There is a saying in football that if you can’t run, you can’t play. That is so true. At every level of football, the team or individuals that can move the best have a great advantage. Although some are more blessed with speed than others, speed and quickness can be developed.
As an assistant coach, I have always believed in getting my position players warmed up in pre-practice. Most practice days, we have 10 to 20 minutes before our special team work begins. During that time, we conduct an offensive walk-through, a brief static stretch, drills to improve ball skills, and ball security drills. Stretching starts and finishes practice every day. After our special-teams walk-through and kicking, we do plyometric stretches as a team. Being flexible and stretching enables the players to prepare muscles for practice. I believe our post-practice stretching and the use of foam rollers has helped our running backs stay healthy.
To get better at any athletic endeavor, it is best to practice that specific skill. In basketball, the best way to improve free throw shooting is to shoot free throws. To improve as a putter in golf, practice putting. To develop speed, practice drills and each team segment at full speed. To play the game of football fast, you must practice fast. The coaches and strength staff at Auburn do a wonderful job of improving the players’ speed and agility.
Five Tips for Improving Speed and Agility
1. Become as strong and explosive as you can at your goal body weight.
2. Learn and practice correct technique. Master proper mechanics for linear and multidirectional speed. Pay attention to detail.
3. Go for quality over quantity. Less is more.
4. Spend more time on force-production training (e.g., strength training, Olympic lifting, plyometrics). It has a higher transfer rate to the field.
5. When training for speed and agility, do not sprint more than 6 seconds and take full recovery between repetitions. A distance of 5 to 40 yards is ideal.
Ground-Start Variations
PURPOSE
Develop the ability to accelerate from a standing or low-body start.
PROCEDURE
In this drill, run 5 to 20 yards, beginning from different starting positions and then accelerating through the distance. This is a simple acceleration drill that requires no special equipment. Be sure you have a long enough runway to cover the specified distance and room to decelerate. If you are running 20 yards, 35 to 40 yards is sufficient.
Set up in one of these starting positions:
· On abdomen, facing down (figure 7.1a)
· Push-up position (figure 7.1b)
· First step (mountain climber position) (figure 7.1c)
· Take off position (figure 7.1d)
· Lateral kneeling position (figure 7.2)
· Forward kneeling position (figure 7.3)
At the coach’s signal, run the specified distance.
FIGURE 7.1 Ground-start variations: (a) on abdomen; (b) push-up position; (c) first step; (d) take off position.
COACHING POINTS
· Try to maintain an acceleration-position lean.
· Do not look up right away. The body will want to follow the head and stand straight up.
· Use big, powerful strides with explosive arm action.
· Instead of thinking about quick feet, think of pushing the ground hard behind you.
· Max effort of 100 percent is required with full recovery between repetitions.
Excerpted from “Complete Running Back” by Tim Horton, copyright, 2016. Reprinted with permission from Human Kinetics. All rights reserved. No reproduction, transmission or display is permitted without the written permission of Human Kinetics, Inc.