Why Speed is Important in the Game of Football
First, because there are no countermeasures that can be used to offset its advantages. Speed is the ultimate equalizer because it neutralizes an opponent’s size advantage and negates their physicality.
Second, because it is an essential element to self-preservation and longevity in an inherently violent sport. Speed allows offensive players to dictate the game’s tempo, which keeps defensive players off balance. And when defensive players are off balance, it limits their aggressiveness. And when a defensive player lacks aggression, their ability to execute tackles with force is compromised, which reduces the offensive player’s probability of injury as a result of the impact from being tackled. Similar to offensive players, speedy defenders force offenses to combat their aggressiveness in several ways: design plays to go in the opposite direction of where they are aligned; attempt to block them with quicker (and usually smaller) offensive players; or allow them to go unblocked and hopefully run themselves out of the play—all of which limit the physical contact that defensive player is required to engage in over the course of a game, which ultimately prevents the cumulative effects of repeated collisions.
Third, because football is a game that requires players to have the ability to play in space. Offenses attempt to create space for the path of least resistance to the end zone. And they do so by formation and play design. Conversely, defenses aim to reduce the amount of space on the field by filling vacated areas with defenders in hopes of creating as much body traffic as possible. Without speed, offenses cannot effectively create favorable advantages. And defenders who are speed deficient are prime targets to be isolated in one-on-one matchups against athletically superior players who are intent on exploiting their weakness.
Whether it’s from an offensive or defensive perspective, speed is a prerequisite to execution on both sides of the ball. Running backs must possess it in order to separate from defenders once they’ve penetrated the line of scrimmage; it’s required for wide receivers to run routes with precision and to get out of their breaks smoothly; defensive backs need it to react to short passing routes and keep pace with wide receivers downfield on longer ones; and although they operate in a more confined area, defensive linemen must exhibit speed in order to effectively pressure the quarterback; and offensive linemen must be able to contain pass-rushers intent on applying that pressure.
How to Quantify Speed in Football
For many years, there has been a considerable amount of debate surrounding the most effective method to measure a football player’s speed. Some rely on tests like the 10, 20, and 40-yard dashes, while others believe analyzing the suddenness and fluidity in which a player moves in an actual football game, where he’s in full-pads, making football movements, is the most accurate reflection of speed. Whether one’s means of rating speed is by an objective or subjective standard, there is an indisputable, scientifically-backed equation for speed:
STRIDE LENGTH x STRIDE FREQUENCY = SPEED
Stride Length
Stride length is the amount of ground covered with each stride or step length. It is determined by measuring the distance between each successive foot contact with the ground. When a football player is sprinting, his ability to optimize the length of his stride is one of the factors that dictate the rate at which his body travels down the field.
Stride length consists of two components that work in conjunction with one another—force applied to the ground and range of motion. Force applied to the ground is simply the amount of force the football player generates through each step or successive contact with the ground in order to propel himself forward, while range of motion is his ability to produce longer motions. In other words, a football player’s stride length is the amount of power his foot can apply to the ground as he pushes off, combined with the flexibility of his hip-flexors, hamstrings, and quadriceps and their ability to support that force and extend the leg.
Stride Frequency
Stride frequency is the number of strides taken in a given amount of time, or how often a stride or step occurs over a distance. The number of times a football player’s legs can repeat the cycle of pushing off the ground, extending, and recoiling will determine the sum total of revolutions they produce. But unlike stride length, this is not solely a physical process. Stride frequency combines the physical element of leg turnover with the nervous system’s ability to contract and relax the muscles to quickly repeat the leg turnover process. In other words, a football player’s leg turnover is reliant on neuromuscular activation in order to a have a nervous system that can produce a quick leg turnover.
The Most Effective Method for a Football Player’s Speed Development
The conclusion that should be drawn from stride length and stride frequency in the speed development process is that there is a relationship between the two, and any training method designed to promote speed development in football players must address both components. Depending on their body type and physical characteristics, most football players’ sprinting mechanics illustrate that in order to maximize their speed output, either their stride length or stride frequency require improvement. Players who are more powerful and can generate a lot of force through their stride are considered stride length dependent, while those who rely on their nervous system’s ability to rapidly turn their legs over are more reliant on stride frequency. Therefore, the first step in a football player’s speed development training process involves determining which side of the speed equation needs to be addressed.
Speed Development Training for Stride Frequency Dependent Football Players
Football players who are stride frequency dependent typically lack flexibility, so they have shorter range of motion in their stride; or they’re deficient in leg strength, which prevents them from producing enough force to the ground to cover more distance with their stride. Diagnostic tests administered for players who are deficient in flexibility come in the form of functional range of motion and elasticity tests of the hamstring and quadricep muscles. For those who are believed to lack strength, diagnostic tests are designed to measure the player’s ability to generate power using the combination of the glutes, hamstrings, and quadriceps in conjunction with one another.
In order to maximize stride length, the speed equipment or training protocol must: provide resistance that requires the player to generate power through a triple extension motion, which means the player’s hips, knees, and ankles must all fully extend simultaneously in order to execute the movement; and the movement must increase functional flexibility by improving the player’s natural range of running motion.
Speed Development Training for Stride Length Dependent Football Players
Stride Length dependence manifests itself in football players in ways that illustrate deficiencies in the ability to generate faster force production. And these issues are normally evidenced in the hip-flexors. The hip-flexors serve as a source of force production, but the rate at which that force is produced is a neurological function. Therefore, diagnostic tests measure the speed of hip flexion and extension, which is the nervous system’s ability to contract, relax, and successively repeat the leg turnover process. Deficiencies in these tests will illustrate that hip flexors with slower neurological reactions have limited flexion and extension, and as a result, a lower rate of leg turnover.
In order to increase stride frequency, the training protocol must: train the neuro-system to recruit and relax muscles quickly, which simply means to train the system to react subconsciously which will in turn stimulate the fast-twitch muscle fibers; and focus on movements that target the hip-flexors and increase their strength and endurance, which can be accomplished with sets of exercises that involve a high amount of repetitions and a minimum amount of resistance.
Conclusion
The goal of this article is to provide a base level of knowledge of the principles that govern speed development in football players. In order to achieve the desired speed results, football players should apply these principles to training drills that are consistent with their current skill set (meaning, they should not engage in drills or use equipment that is too advanced for their level because their bodies won’t respond favorably, and doing so makes them more susceptible to injury).
However, the most important takeaway from the information provided in this article is that in order to maximize one’s skill set as a football player, one must be motivated by a desire to improve. The litmus test to determine whether that desire exists is based on a player’s willingness to explore different means to educate himself regarding the elements of his craft. Half the battle of speed development (and any other aspect of a football player’s skill development) is gaining a keen understanding of one’s body—it’s strengths, weaknesses, and most importantly, the type of training it responds to.