Multi-Stage Sprint Development

There are certain things you need to take into account when developing sprint capacities in athletes. First is the age of the athlete. Second, is whether there body permits them to be able to sprint without risking injury.

Now lets focus on age. The age puts you in one of the 5 stages and with in each stage there are certain guidelines that you need to be aware of.
The stages

1. The preliminary preparation stage (9 to 10 yrs),
2. The first specialization stage (12 to 13 yrs),
3. The deeper specialization stage (boys 14 to 16 yrs),
4. The elaboration stage (boys 17 to 20 yrs),
5. The high performance stage (men 21 to 26 yrs.)

Stage 1
At this age the highest stride frequencies are noted. You have to keep in respect the quality of muscle balance and must train the athlete with an overall physical development in mind. Also, with physical development in consideration variation is key but loads should not be too significant.

Stage 2
This is the time period in which focus starts to specialize towards sprints. It is a favorable time for speed and explosive power. Stride length increases at this age and balance favors the extensors of the lower body. Training should still vary (Bounds, Sprints, Jumps...) and load should increase gradually.

Stage 3
At this stage the functional capacity is high and assymetry is greater. Strength, Explosive, and speed development should favor weaker musculature groups. Volume and intensity of training should be elevated as well as you may see a jump of almost %10 in performance. There is also a gradual leaning toward more specific work.

Stage 4
This is when you push the athletes capacities to reach elite level. You functional capcites reach max levels and muscular balance, due to previous preparation, has improved. Training levels in this stage are at near maximum and a large amount of specific drills are planned. They should have a norrow focus in which the characterstics mimic the desired goal.

Stage 5
At this stage of maximum performance the main goal should be to avoid stailness. This is the main competition stage and musclar balacne should be at its best. There isn't much difference in training besides increased intensities and heavier emphasis on specific training. You won't see as high of improvements but performance shuold still increase slightly as

As you can see there are several important factors when considering speed or sprint training depending on age. If certain things were not taken into account it could be determinal to performance.

Notes from Charlie Francis, T. Jushkevitch, Y. Verkhoshansky