Congratulations to 14 year olds Kaitlynn Holt and Lauren Wong for qualifying to be on the U.S. National Region IV Far West Youth Soccer team. The team is part of the U. S. Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program, which was formed in 1977 to identify players in each age group from which a National Team will be selected for international competition.
Being on the team gave the Hawaii girls the opportunity to travel to Costa Rica to compete against other U. S. Youth Soccer teams as well as the Costa Rican youth and adult national teams.
Kaitlynn Holt and Lauren Wong
Normally, the biggest, strongest and the fastest succeed at the highest levels of any sport. However, Kaitlynn and Lauren are neither big nor that strong. They may, however, be one of the quickest and most agile. How did they become that quick and agile? Joel Flores at Ohana Batting Cages, where we have our unique training equipment, has trained both of them. And the results show.
At 100 pounds and just under 5 feet tall, Kaitlynn is certainly not physically imposing. But her quickness and anticipation give her an edge that makes her very good at defense. Since Kaitlynn has trained the longest of any of the soccer players, I decided to do an interview with her. This interview was conducted on May 21st 2006 to get her thoughts on her trip and training methods.
Kelvin: What was it like going to Costa Rica?
Kaitlynn: We had a lot of fun. Did a lot of sightseeing. Went to a hot springs, went on an around the island cruise, saw a waterfall and more.
Kelvin: How was the soccer?
Kaitlynn: We did well. Our team had a record of 3 wins, 1 loss and we tied the Costa Rican National Women's Team.
Kelvin: What about the soccer style?
Kaitlynn: The Costa Ricans played a little different style. They used a lot of short passes instead of the American long ball style.
Kelvin: What did you learn?
Kaitlynn: I learned that physically the game is still the same. You have to really understand the game. If you understand the game better you can do the physical things better.
Kelvin: Who is the quickest soccer player in your opinion?
Kaitlynn: Ronaldinho! He's super quick and he has amazing ball control.
Kelvin: I'll have to do a google search on him. What position(s) do you play?
Kaitlynn: I play either left fullback or left halfback.
Kelvin: What physical skills does one need in order to play those positions well?
Kaitlynn: You need good technique, good footwork, and excellent ball control especially movement with the ball.
Kelvin: How has training with the chains helped your physical skills?
Kaitlynn: My strength is better. Speed is better. I have quicker feet and better body tone. I also increased my vertical jump by 18 inches. Kind of unreal. I also have quicker bursts and I feel like I'm a half second faster than the other girls.
Kelvin: That's awesome to be able to increase your vertical jump by that much. Of course the vertical ground force is helping you with your running speed as well. But you have trained in other ways as well right? Like using ladders and running cones.
Kaitlynn: I've used ladders before and we always run with cones. It can help you build some speed but chains are more effective and you're always working against resistance so it's a better workout. Instead of just moving your body, you're working against the resistance of the chains.
Kelvin: That's a good way of putting it. Good luck in your soccer career. Hopefully the lessons learned from the Costa Rica trip will enable you to reach higher heights.
So I did a Google video search for Ronaldinho and found some awesome videos of this guy who has amazing bursts of raw speed, super quick feet and agility that could rival Barry Sanders. Five defenders against one and they can't stop him. They know what's coming and they still can't stop him from scoring. He's just incredible.
Doing what he does is just amazing but imagine having to defend him! You would have to react to his quickness but by the time you react, he's gone past you. The fact that he has the ball and only he knows where he's going to go gives him at least a tenth of a second edge over any defender. And having to dribble the ball does not slow him down in any way.
The fact that only your opponent (and not you) knows where he/she will be running gives him/her at least a tenth of a second edge in any movement he/she makes to elude you.
So how do you develop this type of agility and quickness? Here's the old fashioned method.
Ladders
Here's how it is currently done. See these ladders before? The advertisement says it is "fun" and "versatile." Right...
How is running on this preprogrammed track similar in any way to actual agility movements on the soccer field? Just making your feet move faster between the rungs does not come close to the unpredictable directional movements of your opponent on the field.
Here's Amber being defended by Kaitlynn. Is Amber going to make a 90-degree turn now?
Illinois Agility Test
Or how about this one? The Illinois Agility Test. There are many variations of this type of track but they're all the same in the sense that any preprogrammed track will not be run by your opponent.
Doing well in this type of test is not indicative of performance on the field because it is inherently different. The midfielder you're guarding is NOT going to run a preset pattern. He/she will juke you one way and run the other. Ultimately, you won't know which way he/she will run but you have to be ready and quicker than they are.
Other Agility Tests or Tracks
The tracks may look different but they are all the same. Doing these drills can be better than doing nothing, but it really has little to do with actual performances during a soccer game. Does it look like those exercises will help you with this slide tackle as shown by Kaitlynn?
Crazy Reaction Ball
Here's a great little thing I've found. Called a Crazy Reaction Ball. You don't know where it will bounce so you must react to it and try to catch it.
New Way
The magic of OCR is what makes agility training much better and more efficient in building lateral and rotational/pivoting quickness. As discussed earlier, in training for agility, other methods do not force you to work against resistance. For instance, it has you running to run faster. It may help but it is inefficient. It is akin to doing curls to make your arm stronger, but without the use of weights. If you keep on doing them, you'll get some benefit, but there's no added resistance therefore progress will be slow.
Here's Kaitlynn demonstrating the jump twists against the resistance of the fast moving chains. This is the best agility exercise for pivoting, turning or changing directions at a sharp angle.
This exercise is for lateral agility. Once again OCR gives her the much-needed resistance to make her stronger and faster in a lateral plane of movement.
These exercises are universal and can work for everyone from baseball players to basketball players, football players and soccer players or whatever sport you play. You need these core development exercises to enhance your game.
These exercises are so fast that a great athlete can perform 40 lateral jumps or twists in 10 seconds. And it is against resistance!
This is the jump chain that I've described in a previous article. This is what improved Kaitlynn's vertical jump by an incredible 18 inches.
Training for agility has never been better or more effective. Sure you can do those preprogrammed tracks if you have to. But if you really want to improve your movement on the field, you really need to train your movements properly. Remember, the four laws of speed development that an exercise must obey:
Movement pattern must be specific and similar
Contraction velocity must be high
Contraction type or the Stretch Shorten Cycle must be used
Contraction force must be higher than in the event
It is the last one that those other exercises fail to comply with the laws. But using the OCR, it's no problem.
If you train like this, you cannot help but improve your foot speed and agility. Call Joel Flores at 381-5530 to set up a free demo training session at Ohana Batting Cages in Aiea. And maybe you can be on next year's Region IV all star team like Kaitlynn!
