Speed Report: Why You Do What You Do for Football Speed Training

Have you really analyzed why you use the methods and teaching applications you use for football speed or have you just borrowed available concepts and plugged them into your program? Have you just covered the bases or have you really looked into becoming more knowledgeable about football speed? If you haven’t studied the subject, what and where did you get what you use today? Why is it good, and why did you choose to incorporate it into your football program? Did it come from a friend, a colleague, a relative, or your old coach from high school because he won a lot, or maybe it came from the internet?

    Is your knowledge in the speed world solid, and if so, why?  You’ve put together some ideas you see others using and you assembled those into a timeframe for working on speed during the week year-round. You need to consider taking a long look at your present situation and make sure you’re spending your time in a worthwhile way for true football speed. If you’re not sure, you need to investigate answers. 

    Football coaches aren’t football speed experts and they know it. I’ve seen programs for over 30 years and very few get it right. Football is a complex sport to coach, especially as a head coach. You need to cover a lot of areas for a total program to function efficiently. It takes an enormous amount of hours of dedication and sacrifice by a head coach and his staff if you are to be successful.

Let’s Break it Down - Are you Headed in the Right Direction?

    Speed training, weight training, plyo work and much more are off-season concerns every coach deals with. Your objective is to do the best you can in order to get the most mileage out of your time.

    Let’s go back to my question earlier – where did you get your speed training applications and have you analyzed what you’re getting in return? Some gain really isn’t a measurement tool. Most coaches are using programs that are not technically sound and either don’t realize it or aren’t aware of where to go for correct information. Applications must be analyzed as scientifically worthy techniques that produce specific results. In this case, it’s football speed results, not linear sprint speed. The athletes work just as hard with or without correct and knowledgeable applications. If you’re just putting together a program to the best of your knowledge and placing it into a timeframe and that’s your philosophy, you’re in need of better answers. You’ll be short on technical applications that delivers quality and sound scientific processing for your players. Using proven research methods that show progress each day and every week and systematically process motor skills to the maximum capacity is critical for overall improvement. Once you have accomplished that, you’ll have a real speed program.  

You’ve Searched the Internet - Here’s What you Found

    You found that research on how to be a football speed coach is not available. Information that’s recommended by a coach is usually according to his belief but is generally without scientific proof. 

    You’ll find that there is much difference in the techniques and drill theories from various coaches as you surf the web. They’re all teaching the same concept. Does that make it right or wrong? Is science the litmus test for football speed? How did the majority of coaches wind up with the methods being used today? The A’s and the B’s of the leg cycle work only methods, professed in volumes, along with the ladders, the chutes, and other items. Where’s the scientific study to prove that all these techniques are being sold with zero research to provide legitimate evidence to support their theory? 

    Why do the majority of coaches in America use the same training applications for football speed despite the fact that there isn’t any system training in place? The answer is simple – track sprint applications. They were the first applications used and are still used today. Linear speed training at longer distances is not relative for football speed. Similarly, the mechanics are also different. Track is about long linear velocity maintenance in which speed is built to a maximum and then continues without a break in momentum. Football is just the opposite – velocity changes constantly with the concept of changing speed and direction quickly. This is not the case in track.

What’s Wrong with the Theory of Track for Football?

    Knowing the difference is the key, and many football coaches miss the target. But because it has been handed down for years, it still remains unquestioned. Coaches may want to re-think what they’re using and put common sense to work rather than ride the wave because of a fear of change. 

    Changing your speed training methods may require work and research. It doesn’t have to be that difficult anymore. Call me or send an email and I’ll follow-up with you and work directly with your program.

Here are some thoughts on speed training that will help your program. The following ideas are theories accrued over the last 31 years of working with thousands of athletes and countless number of coaches and their programs.

    Speed Training must be performed prior to practice so you have a fresh specimen for good neural function which gets lost during football. When an athlete is tired, which happens a great deal of the time on the field, he is not able to contract at a high rate needed for inducing the nervous system with the proper stimulus for enhancement.

    Early in the season you want to mix mechanical foundation with speed training. Remember, the faster you run, the more potential breakdowns can occur mechanically.

    Speed reps are to be intense when performed. Mechanics and rhythm go hand-in-hand with performance execution as overall objectives.

    Suggested times per week for speed training – a maximum of two to three times.

    15-20 minutes is the suggested amount of time spent for training after warm-ups are completed.

    Practices are useless unless focus is a major priority. You don’t have a great deal of time to waste and motor processing takes place only if your athletes are executing the movements mentally and kinesthetically.

    Mix your workouts up week-to-week and don’t do the same running over and over. You won’t progress and the athletes will not be physically and/or stimulated mentally week-to-week. 

    When we speed train as a team, we run light. Carrying a load is not the answer in-season or when high quality contraction is needed.

    High recovery between speed efforts is critical. Without this, you might as well put on your uniform and go directly to football practice. If you underestimate this tactic, all is lost for what you would like to accomplish. Glycogen must be restored within the muscles for proper contraction activity.

    Everything that the athletes do, they must do it to the best of their ability. Don’t let this time fall prey to guys going through the motions to salvage energy for football practice. High intensity and mental involvement is the key to off-season and in-season speed growth. This is more so during the season rather than the off-season because you don’t have the time to waste reps you could have had. 

    Not all speed training sessions should be lineal. Lateral and lineal can and should be mixed for football. The game is played on a straight line the majority of the time. Create practices where you mix movement and speed transitionally. Now and then see how the players are maintaining their speeds. Additionally, enter in some type of competitive work and be creative. One good drill athletes like is relays broken into two groups. Make sure they are emphasizing mechanics with intense competition.

 

  Motor processing is delicate - remember this because volume is not needed to keep things sharp and fast. Cyclic rotations have a tremendous impact on motor behavior processing in short order and with minimal reps. Don’t allow bad efforts or sloppy technique to plague your performances by the players.