videos out there.