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AFM Magazine


The Speed Report: The Essence of High School Combines and Your Players

by: Dale Baskett
Football Speed Specialist
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High school combines nationally have mushroomed over the last five years. Is it a fad or is it here to stay? Personally, I think it will stay for a while.

Some years ago I was living in Seattle and for a point in time was the speed coach for the Seattle Seahawks. I was obviously aware of the NFL combines that were conducted at that level. In those days the statistics recorded by the organizations were strictly confidential; they were not public knowledge. Today, the combines are live on television. However, the statistics are still highly regarded information for qualifying selective choices. The NFL combines afford an overview of how the athletes perform in the flesh. Film study obviously doesn’t tell you everything. Coaches get to see how the athletes compete against other peers as they try to gain favor.

The NFL staffs can also determine how the players look athletically compared to the players they coach daily.

High School Combines - A Good College Tool

High school combines provide a value to athletes who may have collegiate potential. The majority of high school football programs turn out only a handful of upper level players each year. For the college recruiters combines are a valuable source of information for speed, strength and movement dexterity. Well before combines arrived college programs would pay survey organizations for statistics. The most desired of course were the 40 times. The stats were gathered by merely phoning high school coaches about certain players who were notable. The list was then categorized by school and area and then sold to the universities. They would compare the lists to see if the times matched with the lists they already had. Their pure motive was to validate information that the coaches would give them. More often than not the times would vary between two different phone surveys. The colleges were strictly spending money because they couldn’t have contact with players to test their skills. They were very frustrated with this system but felt that this was better than nothing. To make things even worse, when the recruits checked in for testing year- to-year, 80% to 90% of them had forty times that were never close to the surveys.

Combines are now here and work as a tool for the collegiate level of play. In addition to the combine information, the universities now have football camps where they can test athletes and work with them on football activities that provide even a closer look than combines.

Combine Testing - Is it Always Accurate ?

Many combines are currently popping up. Many are involved for monetary reasons. Both colleges and athletes have something to gain. Therefore it’s not surprising that more have arrived on the scene. The most prestigious combine is conducted by Nike and viewed as the leader in the industry. They do not charge the athletes a fee. Many combines offered can be inconsistent depending on the equipment and standardized procedures applied. Standardized testing should include electronic timing for all speed and movement tests. A lot of the events that are held use hand held timing that is far from consistent. No two people have the same visual and responsive reflex reactions. Hand held timing makes the concept of standardization merely impossible.

Train to Test

Many high schools nationwide have inserted the combine drill tests into their off season formats. Many programs use them as a training activity for the entire team to go through weekly. Players who practice the tests over time can become very good at the tests. This raises the question: are the players faster on the field or do they have good test scores?

Several years ago the St. Louis Rams were the dominating team year after year in the league. They were the model at the time for how a football program should operate to be successful. During that era they had an interesting theory about playing fast and testing. They didn’t believe in testing results as a measurement factor for determining playing speed on the field. The concept they held was that an athlete can practice to take the tests and master the test presented. The thought is an interesting one due in part to the familiarization of an activity practiced over time. Diversification, applied accordingly to stimulate reactions, is much closer to reality.

The Rams would literally draft players who played fast all the time on film. The combine scores did not impact their decision for selection. During the season they would grade their athletes by position to see if they played fast every play. The objective was to have a team of players who would do that weekly. Personally, I am in favor of testing if the tests are not practiced and applied randomly over time. A test should be utilized to see if athletic skill level is developing rather than how pattern memorization is processing.

The Final Results

Obviously, combines have become popular with high school athletes to showcase stats to colleges. The combines don’t fit all your players but only a small percentage each year. For several reasons I would recommend that coaches focus more on specifics of football speed activities. Testing procedures will not make you play fast. The tests are not diversified enough to offer varietal specificity skills necessary for playing fast.

Time is always important; we never seem to have enough. So that being said, I am offering some information as to how you establish a periodized program for speed training:

1. Establish a THEORY.

A. Every one at every position can get faster and move effectively.

B. More is not better; don’t over train for speed.

C. Quality, not quantity, governs all activity.

D. Train to stay healthy; tomorrow is on our schedule.

2. You must have a periodization system in place to maximize results for time spent.

3. Don’t get caught up in the hard work only mode; consistent quality and smart work wins.

A good speed training program should have the following phase stage progressions in the order listed.

1. Stride power, stride endurance phase.

2. Movement and plyo combo phase.

3. Speed plyos and sprint combo phase.

4. Quickness and linear speed phase.

5. Preseason anaerobic conditioning – on alternate days.

6. In season speed and movement (2-Days) and 15 minutes each day.

This list of staged progressions is a design. Your athletes will come into the season well prepared for speed and quickness. Once again, the tests you use should gauge the growth being developed that is specific to playing football fast.

If anyone is interested in obtaining the information that fits the sub-topics above, please call (858) 829-5599 or E-mail: dbspeedt@hotmail.com





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