Speed and Agility Training

Every year  over 300 of the best college football players in the country are invited by the National Football League (NFL) to the  NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis  Indiana.  Why?  Millions of dollars are at stake for the teams and players in salary, bonus’ , endorsements, winnings, appearances and more.

There the athletes showcase their athletic skills and abilities to NFL top executives, coaching staffs, player personnel departments and medical personnel from all 32 NFL teams  prior to NFL draft.  So why is this necessary when teams have already seen these athletes play game after game either live on Saturdays or on TV?

Football player - Speed and Agility Training

The answer is simple, the NFL places great value on the fundamentals of a true athlete.  No matter how often a scout has seen an athlete play the game live or on the screen, the NFL needs to evaluate an athlete’s raw ability in speed exercises, strength training workouts and speed and agility drills.  In other words, the yards run, the passes caught, the touchdowns scored are not a factor at the combine.  It’s all about measuring how fast, agile, strong and explosive the prospect is – athleticism.  The following are the actual drills used at the NFL Combine to judge potential draft picks.

40-yard dash
This is the main event.  Teams look for explosiveness and speed from a dead start.  The athletes are timed at 10, 20 and 40-yard intervals.  One of the most important speed exercises.

Bench press
Every athlete is given the weight of 225 pounds to bench press.  The objective is to see how many times he can bench press this weight, which is called repetitions, or reps for short.   The repetition factor measures the athletes endurance.    This also tells a lot about the work ethic of the athlete in college and whether he attended strength training workouts.

Vertical jump
The vertical jump starts with the athlete standing  flat-footed while his reach is measured.  The athlete then is told to jump and touch a the highest point he can, which is a flag in the series of flags above him. The difference in the standing reach and the flag is the vertical jump measurement.  This exercise evaluates  the  lower-body explosion and power .

Broad jump
The broad jump tests the athlete’s  lower-body explosion,  lower-body strength and balance.  From a starting point, the athlete stands balanced .  He then jumps out as far as he can while sticking the landing.

3 Cone Drill
The 3 cone drill tests an athlete’s speed and agility.  It measures ability to change directions at a high speed.  From a starting line, three cones are place in an L-shape.  The athlete runs 5 yards to the first cone and back. Then, he turns, runs around the second cone, runs a weave around the third cone, which is the high point of the L, changes directions, comes back around that second cone and finishes.

Shuttle run
Remember the suicide drills in PE?  The shuttle begins with the athlete starting in a three-point stance and exploding  out 5 yards to his right, touches the line, goes back 10 yards to his left, left hand touches the line, pivot, and he turns 5 more yards and finishes.

Now Its Your Turn

The  NFL, through research and experience has put together drills and exercises it uses to evaluate potential million dollar athletes.   If you are a serious athlete, or just someone who wants to be a better athlete,  practice the speed and agility exercises above and who knows, and maybe someday you too will be invited to the combine.

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If you want to reach any level of success in athletics, it is important that you set goals. When you set a goal it gives you a clear vision of what you want to accomplish. This is even more true in such a complex field as speed and agility training.

Where Do You Start?

First we need to start with the big picture, an overall view that guides you in your decision making and helps you to see that you have your whole life ahead of you, no matter what happens today.  You need to establish what you want to achieve in the next season and then over your entire career.  Then we move down to things you can do today in order to begin moving in the desired direction.  Note that long-term goals assist you in where you want to go.  Short-term goals show you how you are going to get there.  In setting your athletic goals, keep in mind that if you are on a team, work with your coach to include team goals as well, but that is for another article.

Long Term Goals

First, you need to figure out your long-term goals.   Ask yourself what you want to accomplish in your athletic career?  Note, your long-term goals are not meant to be obligatory, they simply are there to make you aware of the long life ahead of you and to help you see that you have options as well. Do you want to take up this sport only for the early part of your life or do you want to make this sport your career? A suggestion for a goal in your training for speed and agility would be to decrease your 50 yard dash by half a second.

Short Term Goals

These goals are the ones you will achieve today, within a week, etc.   They are more easily accomplished and progress you towards achieving our long term goals.

Breaking Down Long-Term Goals To Get To Set Your Short Term Goals – Questions To Ask

• What are the skills needed to accomplish your goals?
• What can you do between now and the end of the season to develop those skills?
• What will you do this week to develop those skills?
• What can you do next practice to develop those skills?

Important Things to Know

• Written Goals

Note that you need to write down your goals.  Once you have written your goals down on paper,  they become real and solid.  It is what separates goals from dreams.   They increase your motivation and your mental picture of that goal is clearer.  The process of writing down goals get them “out of your head” to free up your mind from having to always think and remember them.   You will also be affirmed that you are on a mission of pursuing your goals.

• Positiveness

Set each goal as a positive statement.  For example,  “I will be diligent and careful when doing agility ladder drills”   instead of “I will not fall on my rear end when doing speed and agility drills”.   This focuses on success rather than failures because you want these behaviors to be present rather than behaviors that should be absent.

• SMART

Make sure that your all your goals are smart goals. Meaning they are specific (detailed), measurable (progress assessable), attainable (within reach), relevant (towards your purpose) and time-sensitive (make deadlines).

Keep a copy of your goals in plain sight.  Review them daily.  Setting goals will bring you success.

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