Drills Report: Conditioning Cadets

The phrase “off-season” has a little different meaning at the United States Military Academy than it may have at other colleges. In fact, the Sprint football team likes to use the term “out-of-season” since cadets are never truly “off”. The combination of 20 credit-hour academic loads per semester, mandatory physical fitness participation, and rigorous military training keep the cadets at USMA continuously moving with little time to spare. Football’s out-of-season training regimen is tailor-made for the cadet athlete who needs to enhance his athletic performance in the most effective and efficient means possible while trying to balance the demands of cadet life.

The out-of-season training consists of weight lifting, speed/agility/quickness workouts, and team building activities in which the rising seniors on the team are given the opportunity to develop their leadership skills. Since the weight limit for the Collegiate Sprint Football League (CSFL) is set at 172 pounds, the out-of-season program must be tailored to ensure our cadet-athletes are not adding much weight.

The cadet-athletes are put through a very rigorous weight lifting program that is geared to improve power and explosiveness. There are two mandatory lifts per week and an optional lift on the weekend. Common exercises include the bench press, squat, trap-bar dead lift, and hang clean. Lift sessions include a variety of other exercises such as plyo-metrics and stretch band work. The cadet-athletes also use various abdominal exercises to increase core strength. The lift sessions are typically 30 minutes in duration – which may seem short by some standards – but they are extremely intense. The cadet-athletes are expected to add the work ethic, desire, determination, and intense labor to derive the benefits from the workout on any given day.

Sprint cadet-athletes also perform speed, agility and quickness workouts two days per week during the out-of-season months. To improve speed, cadet-athletes first revisit the fundamentals and mechanics of running. Leg swings, wall runs, single/double leg pops, and bounding drills are just a few of the exercises the cadet-athletes use to improve their form. They gradually build on what they have learned until they are conducting full-fledged sprint workouts.

To improve agility, the cadet-athletes use a wide variety of drills to strengthen as many muscle groups and involve as many neuromuscular patterns as possible. Combine drills such as the pro-agility shuffle (Diagram 1), 3-cone (L) drill (Diagram 2), and the 4-square drill (Diagram 3) along with the use of bags, lines, and cones to create different patterns contribute to overall agility improvement. The cadet-athletes eventually graduate to skill pattern running that helps them perform the physical demands of their respective positions. Skill pattern running simply attempts to duplicate the position-specific activity each player performs in competition.

Pro Agility Shuttle
Diagram 1

Position three cones in a straight line five yards apart. Start at the center cone in a three-point stance, straddling the start/finish line. Timing starts on your first movement. Sprint five yards to the right. Stop and touch the line with your right hand at the cone. Sprint 10 yards to the far cone. Stop and touch the line with your left hand at the cone. Then sprint five yards through the finish line.

3-Cone “L” Drill
 Diagram 2

    Three cones are placed to form an “L.” Cones are all five yards apart. The player starts at cone 1 in a three-point stance. On “Go”, he runs to cone 2, bends down and touches the cone. Then he turns back to cone 2 and goes around it on his way to cone 3. He then goes around cone 3 and heads back to cone 2, going around it. He finishes by sprinting back to cone 1.

Four Cone Drill
Diagram 3

Set up four cones in a square pattern. Each cone should be 10 yards apart. The player starts by sprinting from the first cone to the second. He then changes to a sideways shuffle from cone #2 to cone #3. At cone #3, he sprints backward to cone #4. The player then sprints forward back to cone #1. Timing this drill will help improve quickness.

Sprint football at West Point places a premium on strength, speed, agility, and quickness. Our situation may be unique given the number of other demands placed on cadet-athletes. Having said this, it is very important that during the nine-month layoff between Sprint seasons, our cadet-athletes continue to improve their strength levels, speed, agility, quickness, and leadership skills in the most effective and efficient manner. s

About the Authors: Lieutenant Colonel Mark West, a 1991 graduate of the United States Military Academy, is the head coach of Army’s Sprint football team. A quarterback and captain of Army’s Lightweight Team, West led the Black Knights to three league championships. He recently began his 22nd year as an Armor officer.

Paul Markowski recently completed his second season as Running Backs Coach for the Army Sprint team. He previously coached at Mansfield College and Simon Frasier University. Markowski recently completed a series of DVDs that is available at www.AFMvideos.com.