Top 20 Online Speed Experts
- Latif Thomas
Latif is a former D-1 All East sprinter from UConn. For the past 4+ years Latif has co-owned an internet based company selling and promoting 1st and 3rd party resources on speed development.
Latif is the former sports performance director of an athletic facility, and in 2005 he was awarded MA State Coach of the Year for girls track and field. His training programmes have been sold in over 75 different countries.
- Lee Taft
Lee Taft has made his name as a speed expert, and uses cutting edge techniques for multi-directional speed development. Most recently he has developed resources for the International Youth Conditioning Association.
- Patrick Beith
Patrick has an impressive portfolio of articles that have been published online. He has been published on some of the most respected speed training and athletic development sites on the internet, including: ptonthenet.com; sportspecific.com; elitefts.com; developingathletics.com; dragondoor.com; 1speedtraining.com and completetrackandfield.com.
- Charlie Francis (www.charliefrancis.com)
One of the few online speed experts to have an active forum that is free for all users. When Charlie was most prominent as a coach his programming was ahead of his time. There is much to learn from this great coach.
- Mike Young
In his relatively short collegiate coaching career Mike has been on 6 NCAA National Championship staffs and coached athletes to eleven school records, 54 All-Time Top Ten performances, and 24 Conference Championships. He has been a guest at all three U.S. Olympic Training Centers as an athlete (Lake Placid), sport scientist (Colorado Springs and Chula Vista), and coach (Colorado Springs). Mike has worked with several Olympians, National Champions, and Collegiate National Champions in the sport of Track and Field. In addition to working with track athletes, Mike has also trained athletes from a variety of other sports. Mike has helped prepare numerous players for the NFL combine, most notably Bradie James (Dallas Cowboys) and Super Bowl Champion Marquise Hill (New England Patriots).
- Alex Maroko
Relatively new to the field, Alex has already been making great waves as a speed expert. Alex promises to be a leader in the field of speed development in years to come.
- Barry Ross
Barry has based his speed programmes on the findings of the worlds leading researchers on human locomotion and is formerly the coach to Alison Felix.
- Kelly Baggett
Kelly has had an incredibly diverse background as an athlete which has helped him become an innovative and leading trainer. However, one theme has stayed central to his career as both an athlete and coach. That is the development of speed and explosiveness. His two signiture products, The Vertical Jump Development Bible and The Ultimate No-Bull Speed Development Manual, stay central to this theme of speed and explosiveness.
- Steven Plisk
The Proprietor and Director of Excelsior Sports, Steven has over 20 years experience in sports performance and strength and conditioning. Steven is a prolific author and chaired the NSCA Strength and Conditioning Professional Standards and Guidelines project. Steven authored a chapter in Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning on Speed, Agility and Speed-Endurance Development.
- Tom Crick
Tom is one of the youngest coaches to make the list. In terms of the level of expert knowledge on speed training that Tom brings to the table, it would be possible to argue that he should be placed higher up on the list. But as this is a list of online speed experts, and Toms presence on the internet is much lower than most of the others listed, a middle ranking seems fair.
- Brian Grasso
Brian is the authority figure when it comes to youth conditioning, and that includes youth speed training.
- Elliot Hulse
As a professional strong man Elliot Hulse might seem an unuasual choice for a list of speed experts. But, as someone who ran a 4.39 40-yard dash as a freshman during college, it may be worth taking note of his football speed and strength programme.
- Mike Boyle
Not specifically a speed expert. However, there is no denying the enormous contribution Mike has made to the strength & conditioning field. There is no speed coach in the world who could not learn from Mike Boyle. I could not justify placing Mike in the top half of the list, as he is not specifically renowned for speed development. But one cannot argue with his breadth and depth of knowledge.
- Bret Contreras
Bret is the ‘go to guy’ when it comes to developing the gluteal musculature. Known for his innovative approach to training he is sure to be a big name in the strength & conditioning field. Perhaps an unusual choice for a list of speed experts. However, the glutes are the key muscle group involved in hip extension. As hip extension strength is so important to sprinting, Bret warrants his place in this list.
- Jimson Lee
Many of the experts on this list are from a strength and conditioning background. It is their role to coach players to be faster within their chosen sport. Jimson is very much from a track and field background and so his emphasis is straight line speed. Jimsons’ site is the place to go if you are looking for detailed and informed analysis of track events.
- Joe DeFranco
If you are looking to master the American Football Combine Tests then Coach Joe DeFranco has a number of products which would be a great start. With tests such as the 40-yard dash, 3 cone drill, and 20-yard shuttle, the combine is heavily dependant on speed and agility. As such, DeFranco is an expert in developing both straight line and muliti-directional speed over very short distances.
- Brian Mackenzie
One of the few coaches outside of the USA to make the list. Brian has had much success coaching within the British club athletics system. His website contains an enormous amount of free speed development information as well as all areas of sports science.
- Michael Yessis
Author of ‘Explosive Running’, Dr Yessis is also an expert when it comes to Eastern European training methods.
Vern is one of the most experienced coaches to make the list. He has a number of speed related products and regularly updates his interesting and informative blog.
- Mark Strasser
Mark is perhaps less known than many on this list. However, he does appear to be having great results with the athletes he is working with. He also has a number of free articles on his site which are easily digestible and provide good advice on speed development.