Developing Hand Speed Last week, this column introduced the concept of speed as a component of physical fitness and dealt with foot speed and how it applies to Gaelic Games. Because the average sprint in Inter County Gaelic Games is 7 metres, acceleration and deceleration are more important than maximum speed. Usain Bolt has reached a top speed of nearly 28 miles per hour between 60 & 80 metres of running. GAA players would rarely if ever sprint 60m in a straight line and very often the fastest runners are second to the ball. This is because running speed is only one of six speeds necessary to play Gaelic Games. The other five again are, Hand Speed, Eye Speed, Mind Speed, Reaction Speed & Stroke or Kicking Speed. It is seldom that any one of the above speeds work in isolation. In many circumstances all six are needed to gain or release possession. However for the purpose of this column we will try to separate them, in order to gain a greater understanding of each individual speed. This week we will focus on developing hand speed. Hand speed is required to gain, maintain and to release the ball in the majority of scenarios. If you consider any time a player performs a pick-up, a catch, a bounce, a block, a solo, a kick or a handpass in football or a lift, a solo, a strike, a handpass, a block, a hook or a catch in hurling, the player must always use their hands to perform the skill. Very often the difference between the average players and the top players is the speed at which they are able to execute these skills. The top player is able to gain and release possession of the ball faster than the average player. Kerry footballer Declan O’Sullivan is an example of a player who always finds enough time to catch the ball and complete a handpass to teammates. Dublin’s Cormac Costello in last weekends under 21 match against Cavan got a point the second half while seamlessly transferring the ball between hands. To me it looks like these players have tremendous hand speed. Kilkenny hurler Tommy Walsh always seemed to have a great ability to catch the ball and to deliver a hurley pass at incredible speeds. We were reminded while watching Brian Lohan on Laochra Gael a few weeks ago of his great ability to crouch down to grab a ball one inch off the ground. Another recent documentary on Muhammad Ali described how his hand speed was 33% faster than any other heavyweight boxer at the time. He could throw over 30 punches in 11 seconds. He often had to spar with Middleweights to maintain his hand speed. A handball player, a rugby scrum half or a soccer goalkeeper would also need really good hand speed. Players with foot speed often have slower hands and players with fast hands sometimes have poor foot speed. People with slower feet need faster hands to survive in sport. Coaches should try to develop the hand speed of all players to give them the best opportunities of fulfilling their potential. Developing hand speed should be introduced at a very young age with modified equipment and through fun games. Forcing a young child to catch a big hard ball will develop slow hands. The fear of getting hurt or failure will override any desire to develop hand speed. Coaches often wonder why hurlers let the ball hit the hurley or why footballers let the ball bounce before catching. It is often due to fear of getting hurt or of dropping the hard ball. Very young children love to mimic animals. In our primary schools coaching programmes, we get children to pretend that their hands are falcons, hawks, eagles, octopuses, insects, or crocodiles, lions and tiger’s mouths. This gets them to start moving their hands quickly and using their fingers to close their hands. In time we progressively introduce bean bags, bean balls, soft footballs and sliotars before eventually in their teenage years many have developed fast hands for catching a match ball. If children develop a competency for catching an object, they are far more likely to develop hand speed when it matters most. However if they experience too much hurt or failure at a young age, they will grow up believing that they are no good at catching. Too many people believe they have one good hand and one bad hand. The truth is that they have two perfect hands, one which is dominant. Coaches should encourage children to use both hands in equal proportion. In hurling, young children should learn that their hurley hand is always their dominant hand and their other hand is their catching hand. They should never hear terms like “good hand, bad hand or lazy hand”. They should practice handling skills in tandem with fundamental movement skills. When children get used to a repetitive programme that includes handling, catching and releasing a bean bag from hand to hurley and from hurley to hand, they develop competence and confidence at catching. They also grow up believing that they have two good hands. Also in football, young children should be taught different ways of handling, catching and releasing a ball which is the correct proportion and weight. It is important that they learn to handle, catch & release with two hands and with one hand (right and left). One of the biggest coaching tasks is to develop the hand speed of a player with good foot speed. This can only be done in a tight area where they are not over reliant on feet to get out of trouble. Playing small sided possession type games is one great way of developing hand speed. As players get better, coaches can challenge them by reducing the space or by increasing the number of players in the space. This is one way to prepare our players for further challenges. These types of games are best played when our players have learned a number of techniques to gain and release possession. In order to combine hand speed with foot speed, coaches need to find ways of challenging players to run their fastest while trying to gain, maintain and release possession. This can result in lots of failure but as written last week, coaches can help their players by giving instruction like “it doesn’t matter if you miss the ball” “run your fastest while lifting, soloing, striking or kicking” and “catch it as early as possible”. When we build trust with players and praise their speed - not the outcome - players respond by improving their foot and hand speed. Peter Casey
Posted on: Thu, 01 May 2014 21:11:52 +0000
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