14/09/2026
The quickest players who train the right way are the most impactful players across a game, and usually the most draftable.
Speed first is not about running more. It’s about raising the ceiling.
Most preseasons open with volume. Long runs, long intervals, plenty of kilometres. That builds a base, but it also trains the body to hold a moderate pace for a long time, and that isn’t what football asks for. Football asks for a quick first step, near top speed efforts over and over, and the ability to decelerate and change direction without breaking down.
Build top speed early and every effort underneath it gets cheaper. Your 80 percent is now faster than your old 80 percent. Repeat efforts sit at a lower percentage of your max, so quality holds deeper into games.
Speed first, with the volume coming later through club training. Same principle Darcy works to, scaled to the age and training age of the athlete in front of us.
Four weeks out.
