COD (Change of Direction) Training For Sports Performance
Daimond Dixon -
Most sports require changes of direction that have to happen in order to create great plays. C.O.D. (change of direction) takes place best when you factor in a couple of things:
- Foot Plant: Land on your power pad (forefoot) and push off when changing directions, do not be FLAT FOOTED.
- Arm Action: Get your arms moving, pumping your elbows as you make the C.O.D. The more active your arms are, the more active your feet are!
- Head Turn: Athletes go in the direction that they can visually see FASTER. After your power pad plant, get your head and eyes around to where you want to go.
When creating your own C.O.D. drills, follows these simple tips:
- Keep distances short to emphasize explosiveness over endurance
- Combine moving forward with a plant then going the opposite direction, or to the left or to the right
- Use cones to give you a visual of where to plan, what to move around, etc.
- Combine the C.O.D. drills with plyometric and ladder drills (ex: high knee or jump through agility ladder, then sprint to cone, plant and sprint back towards ladder
Change of direction training is a critical aspect in most elements of sports. The ability to perform athletic actions while changing directions is a key in being able to beat your competition. While changing directions, athletes most not only do it seamlessly (without hesitation), but most also do it in a way that feels nature where they can perform their athletic "moves" with a ball, puck, etc.
Make C.O.D. training part of your sport specific training program!
Daimond Dixon is owner of Pro Power Training. You can visit his web site at http://www.propowertraining.com .
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