Hurdle Conditioning With The Columbus Crew

Steve Tashjian, Columbus Crew strength and conditioning coach, talks about implementing a hurdle circuit to increase speed on defense

Steve Tashjian is a conditioning coach for Columbus crew and he dictates this hurtle conditioning workout. Steve specifies the speed and reaction time that the athletes are being trained on.Steve Tashjian: You've got anywhere from three or four hurtles, all in line probably about a yard apart. After about five meters, is meters away from the last hurtle, you want a cone for them to focus on, something that they're accelerating to when they leave the hurtle. You want them to get off the ground as quickly as possible with four hurtles and then as soon as they land that fourth hurtle you want that first step to come as quickly as possible. You want it to be a powerful driving step and again get to that cone, five, six meters away, as quickly as possible with the least number of steps possible.With the two footed forward jumps, it's not height that you're looking for. I don't want to see players getting enormous amounts of height over the hurtles. Really, if you look at it from the side, their head height really shouldn't change all that much. What you're trying to see is if they can come off the ground, drive the knees, get the feet back down to the ground and then get ready for the next repetition.Sometimes I'll tell them with the hops they have to look straight up. With the hops they have to have one eye closes, whatever it may be, then when they get to the ground they have to change direction and god. Sometimes I make it reactive. Sometimes I won't tell them which direction they have to turn until they get to the last hurtle and I'll say right, I'll say left, whatever it may be. I really use that so that we're gaining power but we're also training change of direction. For more with the Columbus Crew, check out Speed Ladder with the Columbus Crew