Sprinting Form and Speed Drills

A flat, straight running surface at least 40 yards long (a field, track, or long sidewalk)

A timer or stopwatch

Cones for marking start and finish

Warm up with 5 minutes of easy jogging and dynamic stretches: leg swings, arm circles, walking lunges, and gentle high knees.

High Knees Drill: run in place, driving each knee up to waist height. Arms pump in opposition — when the right knee is up, the left arm is forward. Go for 20 seconds, rest 10, repeat 3 times.

Butt Kicks: jog forward slowly, focusing on flicking each heel up to touch (or nearly touch) your backside. This builds hamstring speed. Go 20 yards, walk back, repeat 3 times.

A-Skips: skip forward with an exaggerated knee drive. Each skip should go up, not forward. Swing the opposite arm high. This is the drill that most closely mimics the sprint stride. Go 20 yards, 3 times.

Arm Swing Drill: stand still with feet shoulder-width apart. Pump your arms as fast as you can — hands go from hip to chin level. Keep elbows at 90 degrees. Arms drive the legs. 20 seconds, 3 times.

Full Sprint: mark a 40-yard distance with cones. Start from a standing position. Sprint as hard as you can from start to finish. Focus on the technique you just practiced: high knees, pumping arms, forward lean.

Time the sprint. Write it down. Rest 2 minutes between sprints. Do 3-4 timed sprints per session.

Cool down with 5 minutes of easy jogging and static stretching (hold each stretch 20-30 seconds).

Speed is trainable. Most kids think they're either fast or they're not. Sprint drills genuinely improve speed by teaching efficient mechanics.

The arm swing drives the legs. Faster arms = faster legs. This is the most underrated coaching point in youth sports.

Forward lean: at the start of a sprint, lean your whole body forward from the ankles (not the waist). This puts gravity to work for you during acceleration.

Track times weekly. Improvement is motivating and proves the drills are working. Even a 0.2 second improvement in a 40-yard dash is significant.

These are the same drills used by track teams, football combines, and soccer academies. Your child is doing real athletic training.