Customer Reviews

Speed Improvement for Young Athletes: How to Sprint Faster in Your Sport in 30 Workouts

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

March 3, 2004

Reviewer: George R. Colfer, PhD.

After reading two mixed reviews from 2002 and 2004, I decided to read and review this book. Considering who the book was written for (i.e., young athletes), I would recommend it as a Resource and Guide for Speed Improvement. No book is ever perfect for all audiences regardless of size, length or type. When I see a title for "young athletes," I usually hold my breath as most imitate what works only for highly skilled athletes. The first thing I liked about the book was the introduction including "How to use the book" (pg. 11) and Chapter 1, which offers assessment to determine readiness for certain components of the workouts. Another example was regarding Plyometrics (pg. 90) where the author states a leg strength requirement and who by age level should avoid plyometrics, although I would rather see this at the beginning of the section as many youngsters "do" and don't read. Dr. Dintiman is very knowledgeable and also proven in the area of speed and running improvement. He has a much higher level book now in it's 3rd or 4th printing. Speed Improvement for Young Athletes is readable and follows a "how to do it" approach without a lot of "hype." My experience with speed is that it first requires self-motivation. There is a lot of material and equipment necessary which is why I think a youngster following this program would need the guidance of a coach, very knowledgeable parent or as part of a camp or clinic-type setting. The information and programs are proven to be effective with no doubt. Implementing them from reading about them may require some assistance as Dr. Dintiman mentions in the introduction (pg. 11-#1). Speed endurance is a relatively new term and is well covered in Chapter 7, but a more complete definition may be helpful. In the next edition, I would recommend updating some of the strength training photographs and I would find an index at the end to be very helpful. However, these do not detract from the content and program construction of the book (i.e., the 30 workouts), which achieves the author's purpose.

While focusing on several insignificant items, the reviewer for the "School Library Journal" missed an opportunity to fully appreciate an excellent book, concisely written with a practical approach, by the leading expert in the world. The favored work of the above reviewer,for the "School Library Journal," consists only of illustrated exercises with no workouts to follow, no specific information on training programs and little help to anyone, including young athletes, coaches, or parents. "Speed Improvement for Young Athletes" has more useful information on previously tested and proven techniques than anything ever written. It is a book that "gets to the point" and prescribes 30 specific workouts for age group athletes for all sports. This is not a research book and there is good reason to keep it clearly organized and understandable for the young athlete. "Speed Improvement for Young Athletes: How to Sprint Faster in Your Sport in 30 Workouts" is by far the best book on the market, and I highly recommend it for the young athlete who wants to move from the theory to actual practice and conditioning with effective gains in foot speed for their sport.

Eleven of my age group soccer kids completed the 30 workouts in this book in ten weeks. After seeing the improvement in acceleration and speed, the other 8 team members and their parents are sorry they didn't join in. The 30 workouts alone are worth the price of the book. You don't need a sports science background. If you are looking for a "just do-it" approach that improves speed in short sprints, this book is for you. The book cuts to the chase. There is no need to dig out anything. Everything that is included is important and the program works.

I purchased this book to brush up on speed training and the latest techniques so I could train my son and some soccer teamates. I have done speed training myself years ago and was familiar with the methods. This book cuts out the fluff and tells you exactly what to do and why. The author does a good job of explaining how to apply the training to younger athletes and at what age each technique is appropriate. The step by step training course outlined is terrific. My only complaint is that not enough emphasis is put on sprintng technique/posture and how to improve it. My experience has been that poor technique/posture is often the biggest problem for young athletes and luckily I already knew quite a bit about technique. A few more photos and details on proper sprinting technique would really help. Overall, the book is very good and we are achieving great results using the workouts.

The good thing about this book is that it lays out a very rational plan for speed improvement with pre-testing and needs evaluation. The organization of the workouts is a little complicated, though, leaving the reader to constantly refer to separate tables in different parts of the book. Some of the form exercises are pretty dated as well.

Dr. Dintiman, an international authority on speed improvement, has produced a much needed text which offers excellent instruction on how to improve sport specific sprinting speed. What makes this book unique is that it is the first text specifically geared to the young athlete. The concepts in the text are based on internationally accepted research and proven instructional methods. The assessment program offered by the author is finely tuned to specifically uncover the young athlete's strengths and weaknesses. This allows valuable training time to be focused on specific points of identified weaknesses. Speed Improvement For Young Athletes: How To Sprint Faster In Your Sport In 30 Workouts, is a must purchase for any coach, parent, or individual who desires to produce a faster and quicker young athlete.

The book is very simple and tertiary. Lightly discusses a number of topics. Details related to form and execution are lacking for someone who claims to have their Doctorate. The illustration is worse than what I can create on my home computer. The real issue I have is that the author and the publisher are both deceptive in their practices. Although the book appears to be a significant volume...in fact, it is triple spaced text with 20-26 font all to increase the number of pages to appear as if the book is a significant volume. In addition, the basics for any book such as an Index are missing entirely. This book is a joke even if it was priced at $3-$4 it would not be worth the shipping & handling.