When parents watch a speed training session, they usually see athletes doing drills. What they don’t always see is what those drills are building toward.
In this week’s video, filmed live at F.A.S.T. School, I walk through a drill progression designed to teach one of the most important skills in athletic movement: proper acceleration mechanics. As you watch the drills progress, I want you to notice a single recurring theme — the body position of the athlete.
Specifically: shoulders, hips, knee, ankle. Every drill in this progression is designed to reinforce and repeat that alignment.
The Torpedo Position
We call it the torpedo position. It’s the foundation of everything we teach at Carlisle Performance when it comes to acceleration.
The goal of this position is horizontal force production. When an athlete accelerates effectively, they’re not running upright — they’re driving forward, projecting their mass in the direction they want to go, and applying force into the ground with intent.
To do that, everything has to be aligned. Shoulders slightly forward of the hips. Hips behind the feet. Ankle cocked and locked, ready to strike. That alignment isn’t incidental — it’s the mechanism that makes the whole system work.
Drill 1: The Support Drill
The first drill in the progression is performed with the athlete supported by a fence. Their body is already loaded into the torpedo position — up on the ball of the foot, applying pressure through the down leg, maintaining posture.
Notice that the torso stays quiet throughout. There’s no unnecessary movement, no shifting or swaying. The athlete is learning to hold position while pressure is applied. That’s the skill we’re building before we ever ask them to move.
Drill 2: Single Leg Exchange (Supported)
Now movement is introduced — still with the fence as support.
The athlete punches the knee toward the fence and drives the foot back down toward the ground, all while keeping the ankle cocked and locked. This position is designed to accentuate two specific things: hip extension on the back leg, and hip flexion on the punching leg.
Watch the torso again. It stays quiet. The athlete isn’t compensating or shifting weight to generate the movement — the power is coming from the hip, driven by the mechanics we’ve already established.
Drill 3: Single Leg Exchange (Resisted)
In the final progression, the support is removed and replaced with resistance. A partner holds the athlete back while they execute the same pattern: punch the knee, strike the foot violently back toward the ground, maintain the march position.
The mechanics don’t change. The position is the same. What changes is that the athlete must now generate and apply force against external resistance — which is exactly what acceleration in sport requires.
Why the Order Matters
These drills aren’t random. They follow a deliberate sequence: establish the position, add movement while supported, then apply that movement against resistance.
We teach acceleration one way before we teach it different ways. When the pattern is clear and the cues are consistent, athletes don’t have to think about what their body should be doing. They’ve already practiced it. That’s when the mechanics start to transfer — from the training environment into the sport.
As a parent watching your athlete train, the progression might look simple. But what’s being built underneath is the physical vocabulary they’ll use every time they accelerate on a field or court.
Shoulders, hips, knee, ankle. The torpedo position. Over and over, until it’s automatic.
Train This System
F.A.S.T. School is where athletes learn and repeat this system. Every drill, every session, every cue is built around these same foundational mechanics — taught progressively so the skill becomes ingrained, not just performed once.
F.A.S.T. School runs in structured 4-week programs, with new cohorts enrolling regularly. Single sessions are also available if you want to start without committing to the full program. Learn more here.
For families outside the Bay Area, Speed Academy delivers the same principles through structured remote training your athlete can follow on their own schedule.