The Speed Mechanic

The Speed Mechanic The interventions I have with all clients is positive and encourage self development and growth as an athlete and as a person.

“Speed is an emergent behavior arising from the interaction between body, brain, and play.”

We apply sprint science, biomechanics & ecological dynamics to improve movement transfer across sports. Experienced and Professional Strength and Conditioning Coach that offers a progressive and educational program that follows the principle of Learn - Train - Sustain!!

What actually relates to speed? 👇We’ve tested 40+ athletes across 50+ individual tests.Now we’re starting to look beyond...
23/09/2026

What actually relates to speed? 👇

We’ve tested 40+ athletes across 50+ individual tests.

Now we’re starting to look beyond individual test scores.

We’re asking:

What actually relates to speed performance?

And the early data is interesting.

📊 10m Acceleration ↔ Flying 20m: 0.89
A very strong relationship in our current dataset.

🧠 Movement IQ ↔ Projection: 0.76
Interesting questions around how movement quality and projection interact.

🦘 CMJ ↔ RSI: 0.68
Jumping performance and reactive qualities aren’t completely independent.

⚡ 5m Reactivity ↔ 10m/Flying 20m: ~0.50
Reactive qualities appear to have a relationship with sprint performance — but clearly don’t explain everything.

And then there are the weaker relationships.

That’s arguably where it gets really interesting.

Because speed isn’t one quality.

It’s not:

“They’re slow → make them stronger.”

Or:

“Their acceleration is poor → give them acceleration drills.”

The better question is:

What is actually limiting this athlete’s movement?

Force?
Stiffness?
Timing?
Rhythm?
Projection?
Reactive qualities?
Perception-action?

And then:

Can we change the problem and see the performance change?

This is only our current dataset. Correlation doesn’t prove causation.

But that’s exactly why we’re collecting the data.

Stop guessing. Start testing. Start questioning.

More coming from the Speed Mechanic testing project.

17/09/2026

We didn’t make this player faster.

We changed what their body could do when speed actually mattered.

And that distinction changes everything.

We started with a 505 change of direction drill.

The player accelerated, planted, changed direction and re-accelerated.

A familiar test.

But instead of immediately prescribing more sprinting, more strength or another fancy agility drill, we asked a different question:

What is actually limiting this player’s ability to change direction?

Was it force?

Stiffness?

Timing?

Rhythm?

Or the player’s ability to perceive the moment and organise their movement around it?

Because a poor 505 time doesn’t tell you which one is the problem.

It tells you something happened.

It doesn’t tell you why.

THE INTERVENTION

We selected interventions designed to improve stiffness and timing.

Not because stiffness is the answer to every speed problem.

But because this player’s movement suggested that how they organised force and timing during the change of direction deserved attention.

We worked on the physical qualities.

Then we returned to the 505.

Same player.

Same test.

Different opportunity to express what they had developed.

THIS IS WHERE SPEED TRAINING NEEDS TO CHANGE.

The traditional approach often looks like this:

Poor change of direction → prescribe more change of direction drills.

Slow sprint → prescribe more sprinting.

Poor agility → prescribe more agility.

But what if the drill is only the starting point?

What if the real coaching skill is identifying the limiting factor, selecting an appropriate intervention, and then testing whether it changed the player’s movement?

That’s the Speed Intelligence System.

Observe → Intervene → Re-assess.

Not more exercises.

Better decisions.

THE BODY–BRAIN–PLAY CONNECTION

The assumption that getting a player faster in testing will immediately impact there game is nuanced.“Speed” is heavily ...
16/09/2026

The assumption that getting a player faster in testing will immediately impact there game is nuanced.

“Speed” is heavily misunderstood with a hyper focus on physical speed instead of considering speed as the interconnected ecosystem of the body - brain - play.

Speed of decision making and ex*****on of those decision’s. Speed of communicating with the environment. Speed of football actions.

Now that not saying physical speed isn’t important that also naive but it is part of a bigger ecosystem.

15/09/2026

Before vs After 🤔

What do we witness in the initial assessment?

🟢 Lacks Projection
🟢 Reduced front-side organisation
🟢 Lacking hip extension torque and force.

We then run an intervention to support the player with the current limitations we witness.

What do we see after?

⚫️ Better front side organisation
⚫️ Slightly better projection (more work to be done)
⚫️ Better hip extension torque increasing force into the floor.

Assess - Intervene - Re-Assess

No one is the finished article when you compare to useless technical models. 😉

🚨 MORE STEPS ≠ MORE SPEED 🚨We analysed 21 athletes in our Speed Intelligence System.We compared their 10m step count wit...
14/09/2026

🚨 MORE STEPS ≠ MORE SPEED 🚨

We analysed 21 athletes in our Speed Intelligence System.

We compared their 10m step count with their flying 10m sprint time.

The result?

📊 r = 0.60

📉 p = 0.004

🧠 R² = 35.8%

Athletes taking more steps tended to run slower flying 10m times.

But don’t make the mistake of thinking this means every player needs fewer steps.

That’s not how speed works.

A higher step count could be linked to:

⚡ Shorter steps

⚡ Poor projection

⚡ Ineffective force application

⚡ Timing and rhythm

⚡ Individual sprint strategy

⚡ Differences in body proportions

The question isn’t:

❌ “How do I make my players take fewer steps?”

The question is:

✅ “Why is this player taking more steps, and does it limit their ability to express speed?”

COACHING CHECKLIST

1. Measure step count.
2. Measure flying 10m time.
3. Film the sprint.
4. Assess force, stiffness, timing and rhythm.
5. Intervene based on the actual problem.
6. Re-test.

Don’t coach the number.

Coach the reason behind the number.

This is Speed Intelligence.

👇 Save this for your next sprint assessment.

What would you investigate first if an athlete had a high step count and a slow flying 10m?

Before describing the solution…Can we at least agree on the problem.
09/09/2026

Before describing the solution…

Can we at least agree on the problem.

08/09/2026

Yielding Isometrics:

Building tendon capacity and positional strength.

After assessing this athletes capacity to stabilise the hips we decided to perform some yielding isometrics to help.

07/09/2026

Your hip flexors don’t just need stretching. 👀

They need to be able to produce force…

While the rest of your body stays organised.

Try this 👇

Set up with:

• Elbows on a bench
• Feet elevated on a plyo box
• Strong plank position
• Hips stacked
• Ribs and pelvis controlled

Then…

Float one foot off the box.

Drive the knee towards your chest.

Return slowly.

Repeat.

The challenge isn’t just lifting your knee.

The challenge is maintaining a solid base while one leg moves independently.

This is where hip flexor strength becomes more interesting for athletes.

Can you flex the hip…

Without rotating?

Without dropping the pelvis?

Without losing your trunk position?

Because in sport, your hip flexors rarely work in isolation.

Your body has to create movement…

While simultaneously controlling everything around it.

Move one segment. Stabilise the system.

Try 2–3 sets of 6–10 controlled reps each side.

🎥 Save this for your next speed session.

Sometimes the problem isn’t what we’re missing.Sometimes it’s that there is no room left for adaptation.
03/09/2026

Sometimes the problem isn’t what we’re missing.

Sometimes it’s that there is no room left for adaptation.

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