Watch on your mobile device >>
Any person involved with sports will admit that the person who is fastest will generally have a great edge over any slower participant no matter what the sport.
However, speed training is highly overlooked for the general public when they are prepping for a distance race or just getting in shape to participate in a city league playing softball, basketball, or any other sport. They will typically just go for a long run to attempt to get in shape for their run or games; not allowing themselves the chance to compete at a higher level that they are capable of performing. Speed training is needed to help initiate the type II muscle fibers, otherwise known as the fast twitch muscle fibers. There are many drills that can be done to initiate more fast twitch muscle fiber recruitment. Any type of plyometric training (jumping), 
sprint drills (high knees, butt kicks, power skips), and resistance training will help improve speed performance.
The most basic principle to increase speed is by doing sprint intervals. An example of a sprint interval workout would be to sprint for 20 seconds followed by a rest time before sprinting again. Integrating these drills into your training program will help you increase your speed to help you compete at a higher level. So from now on out don't forget to incorporate speed training into your workouts!
