Gamespeed: Movement Training for Superior Sports Performance (Third Edition) by Ian Jefferys, is an attempt to reframe speed application in sport, to investigate the apparent paradoxes and to frame speed development in the context of its ultimate goal—superior sports performance. This is the true essence of a Gamespeed approach to sports movement. In the pages of this book, we will delve into the intricacies of sports movement, exploring new ground, reconsidering traditional approaches, and leaving no stone unturned in the search for methods to ensure our athletes move effectively on the field of play—expressing optimal Gamespeed.
The Gamespeed system is that new approach and is ultimately all about making the athlete a better on-field/on-court player. Not only does it challenge some traditional thinking, it also questions some of the directions that are being taken with regard to speed training and details a new approach to training. It addresses movements and capacities that are rarely considered in traditional approaches, blending science with the knowledge gleaned from actual performance. Gamespeed provides athletes and coaches with a proven and flexible system that enhances an athlete’s capacity for effective movement in each and every game, whatever their competitive levels of play—ultimately raising the bar on performance possibilities.
What's inside:
Chapter 1: Why Gamespeed—The Need for a New Approach
Chapter 2: Reverse Engineering Your Way to Gamespeed
Chapter 3: Applying Gamespeed—The Magic of OODA
Chapter 4: The Limits to Gamespeed Performance — A Constraints-Based Approach
Chapter 5: The Mechanical Basis of Gamespeed
Chapter 6: The Skill Basis of Gamespeed
Chapter 7: Developing Effective Gamespeed Exercises
Chapter 8: Putting It All Together—The Gamespeed System
Chapter 9: The Target Movement Syllabus
Chapter 10: The Gamespeed Exercises
Chapter 11: Designing Effective Gamespeed Sessions
What experts are saying:
In every industry, there are always a few professionals who continually separate themselves from the pack. Those professionals are the trailblazers that lead the way and are continually evolving their craft. Movement training is an ever-evolving subject in our field, and no one challenges the current state and adds more useful and practical methods than Ian Jeffreys. I have known Ian for 12 years and during this time, he has stayed true to his principles, while continually growing the movement paradigm, which is what makes him one of the best movement specialists in the world.
Loren Landow
Head Strength and Conditioning Coach, Denver Broncos
Ian Jeffreys is the world’s leading expert for speed and agility development in team sports. Gamespeed is a unique resource for the relatively neglected area of speed development in team sports from someone who has helped and improved players in a variety of sports. There are easy-to-follow chapters that reflect Ian’s passion and knowledge in this area. I highly recommend this book for athletes, students, novice coaches, and experienced coaches alike. Ian was a great help for me at all stages of my career. He understands the technical needs of the player, as well as the complex demands of a team sport environment. For all S&C coaches who are building their philosophy for developing speed in their players, this is a great resource that not only enhances performance, but also one that can complement every S&C coach education program.
Des Ryan
Head of Sport Medicine & Athletic Development, Arsenal FC Academy
Every once in a while, a resource comes out that has a major positive impact on how coaches view, understand, evaluate, and implement speed training for greater performance. Ian Jeffreys, as usual, has done it again. This third edition of his Gamespeed book challenged me to re-think how I need to coach my athletes for greater performance. Just gathering data from traditional testing models doesn’t divulge all we need to know to enhance performance. Ian’s ability to capture the importance of having flexible systems when programming for game-speed performance will change how the strength and conditioning and performance profession will move forward. Gamespeed is an essential resource for any coach serious about improving athletic performance.
Lee Taft
International Speed and Movement Expert
Speed is still the king of athleticism. We test it, train for it, and chase it at every turn of the day, with all our athletes. Gamespeed is one of those rare resources that provides the coach/therapist/trainer a path to a definitive result. Speed training for sport is less about theory and more about application, transference, and impact for the athlete and team. The beauty of Gamespeed is it takes a results-based approach to speed for sport, providing a true athlete-centric approach to implementation of best-practices in performance transfer. This text goes beyond “educational,” serving as a real-world, practical, and impactful solutions-based approach to improving speed for sport. Lance Walker Global Director of Performance, Michael Johnson Performance Ian Jeffreys is one of the foremost experts in terms of athletic speed. His Gamespeed book is informative and brings important concepts and many great illustrations to the forefront. It has been a book in my library for many years, and this new updated version is even better.
Bill Parisi, BA, CSCS
Founder, Parisi Speed School
At Perform Better, we pride ourselves on having a group of presenters who reflect the foremost experts in the world of conditioning and performance. Ian Jeffreys is an integral part of this group and one of the world’s foremost experts in the development of speed and agility. I have witnessed Ian present his work many times, and he brings a rare clarity to the complex world of sport-specific speed and agility. His Gamespeed system gets to the heart of how speed and agility is expressed and how it transfers directly to performance. It’s a system that I recommend to any athlete at every competitive level.
Chris Poirier
General Manager, Perform Better
Working in the game of soccer, I know how important it is that our training directly enhances on-field performance. Over the years, I have seen many speed and agility methods, but the Gamespeed system is undoubtedly the best system I have come across, and now plays a key role in my work. Ian Jeffreys understands performance, from an academic, a coach’s, and importantly, a player’s perspective. In the Gamespeed way, movements are developed exactly as they are deployed in the game, and each activity leads directly to enhanced sports performance. Whether you are a beginner or a professional athlete, the Gamespeed system will give you the tools to take your game to the next level.
Remigiusz Rzepka Former National Athletic Performance Coach, Polish National Soccer Team
The system presented in Gamespeed is in a category all its own and makes this book a must read for strength coaches, sport coaches, and physical educators concerned with developing speed, agility, and skill that transfers to sport.
Nick Winkelman, PhD, CSCS
Head of Athletic Performance & Science, Irish Rugby Football Union
The ability to change direction and move in the context of the game is imperative to success in any sport. Inefficient movement gives your opponent an added advantage in a one-on-one situation. In Gamespeed, Ian Jeffreys applies his practical and scientific knowledge to movement in a way that all coaches and athletes of any level can benefit.
Joe Kenn, MA, CSCS,*D, RSCC*E, SCCC, MSCC
Former Head of Athletic Development, Carolina Panthers
2015 NFL Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year
2013 NSCA Professional Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year
2002 NSCA Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year
