For all you football players, I’m 14 going to 9th grade, and I run the 40 yard dash in 4.77 seconds. I am wondering is that good enough to be a running back at the Freshmen and J.V level?
are you good at football?
speed might not be the only consideration
and it should be a fine time for jv or freshman
Being a divison 1a ball player, let me tell you that the 40 is the most overated test that we do. never, never in football do you run 40 yards in a straight line. Change of direction, the abilty to acclerate are much more important. For example my freind and i, we both run the same 40 time 4.55 range. however, if we run 20’s i kill him and if we were to run 60’s he’d kill me. Id much rather have my situation than his. You need to work-on getting yourself explosive and fast in short distances and not so much worry about top-end speed (though it will come). If you got any question id be happy to help.
john
Good point John! For running backs especially, ‘burst’ speed and acceleration is much more important than top speed. Good running backs are typically strongest in the 0-10 and 10-20 segments of a 40.
So I would focus on two fundamental aspects for your training. First is acceleration like John mentions. Do lots of 10 and 20 yard sprints with full rcovery in between each rep. Also do these from a variety of different start positions, directions and speeds (jog, slide, crossover, etc.)
The second aspect is agility. Work on your decleration mechanics, leg strength and ability to plant and cut. How many steps does it take for you to come to a complete stop (under control) after accelerating for 10 yards? Remember that in order to change direction, you must first stop you momentum going in the other direction.
Good luck!
XLR8:
You suggest “Work on your decleration mechanics, leg strength and ability to plant and cut.” What drills do you recommend (or does anyone else recommend) to develop deceleration mechanics and the ability to plant and cut?
The two leading runners in the history of the NFL were not very fast…
Originally posted by aalber9
Being a divison 1a ball player, let me tell you that the 40 is the most overated test that we do. never, never in football do you run 40 yards in a straight line. Change of direction, the abilty to acclerate are much more important. For example my freind and i, we both run the same 40 time 4.55 range. however, if we run 20’s i kill him and if we were to run 60’s he’d kill me. Id much rather have my situation than his. You need to work-on getting yourself explosive and fast in short distances and not so much worry about top-end speed (though it will come). If you got any question id be happy to help.john
Hi, I read your Running Back Speed post (Above) talking about Acceleration and your 40 yard dash. You said… “however, if we run 20’s i kill him and if we were to run 60’s he’d kill me. Id much rather have my situation than his”.
What I want to know is, if you both have the same 40 but you can kill him over 20, what is it that makes you faster over 20 than him???..
Does he have a bigger build, bigger muscles/upperbody/lowerbody, Are you alot more slender than him etc…???..
Does he have a bigger build, bigger muscles/upperbody/lowerbody, Are you alot more slender than him etc…???..
Actually it would probably be the other way around. The one with the faster 20 time will likely be the larger, while the one with the higher top end would be more suited for top speed.
I believe the I drill is another good test for running backs (where you start in between cones 5 yards apart, run to your right and touch it with your right hand, run to your left and touch it with your left hand, run back to the middle) players on our team with the quickest I drills are generally favored. Since we were undefeated in regular season this year and undefeated state champions two years before that, I think we have a good thing going. I was a freshman last year with a 4.78 40, which wasn’t the best, but my I drill time of 4.34 got me the starting haflback position.
Originally posted by jhartman
[b]XLR8:You suggest “Work on your decleration mechanics, leg strength and ability to plant and cut.” What drills do you recommend (or does anyone else recommend) to develop deceleration mechanics and the ability to plant and cut? [/b]
The first thing to address is to make sure that you are strong enough. It requires great leg strength to control your momentum and decelerate as well as great core strength. Heavy squats are a good place to start.
As far as deceleration mechanics drills, Gambetta has something called the wheel drill. Pretend that you a standing on the hub of a wheel lying flat on the field. Imagine that the spokes are radiating out from your feet- forward, left, right, back, and at all of the 45 degree angles. Start in a stance appropriate to your position and simply take one step in each direction and come under control. Pretty easy, huh? Try to explode into that one step and move your COM as quickly as possible. Still pretty easy.
Next, up it to three steps. That is, explode out for two accleration steps and on the third step, plant and stop on a dime. Keep your body under control. When you stop, you should be in perfect balance. Not quite so easy. Then try to add more steps of acceleration before you stop on a dime.
It is cheating if you use any of the steps before the last one to start your deceleration.
Anyway, this is just one drill that I have found effective. There are many,many more…just use your imagination.