One of the biggest dangers of developing speed is trying to make every athlete on the team fit the same mold.  This just doesn't work!  Trust me there is no such thing as Speed In A Box. 

A sound speed development program should be principle based not robot based!  There are way too many variables to try and make all of your athletes look the EXACT same.   Unfortunately there are popular speed programs out there that try and make athletes of all shapes and sizes (tall, short, fat, skinny, muscular, bow legged, knock kneed, military neck, rounded shoulders, etc) do this.

Speed is a skill (biomotor quality) and should be taught as such.  It is how each athlete chooses to express this skill while at the same time adhering to the basic principles of speed that make them unique.  For example, a few years ago I had the good fortune of working with Dan Morgan, linebacker for the NFL Carolina Panthers.  Hands down he was one of the most agile at his position in the entire league!  However, watching him move from a technical eye was challenging, especially his upper body mechanics.  

But...if I would have tried to get him to change his mechanics too drastically it would have made him slower!  Therefore, the approach was to simply focus on the basic principles of speed and let his body figure it out. 

So how about you?  Do you make all of your athletes try and fit an idealistic speed model?  Or...do you adapt your speed system model to each of your athletes and what they need?