Speed Solutions

A common coaching point during acceleration work is helping athletes understand that quicker isn’t always better.

Many players try to move their feet as quickly as possible during their first few steps, but in doing so they often cut their movements short and fail to create enough room to apply force effectively.

To accelerate well, we need to create space.

A higher knee lift helps position the body to push back into the ground, allowing athletes to produce more force and project themselves forwards more effectively.

It’s about giving yourself enough room to attack the ground rather than simply spinning your wheels.

Create space ➡️ Apply force ➡️ Accelerate.

⚡️ What does Joel Cooper think of our app: Speed HQ®?

Most players know speed matters.

The challenge is knowing what to do, when to do it, and how to progress.

That’s exactly why Speed HQ was created.

Inside the app you’ll find:

✅ Structured speed programmes
✅ Video demonstrations
✅ Coaching cues
✅ Drill progressions
✅ Sessions you can follow anywhere

Whether you’re preparing for pre-season, looking for an edge during the season, or simply want to become a faster player, Speed HQ provides the structure and guidance to help you train with purpose.

👀 Watch the video to hear Joel’s thoughts.

📩 DM “Speed HQ” and I’ll send you a link for 15% off your first year.

💥 BREAK THROUGH 💥

Love drills like this because they create REAL intent 👏

One player attacks the gaps and tries to break through.

The other shuts space down and tries to stop the escape.

This develops:

⚡️ Acceleration
↔️ Change of direction
🛑 Deceleration
👀 Decision-making under pressure
🔥 Competitive intensity

But just as importantly…

It’s FUN.

Players often move faster and with greater intent when there’s something to chase, avoid or win – and that competitive environment helps bring out higher intensity naturally.

You compete how you train 🚀

⚡️ Hard work + great attitude today 👏🏼

Big well done to Poppy, a young footballer who came down for a 1-to-1 session today.

Only 10 years old but already showing brilliant intent, focus and a real desire to improve ⚽️💥

Speed development takes time, consistency and effort – and she definitely brought the effort today 👌🏼

Keep building 🚀

Should speed training be done at the start or end of a session? ⚡️

This is a great question and something every player and coach should consider.

If sprint training is left until after football practice, players are usually already fatigued.

That matters.

When you’re tired, you’re unlikely to sprint at your highest speeds. Mechanics can shorten, force production drops, and the quality needed to improve speed becomes harder to achieve.

If the goal is to raise your ceiling for speed, then sprinting fresh is important.

My recommendation is usually:

✅ Warm up properly
✅ Perform sprint work while fresh
✅ Then move into the football or sport-specific part of the session

Speed training is a high-quality output activity.

You can’t expect top-end speed when the body is already exhausted.

Sprint fresh if you want to improve your speed ceiling.

Intent is everything.

How you train is how you compete.

Attack every rep 👊🏼⚡️

2025 NI Footballer of the Year 🏆 vs Former Irish Sprint Champion 👀

Back in 2025, Joel Cooper joined me for a full speed session.

Before we got into the coaching, drills and technique work…
we tested ourselves over 20m ⚡️

Joel runs a fast time.

But one thing stood out straight away:

👉🏼 Even at his level, there’s still room to become faster.

That’s one of the biggest misconceptions around speed in football.

Most players think:
“You either have it or you don’t.”

👉🏼 That’s not completely true.

With the right structure, consistency and coaching — speed CAN improve.

📹 Watch the clip to see who came out on top over 20m 👀

📲 Full session breakdown available on our app, Speed HQ® (Link in bio)

My athletics journey started from simply loving to race.

That eventually led to national titles, personal bests, setbacks, comebacks, and achieving a long-term goal of competing at the European Indoor Championships.

A lot changed over the years, but one thing became clear:
speed is trainable — if you’re willing to put the work in consistently and with purpose.

Today, I use everything athletics taught me to help team sport athletes get faster, move better, and bridge the gap between wanting speed and knowing how to develop it.

⚡ If you want to improve your speed — get in touch.

Most players get this wrong 👀

Speed training isn’t about being exhausted.

If you don’t recover properly between sprints…
you won’t hit the speeds you’re actually capable of.

⚡️ When it comes to speed training:
quality beats quantity.

Train fast.
Recover properly.
Then go again.

📲 Speed HQ® – structured speed sessions, coaching cues & video demos in one place - Link in bio.

🔥🔥