Mike Wicker retweeted
A large percentage of youth basketball coaches don’t realize that when they ask their teams to run extreme distances at slow speeds and randomly condition for punishment, they’re detraining qualities like speed and vertical jumping.
Mike Wicker retweeted
Build an overcapacity in athletes…
Two soccer athletes are playing against each other:
If athlete “A” has a top speed of 23 MPH
& Athlete “B” has a top speed of 16 MPH
Athlete “B” will gas out more quickly because their max speed is less than athlete “As”.
As they both chase the ball down all game, Athlete “A” only needs to accelerate to a sub maximal speed in order to beat athlete “B” to the ball. While athlete “B” has to do repeated max effort bouts.
Speed kills.
Mike Wicker retweeted
I cannot stress this enough:
PLAY MULTIPLE SPORTS IN HIGH SCHOOL
New teams, new roles, new bonds built, new opportunities to compete, etc.
College coaches love to see multi-sport athletes and prefer them over specialization.
This has never changed.
This is a hill I die on.
Mike Wicker retweeted
If you are a team sport athlete…
Please understand how much you can improve your on-field performance simply by improving your 10 yard dash
If that improves, you are opening up so much in your performance ability
This should be a top 3 priority of your training
Mike Wicker retweeted
TRACK SEASON IS HERE!
Football & Track goes hand & hand!
Before walking on the football field you must first cross/walk on the TRACK! That was designed like that for a reason!
All skill football guys should be running track! Running track is better than going to a speed trainer
Mike Wicker retweeted
This is where youth sports often get it backwards.
Kids don’t need more sport-specific training.
They need more athletic development.
Somewhere along the way, we convinced ourselves that earlier specialization meant better outcomes. More reps of the same skills. More drills. More structure. More pressure.
But strong, fast, coordinated, resilient athletes are not built by narrowing movement early. They’re built by expanding it.
Before worrying about a child’s shooting form, throwing mechanics, or position-specific skills, we should be asking:
Can they run, jump, stop, and change direction?
Can they balance, rotate, climb, crawl, and fall safely?
Can they move with rhythm, coordination, and confidence?
Athletic development is the foundation that sport skills are built on—not the other way around.
Speed, strength, power, and durability don’t magically appear because a kid played one sport year-round. They come from movement variety, free play, and exposure to different physical challenges across multiple planes and environments.
When we skip this phase and rush into specialization, we don’t create better athletes—we create fragile ones.
Develop the athlete first.
Then layer the sport on top.
#LTAD
Mike Wicker retweeted
High school coaches from the same school but different sports should work together. When they collaborate, athletes benefit by coordinated training, less burnout, support for multi-sport kids, and a stronger school culture. One team, one mission, helping every program succeed!
Mike Wicker retweeted
Speed WILL NOT be developed under high amounts of fatigue.
Speed is best developed at high levels of intensity followed by adequate rest periods.
If you want faster athletes, be prepared not to run more… but REST more!🙌🏻📈
Mike Wicker retweeted
🚨LISTEN🚨
If someone says “track and field isn’t a sport” or “track requires no skill”…
9 out of 10 times they tried it once and got humbled.
They got smoked in the 100m or couldn’t jump like they thought.
The sport requires skill…
You just don’t have it 🤷🏿♂️
Mike Wicker retweeted
One of most damaging thoughts for track is that too many people believe sprinting is all about genetics. That leads to the devaluing of strong sprint coaching because those people believe that sprinters will be wildly successful anywhere, doing anything.
It’s not true! Coaching matters!
Mike Wicker retweeted
Maybe an unpopular take but…stop making teenagers wake up at 5am to go lift/workout before school.
Unless they’re asleep by 9pm, I promise you that them getting 8 hours of sleep will be more beneficial for them than some 45 minute workout before school.
Mike Wicker retweeted
The data doesn’t lie.
Early specialization increases injury risk, burnout, and regret. This doesn’t mean it’s a GUARANTEE or that nobody should do it. It’s just a matter of risk and what you’re comfortable with.
And yes, some sports essentially require it, that’s just the
Mike Wicker retweeted
🚨COACHES🚨
If an athlete is currently playing a sport…
NO THEY DO NOT NEED TO COME TO THE OFFSEASON SPORT WORKOUTS!
Leave them alone.
Don’t punish them for not being at those workouts.
All you should be doing is checking in and being supportive.
Leave them be!
Mike Wicker retweeted
A reminder to Sprint-Based 🏈 coaches.
If you chase two rabbits, you’ll never catch the fast one.
Chasing both speed AND endurance this summer will limit your speed gains.
Patiently build capacity, don’t chase endurance.
Mike Wicker retweeted
Speed is the ultimate barometer of health and readiness. You can grind out a lift when you’re hurt or fatigued. You can grind out conditioning. You cannot grind out a flying 10 or 30. If an athlete’s speed starts to dip, they’re either hurt or fatigued.
Mike Wicker retweeted
“I want guys to run Track in the Spring. It’s hard to manufacture that level of competition. It’s You vs. the Clock. When you get out on the track and compete you’re going to get better.”
- Chip Kelly
Mike Wicker retweeted
Football players - Once your season comes to an end, introduce yourself to your school’s track coach.
It may be better for your football career than you could ever imagine!
Mike Wicker retweeted
If you are a 17 YO student athlete wanting to compete at the next level you must be willing to go to bed by 10 pm, wake up 10-min earlier to eat breakfast, and prepare protein and carb dense meals ahead of time to help your body repair and recover following training.
Seriously, if you are 17 YO and have a license, cell phone, spend hours a day on social media and drive one of your parents vehicles you should absolutely be able to structure a routine that your goals.
Your junior and senior years should not be a time to goof off. You only get so many opportunities to land a scholarship to help you attend college or continue competing in a sport you love!
Get real with yourself and real with your habits! Dial in your nutrition, sleep, hydration, training, and routine. If you claim you want to be great or a DI or DII athlete yet have a work ethic consistent with pick up play don't be surprised when you're not offered the scholarship you claim you want.
There’s a lot of hard working athletes out there working incredibly hard and implementing the basics and fundamentals of real food, sleep, hydration, and consistency that will outpace your laziness and lack of effort. Talent only takes you so far.
Mike Wicker retweeted
Your ideal bedtime is between 9-10:30 pm for the majority of people. If you’re a young athlete you’ll want to get to bed by 830 pm. Yes, I’m serious. 9-11 hours of sleep is needed for optimal growth, development, and maturation. Put the phone down and get into bed 845 and you will wake up feeling awesome!