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AFM Magazine


The Speed Report: Variables For In-Season Speed Training (Part 2)

by: Dale Baskett
Football Speed Specialist
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Last month we described many things that you can accomplish and sustain during the in-season. So very often in-season speed training becomes a burden to the football world in terms of time allotment. Football is about speed and the maintenance of technical applications that produce it.

It never ceases to amaze me how much can be accomplished during the season with consistent training reinforcement. Conversely, the dissipation of technique can also be void of consistency when neglected. Coaches: please address speed in-season the same as you would off-season. The focus should be on quality and not quantity. Every time I present a clinic/ workshop for high school coaches, we always get into a debate about how much is too much. As expressed many times before, the quantity of running and speed training is never the objective. It’s interesting to my minds’ eye how fast an athlete can program to accelerate levels of speed proficiency with limited reps. A positive transition takes place with small reps due to the focus factor. Higher contraction is usually involved during shorter repetition requirements enabling the athlete to have better executional recall. The more elite athletes seem to almost have a sixth sense or so it would seem. Their circuit system is wired to serve them at a very uncommon athletic plane. Recall for them is innately more refined.

But good news… low reps fits well into the scenario of saving time when producing an in-season schedule.

Organizing the Speed Sessions for Efficiency

• Line up players in files of 6-8 lines.
• Release them (front row first) all at one time.
• Watch for the most glaring mechanical inadequacies performed collectively.
• Have assistant coaches watch for glaring errors and help those individuals.
• Address changes for errors at the end of the run through for the group.
• Intermittent Fire – release one athlete at a time every five yards until each line is emptied. Then release the next row of players in the same manner until each line is completed. This allows you to evaluate each athlete more thoroughly.
• Once again, stress quality controlled mechanical efficiency every pass through.

Total Staff Buy-In

Coaches need to collectively be on the same page with your speed system and the common methods you use. If the staff understands the basic mechanical technique principles, then they can reinforce them by position daily. This can serve well for overall team speed development and keeping erosion from seeping in which occurs in-season. The teams that I’ve worked with over the years, who are directed towards this concept, have accelerated beyond measure.

When you conduct your position drills as a coach, observe the mechanical functions during the movement activity. Keep mechanical control and football drilling together. Body position of center of mass must always be relative to foot strike on every stride/step taken. It’s a learned application and needs to be reinforced consistently. Football is a game of running; the better we move, the faster we’ll be on every play. This equates to better team speed on every play. Remember, speed is a skill and skills grow with consistent quality applications over time. So saddle up your effort and begin making a huge impact with results you can bank on.

Fast-Faster-Fastest

Speed should be utilized as a progressive endeavor, day-to-day, week-to-week, month-to-month and year-to-year. We test, we measure, we evaluate, we make decisions. By the in-season we should have a pretty fair clue who is fast, slow or in between. We have observed and come to certain conclusions about all or most of our personnel. The playing field becomes the acid test for accurate results. So if we test and have data on hand, what does it mean once we get to the field of play? A high percentage of coaches test and re-test during the off-season to evaluate improvement. Feedback validates our schemes we use for development. The weight room, as an illustration, is number driven. Numbers go up week-to-week and month-to-month. That is what turns the wheel for incentive to keep pumping it up. So what cranks the handle that turns the wheel for speed training incentive?

After almost thirty years of speed training athletes professionally, I must say it’s the linear sprint testing. The forty is always the focus when football discusses speed. Of course the problem is that it doesn’t provide an accurate picture as to how fast you can play the game. Additionally, you really can’t be testing too frequently. Training cycles for improvement take at least eight weeks for solid changes to be effective. That can mean working over time without feedback.

Athletes always want feedback for evaluating how they are progressing. Speed development requires that you must be steadfast with resolve to reach a goal that is established. The best way to keep on track with the athletes is to assess the ability level of handling difficult drills more effectively and with greater speeds as the weeks of training progress.

Some years back I observed a program that did nothing but lift weights and condition and never any speed work. They would test the forty about every month. How in the world can speed improve when you’re not working on it? It’s as if the stopwatch is going to make you run faster each time you bring it out of the drawer. Testing infrequently is never appealing to the players; they would test every week if you allowed it. The most successful way to grow the athlete and keep incentive in line is to sell the players on technical effectiveness and execution control, much the same as a martial art activity. The interesting thing about speed development is that it is a discipline of focus and concentration that delivers best when applied in this manner. Work progressively and you will be able to see the players become fast, faster, fastest as you continue to apply your plan.

A Good Application for In-Season Effort

We covered the testing of your squad off-season and that you have listings of each players’ times. Let me share with you an interesting way to use the times to effectively draw out effort during sprint sessions in-season.

If you test everyone at 10 yards, 20 yards, 30 yards, 40 yards you will have criteria that can be used to determine effort. As coaches we always want our players to run hard when it’s required but at times it’s hard to gauge who is putting out and who is salvaging intensity and effort. We normally have to challenge people who we think are loafing personally. Well, here’s a system that can eliminate the problem and at the same time deliver some quality speed work.

Line your athletes up in groups according to the times you have tested for each distance recorded. If you are running ten-yard sprints then line up all the people who have the same or almost the same times. When the start command is given everyone fires off as fast as possible. You time the first person in and compare it to the time listed on the data charts you’ve recorded. The time requirement should match up very closely. The athletes who lag way back from the finish line are either hurt or they are not putting out. Obviously you need to gather your information and have these groups categorized before practice. You will enjoy seeing how the effort through this stimulus operates.

Another benefit from this type of speed work in-season is it allows you to have the athletes compete each run through to see who wins. Keep in mind their times are nearly identical if you categorized them right. The players enjoy the competition and will usually give it up every time you use this format. By the way, the times will be different because of the players carrying a uniform. This is not true in my world – we train light. Strip the shoulder pads and helmets for speed work. It takes only two minutes.

Hopefully you have received some information and ideas that can make your in-season training more productive and unique. Remember it’s not how much you do but what you do right that formulates new and effective motor patterns for speed success.






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