House of Speed in Gainesville offers a unique way to provide athletes with a competitive edge by helping them to become faster.
“Speed training really translates to any sport: basketball, field hockey, lacrosse, baseball and football,” said Fred McDaniel’s owner of House of Speed on 6966 Wellington Road.
House of Speed Gainesville offers speed training for athletes of all ages. Their coaches and trainers work with their clients one-on-one, in small groups or sports camps held throughout the year on their indoor fields.
The franchise was founded in 1998 by NFL wide receiver Don Beebe who disagreed with the commonly held belief that “you can’t teach speed.” Beebe had been coached on speed himself, and he came to believe it could benefit a variety of athletes.
After working with athletes on speed training, McDannell now has no doubt that speed can be taught because bad form equates to wasted motion.
“You can’t make everyone a world-class sprinter, but you can take them to their potential,” McDannell said.
Athletes at all levels like to perform at their potential to stay competitive, so House of Speed works with athletes of all ages. While they run introductory youth sports camps “to teach them technique early,” the average age of a House of Speed client is 13 ½ years of age.
McDannell said middle school is the time when sports tend to become more competitive because no longer can every child get to play on the team.
“I look at it as a funnel. Young kids are fast and quick, and it is difficult to separate talent. Once the kids get to middle school, they are starting to get serious about their athletics, and they want to take the next move,” said McDannell. “Especially with large schools, getting on a team is very competitive.”
However, after making it through that funnel, athletes also need to train to keep their competitive edge, so while middle school students sign up for more camps, high school, college and professional athletes work more one-on-one with trainers to keep their competitive edge.
While parents hire coaches and trainers and send their children to camps and clinics, the difference between House of Speed and other training programs is that at House of Speed, they are more focused on speed and technique.
Through monitoring, coaching, videos and demonstrations, trainers help athletes to learn the correct form and how to maintain it. They also teach athletes how to “explode” from a stationary point.
The same techniques used for student athletes work for adults as well, and athletes also learn how to apply techniques to their particular sport.
Troy Pascley of the University of Louisville Cardinals, who played professional indoor football and who is being considered by the NFL and AFC, is currently training with House of Speed. In a few weeks, the speed clinic will also hold a camp for the George Mason Football Team.
When Bristow Beat visited House of Speed this week, the facility was conducting a lacrosse camp for children ages 9-17. The campers were playing a game in which each got a chance to catch and pass to another player who would then try to score a goal.
The young athletes responded to the variety of games they played.
“I like how we’re doing a lot of drills that work on agility and stick-work, and most of the drills are fun,” said Camden Babic, a student at Bull Run Middle School.
Ryan Thatcher of Gainesville Middle School said he was learning lacrosse for the first time. After a week at camp, he feels he will be able to decide if he wants to try out for a school team.
“It’s my first time playing, so it’s good to be here. The drills are like games, and they really help,” Thatcher said.
Fourth grade student Austin Newhouse from Coles Elementary School said he also enjoys the game, especially “ultimate Frisbee,” which he said teaches teamwork.
McDannell said they have to try different methods to “break it up” and “keep it fresh,” but even in games like ultimate Frisbee, they are working on the same techniques, focusing on speed, accuracy, getting where they need to be and passing to each other.
House of Speed runs sports-specific training and performance training and combines training and camps. Readers can visit their website to schedule training or have House of Speed design training to meet the needs of their team.
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