7 Aweso Medicine Ball Drills to Increase Speed!!By Lee TaftMedicine ball drills are overlooked by many cohes in general. Even when cohes do implent dicine ball training  nike air zoom structure 18 australia , they only look at it as upper body and core strengthening. There are so many other fets to dicine ball training.Let's take a look at the many ways in which dicine ball training can increase speed.Here is a quick tutorial on physics. Newton's third law of tion retion basically states that when ever there is a force applied, there is an equal and opposite retion eting that force. This is the concept I use dicine ball training to train for lateral speed and quickness, and tually it is great for deceleration training.When an athlete applies quick and powerful force to the dicine ball to throw it  nike air zoom pegasus 31 australia , the feet must be the other end of the equation that countert that force the arms are applying to the ball. When an athlete is in a athletic stance and throws the ball ross the body, this tion forces the legs to simulate the tual forces that our during deceleration from lateral movent.To test the theory that the position of the legs and the angles that are used during lateral deceleration are important, have the athlete throw the ball sideways ross the body with the feet in a narrow stance (under the hips). You will see that lower power levels exist due to not having the proper leg angles. Also  nike juvenate grey trainers , you may even see the athlete lean or stumble away from the direction of the throw. This is due to the tion retion forces- because the feet are so narrow they can't et the tion with an appropriate retion and maintain balance and produce higher power.Now I have talked about the importance of using the dicine to train for lateral speed, but I also like to use it for jumping and for transferring lower body power through the upper body and out the arms. Listed below are 7 fantastic drills that will improve speed and lower and upper body power.1) Forward Shuffle (toward partner) and quick pu pass:1. The athlete will be in an athletic stance fing to the right. 2. The ball will be held at chest level with elbows out to the side. 3. The athlete will uffle 2-3 hard uffle to the left and imdiately thrust open the hips and pu pass the ball the partner on one bounce. (don't catch in the air due to injury potential) Keys to watch for: The athlete doesn't fall forward or lean forward causing a loss of balance. The athlete crosses the body with the throw rather than the hips opening up first to allow the throw to be more powerful and fluid. Make sure the athlete stays down in an athletic stance through out the exercise. Sets and reps: o Beginners perform 1-2 sets of 5 reps on eh side with 1:00 minute rest between sets. o More advanced athlete performs 2-3 sets of 6-8 on eh side with 2:00 break between eh set. 2) Bkward Shuffle (away from partner) and quick pu pass:1. The set up for this drill is the sa as the first drill except the athlete will be uffling away from the partner. 2. If the athlete is fing the right side and will be uffling to the right, the right foot will be the planting leg while the left leg is the power leg during the uffle. 3. When the athlete stops the angle of the right leg needs to be able to stop the body and apply quick force to get the hips through to make the throw. 4. This drill is outstanding to teh proper stopping angles. Keys to watch for: The athlete can't allow the oulders to sway to the right  nike juvenate olive womens , if uffling to the right, during the stopping tion. This will dimini the power of the throw. The hips must open quickly to get the ball out of the hands quickly. The athlete doesn't want to fall forward or lean forward causing a loss of balance. Sets and reps: o Beginners perform 1-2 sets of 5 reps on eh side with 1:00 minute rest between sets. o More advanced athlete performs 2-3 sets of 6 on eh side with 2:00 break between eh set. 3) Catch the ball perform a hip turn and uffle away and perform a pu pass bk to partner:1. This drill is similar to the bkward uffle and quick pass drill above. 2. The athlete in this drill will catch a chest pass that is directed to the right or left side of the body. The athlete must hip turn in the direction he catches the ball on. 3. Imdiately upon the hip turn the athlete will defensive uffle for 2-3 uffles and perform a quick pu pass bk to the partner. Keys to watch for: The athlete must be on balance and fortable in the stance. If not, they will not be able to hip turn and uffle away quickly. Watch to see if the hip turn and uffle are one constant tion. They ouldn't be separate movents. Sets and reps: o Beginners perform 1-2 sets of 5 reps on eh side with 1:00 minute rest between sets. o More advanced athlete performs 2 sets of 8 on eh side with 2:00 break between eh set. 4) Medicine ball Routine:1. Partners ould stand at a distance that allows quick passing without a drop in ball height.2. The routine goes as follows:a. Partners fing eh other and perform 5-10 quick chest passes ehb. Partners fing eh other and perform 5-10 quick pu passes on eh side  nike juvenate mens australia , aiming for the oulders.c. Partners standing sideways of eh other and perform 5-10 quick side throws eh (like a 2 handing scoop) on eh side.3. The key is to get rid of the ball quickly while maintaining a good athletic stance.4. On the side throws it is important that the athletes decelerate and re-aelerate the ball quickly.Keys to watch for: If the ball is too heavy the throws will be slow and the body will pensate by bending a twisting to gain montum of the throw. Athletes ould not loose balance on throws or catches Sets and reps: o Beginners perform 1-2 sets of 5-10 quick throws on eh side, allow for a 2:00 break between sets. o More advanced athletes 2-4 sets of 5-10 quick throws on eh side, allow for a 2:00 minute break between sets. 5) Medicine ball catch  nike juvenate womens australia , Drop step and jump onto box:1. This is a power drill for jumping as well as a control drill for landing. 2. The athlete will stand about 5-7 feet from a box that is 12-30 inches in heig