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Suicides have become popular in several sports, due to their various uses. Coaches utilize this this excruciating exercise in order to condition athletes, punish misbehavior, remind athletes to bring equipment or show up on time, or even to build a sense of camaraderie on the team, even if that means uniting the team against the coach. Hey, it's still unity.

Generally, in sports coaches condition their athletes with the attempt to focus on specific attributes that are detrimental to that sport. For example, a football player would need to be able to explode off the line, a basketball player should be agile and quick, and a soccer player should have endurance and speed. While all of these qualities would help an athlete in all sports coaches tend train their teams keeping the most important quality in mind resulting in different types of drills. However, there is one drill that seems to have transcended the boundaries of all sports. Chances are if you have ever played a sport, or have been in a P.E. class you have been introduced to "suicides."

In several different sports, coaches enjoy a sadistic pleasure in requiring their team to sprint from an end line to other designated line on the field or court. Once this designated line is touched, the athlete is expected to turn around and sprint back to the original line where he/she will turn around again and sprint towards another line that lies beyond the first line he/she touched. This process is repeated until each line has been touched. The amount of lines designated usually depends on how mentally deranged your coach may be, or simply how bad you lost the game. These sprinting drills have been appropriately dubbed "suicides" by the unfortunate souls forced to perform them.

As a coach myself, I, too, am guilty of forcing young athletes through this relentless condition exercise. Understanding the actual kinesthetics of the drill may help determine why this activity is used by many coaches. "Suicides involve several aspects that can improve different qualities an athlete should possess. To begin a sprinter most explode powerfully off of the line from a stationary position and build as much speed as possible before reaching a short distance. The athlete then must have the agility and balance in order to slow down and execute a quick turn sprint a short distance only to explode again into the opposite direction. As the lines become further apart athletes will be motivated to build a higher top speed. Increasing the amount of lines could also add an endurance element to the drill. Although the drill may seem redundant and something slightly less than torture, it does have kinesthetic value.

However despite the obvious benefits, let me offer coaches or potential coaches this disclaimer: Overuse of this drill may result in lack of participation in the sport, increased animosity towards coach in the form of groans or barely audible mumbles, rapid depletion of team water supply, or worse, random regurgitation of partially digested meals, so please use sparingly.

Learn more about this author, Drew Price.
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