{"id":3441,"date":"2017-03-12T13:40:24","date_gmt":"2017-03-12T18:40:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gridironstuds.com\/blog\/?p=3441"},"modified":"2017-03-12T13:40:24","modified_gmt":"2017-03-12T18:40:24","slug":"a-primer-on-speed-the-40-yard-dash-and-why-we-often-get-it-wrong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gridironstuds.com\/blog\/a-primer-on-speed-the-40-yard-dash-and-why-we-often-get-it-wrong\/","title":{"rendered":"A Primer On Speed, the 40 Yard Dash and Why We Often Get it Wrong"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"By: Chad Wilson – Editor – GridironStuds Blog<\/strong>
\nTwitter: @GridironStuds<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 2017 NFL combine just passed a week ago and for the last seven days, NFL football fans and the media personnel that play up to them have discussed the 40 yard dash times of the prospects ad nauseam. \u00a0Yes, we all know the obsession over 40 yard dash times can reach epic proportions but can something talked about so much be very misunderstood? \u00a0The answer is yes.<\/p>\n

Training and 3 Point Stances<\/strong><\/p>\n

I’ve had the pleasure of watching\u00a0the greatest wide receiver of all time, \u00a0Jerry Rice and the greatest cornerback of all time, Deion Sanders play their entire careers. \u00a0I mention these two positions because these are the times that most fans and media obsess over. The time during which wide receivers lined up in three point stances has long passed. \u00a0The practice of lining up in a 3 point stance as a wide receiver had made it’s way out of the NFL game\u00a0by the time Jerry Rice stepped on the scene in 1984. \u00a0As part of his audition for the NFL in ’84, \u00a0Jerry Rice, \u00a0like all other prospects, was asked to run a 40 yard dash and come out of a three\u00a0point stance. As we all know by now, \u00a0Rice’s time (4.7) was not ideal and people questioned his ability to be an elite NFL wide receiver. \u00a0In a short sprint like the 40 yard dash, technique is of the utmost importance. \u00a0Negotiating your way out of a three point stance and into proper running form while making maximum use of your push forces is just about everything. \u00a0Choose the wrong stance or make some false steps and your time will look like a retired busy street prostitute without her make up on.<\/p>\n

Deion Sanders, nor any cornerback before or since him has lined up in a 3 point stance to play the game. Two guys of equal speed with varying amounts of work, experience and training in sprinting from a three point stance will have different results on a stopwatch at the end of a 40 yard dash. An extremely technically sound track athlete who has spent a great deal of amount of time coming out of blocks and three point stances will have an edge in this drill. \u00a0Many scouts will use the 40 yard dash just as a judge of a prospects athleticism. \u00a0What this means is, \u00a0the time may not be as important as how the prospect looked running the 40. \u00a0Other scouts and GMs will cave to the pressure of making a decision on a prospect based on the number on the page because they feel they must cater to their fan base. \u00a0What’s important to remember here is that much of the time of a 40 yard dash has to do with something that never occurs in the life of a wide receiver or defensive back and that is sprinting out of a three point stance.<\/p>\n

40 Yards vs. 100 meters<\/strong><\/p>\n

Common fans without knowledge of track, speed and how it works will often confuse 100 meter success with 40 yard dash times. \u00a0Often fans will feel that a prospect with fast sub 11 second 100 meter dash times should be a sub 4.4 blazer in the 100 meters. \u00a0They also feel that any guy that can’t break 11 seconds in a 100 meter sprint can run 4.5 or better in the 40 yard dash. \u00a0This is not necessarily correct.<\/p>\n

Success in the 100 meters is often tied into the participant’s ability to achieve top speed and hold it for a significant period of time (speed endurance). \u00a0What people mistakingly feel is happening when they see someone moving past someone else towards the end of 100 meters is the athlete accelerating. \u00a0This is not the case. What is happening at the end of a 100 meter sprint are varying degrees of deceleration. \u00a0Some athletes either through training or genetics have a greater ability to delay acceleration in the sprint than others. \u00a0It is possible for an athlete who’s top speed is not as high as another to beat that athlete simply because they can hold their top speed longer and decelerate less at the end of the sprint..<\/p>\n

So, with these facts in mind, a very successful 100 meter sprinter may not possess the attributes to hit top speed in enough time to crank out a blistering 40 time. \u00a0However, they may possess the ability to reach top speed beyond 40, hold it longer than others and run a 100 meter time better than everyone who whipped them in a 40 yard dash. \u00a0Conversely, there may be athletes that can hit top speed rather quickly, \u00a0run a great 40 time and soon there after run out of steam resulting in a poor result in the 100 meters. \u00a0Every professional track season, \u00a0you will see athletes that dominate indoor meets running the 60 meters but fall back into the pack during outdoor season when it’s time to run the 100 meters. \u00a0Why do you suppose that is? \u00a0Some of the most successful 100 meter runners in history were taught to and mastered the art of spreading out their acceleration pattern to reach top speed around 60 meters and control deceleration through the finish line.<\/p>\n