Acceleration Vs Top Speed Training For Football Players
More speed, agility, and quickness training ideas for coaches, parents, and athletes.
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One of the biggest mistakes coaches and parents make is assuming an athlete is getting faster simply because they are completing workouts. While consistent training is important, speed development should be measured whenever possible.
Tracking progress helps athletes stay motivated, helps coaches make better training decisions, and provides objective feedback about whether a speed training program is actually working.
Speed training is different from many other athletic qualities because improvements can be difficult to see day-to-day.
An athlete may look faster during practice, but without measurements it can be difficult to know if meaningful progress is occurring.
Tracking performance creates a clear picture of improvement over time and allows coaches to identify strengths, weaknesses, and trends.
Sprint times are one of the simplest and most valuable measurements available.
For youth football players, short distances are often the most relevant because most football plays involve acceleration rather than long-distance sprinting.
Common sprint tests include:
Testing every four to six weeks usually provides enough time to see meaningful changes without turning training into constant testing.
Football players rarely run in a straight line. Change of direction ability is often just as important as sprint speed.
Several simple tests can provide useful information:
These tests help evaluate braking ability, directional changes, acceleration, and body control.
Explosive power often improves alongside speed development.
Simple jump tests can provide valuable insight into athletic development.
Common options include:
Improvements in jumping performance often indicate positive changes in force production and lower-body explosiveness.
Youth athletes grow rapidly. Changes in body weight and body composition can influence speed performance.
Recording weight alongside speed test results provides additional context when evaluating progress.
An athlete who gains strength and muscle while maintaining sprint times may still be making significant athletic improvements.
Testing conditions should remain as consistent as possible.
Factors such as weather, surface type, footwear, fatigue levels, and timing methods can all influence results.
Whenever possible, use the same testing location, warmup, and equipment for each testing session.
Athletes will occasionally have good days and bad days.
One test result rarely tells the whole story. Instead of focusing on a single performance, coaches should look for trends over multiple testing periods.
Consistent improvement over several months is often more important than dramatic changes during a single testing session.
Speed testing only tells part of the story.
Coaches should also monitor workout completion, attendance, effort levels, and training consistency.
Athletes who consistently complete quality workouts often produce the best long-term results.
Coaches do not need expensive technology to measure progress.
A stopwatch, measuring tape, jump testing area, and organized tracking sheet are often enough to monitor meaningful improvement.
The goal is consistency and organization rather than collecting endless data points.
The best speed training programs include a way to measure progress. Sprint times, agility tests, jump performance, body weight, and workout consistency all provide valuable information about athletic development.
When coaches and parents track progress consistently, they can make better training decisions and help athletes stay motivated throughout the development process.
The SAQ Workout Planner & Game Speed Development System includes built-in progress tracking tools, structured speed workouts, nearly 300 drills and exercises, demo video links, and printable PDF exports to help coaches, parents, and athletes measure improvement over time.
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