Strength Report: Football Specific Conditioning, Part II

Gary Uribe, Head Athletic Performance Coach, Mike Nicolini, Lead Assistant Athletic Performance Coach, and Greg Segrove, Assistant Athletic Performance Coach, San Jose State University

Every head coach desires to have team speed; that is, players that can run fast at every position on the field. Heavy squats are used to increase force output; power cleans are used to increase power output; medicine ball throws and plyometrics are used to increase the rate at which the muscle contracts. All of these exercises have shown to be beneficial for speed development. Track and field sprint coaches are referred to as speed gurus, because they are known for developing maximum speed in their athletes. They perform all the exercises mentioned above, but they also sprint at maximum speed for numerous repetitions, first and foremost.