Training for Other Sports, Part 1—Planes of Movement

Quick question: can the best 100m sprint coach make an NFL wide receiver faster? Maybe; maybe not. When I look at that question, the first thing that pops into my mind is that the NFL player has to change directions quickly, sometimes running down the field, planting a foot, and then turning back a full 180º to run back to the football. Straight-ahead speed is important, but changing directions is at a premium as well.  Last time I checked, you didn't see Olympic track athletes planting a foot and running in the opposite direction. Physical therapists talk about three planes of movement—the sagittal plane (running), the frontal plane (shortstop moving to the side to get a ground ball), and the transverse or rotational plane (golfer rotating to hit a golf ball). It's so important that coaches who know sprint training or know distance running training acknowledge the differences in ball sports and the fact that most other ball sports require the athlete to move in all three planes of motion (whereas running is mostly sagittal, with a touch of transverse). So if you are a sprint coach in the spring and work with soccer players in the summer, make sure you add some exercises and drills that get the athletes moving in all three planes of motion. Otherwise, you might have an athlete with good straight-ahead speed but no ability to change directions to make a play.

Jay