Running Faster :)

I recently read an article that was all about running faster and what they suggest will help you become a faster runner.  I compared a few of the article's tips to my coach's philosophies. The first tip was to learn proper running form. The article states that if you don't learn the correct placement of your head, chest, and shoulders you are more inefficient rather than effective and that you have a greater chance of injuring yourself. My coaches focus on the alignment of my body and the movement of my arms to help me be more efficient. The next thing the article says is to focus on leg turnover drills and that they are often called foot strike drills. They say that it probably has the greatest potential in increasing speed. My coaches focus on heel recoveries (similar to a butt kick but my coach doesn't like the concept of butt kicks), anklets (making your foot go over just your ankles), straight leg skips (you have to focus on making the maximum power with your foot), we also do leg cycles, and the variety of A, B, and C skips. All of these lower body drills focus on the power that you put down and back on the ground. The article states that resting more will help you see results but I disagree with this. Between school and practice and homework I don't have rest days very often. Saturday is my rest day when I remember that I can take rest days. The articles states that practicing and perfecting your drills will help you increase your speed.  My coach says that getting our drills down will not only improve our times but our balance, coordination, and power. In the article they suggest that plyometrics will help increase lung and cardiovascular explosiveness which in turn will help increase running speed.  My coach likes plyometrics because he believes that it increases your explosiveness from the ground. The final suggestion that I will compare to my coach’s philosophies is to strengthen your core. They say that by strengthening your core you will be lighter on your feet and that it helps you avoid sinking in the ground.  My coaches simply state that everything you do comes from your core and your hipflexers and if those muscles aren't strong you aren't strong at all. By strengthening your core you can keep yourself upright and everything aligned while running.