{"id":4237,"date":"2021-04-15T17:14:13","date_gmt":"2021-04-15T22:14:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gridironstuds.com\/blog\/?p=4237"},"modified":"2021-04-15T17:14:16","modified_gmt":"2021-04-15T22:14:16","slug":"7on7-vs-track-in-the-off-season-for-football-players","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gridironstuds.com\/blog\/7on7-vs-track-in-the-off-season-for-football-players\/","title":{"rendered":"7on7 vs. Track in the Off Season for Football Players"},"content":{"rendered":"

By: Chad Wilson – GridironStuds<\/strong>
\nTwitter: @GridironStuds<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Oh you thought practicing in the Fall and playing games on Friday night was the tough part didn’t you? Try figuring out what to do with your time in the offseason.\u00a0 Between the other sports,\u00a0 7on7, camps, combines and school visits,\u00a0 it seems that there just isn’t enough time in the day to get it all in.\u00a0 With so much on the plate to be eaten it’s tough to figure out what to consume and what to push off to the side.<\/p>\n

One of the biggest issues for skill position guys is trying go achieve some balance between playing 7on7 and running track.\u00a0 At issue is the commitment that is required to be great at both sports along with the desires of the coaches for each sport. There are also a limited amount of demands that one can make on their body before it forces you to take a break when it breaks.\u00a0 In an ideal situation,\u00a0 both the 7on7 and track coach would have a completely open mind to you missing some time from either sport.\u00a0 However,\u00a0 most times,\u00a0 that is not the case.\u00a0 At least one,\u00a0 if not both,\u00a0 aren’t going to be cool with you missing events pertaining to the sport they coach.<\/p>\n

So how do we strike a balance between these two all important sports in the offseason for skill position players.\u00a0 First of all let me start off by saying this;\u00a0 \u00a0in my opinion,\u00a0 track comes before 7on7 for defensive backs, wide receivers and running backs.\u00a0 For linebackers,\u00a0 I’m neutral and for quarterbacks even ones that are dual threat,\u00a0 7on7 is most definitely more important.\u00a0 So with that said,\u00a0 if one sport has to be picked over the other then for DB, WR and RB,\u00a0 it’s track over 7on7.\u00a0 Some 7on7 coaches won’t like that but if they are being honest with themselves and know what they’re talking about,\u00a0 they really can’t argue.\u00a0 For those three positions I just named,\u00a0 speed kills and track is key to building that all important component.\u00a0 When Spring football,\u00a0 the summer and the actual Fall season comes around you are working on your football skills (at least you are supposed to be) and you are not really working on speed development.\u00a0 So,\u00a0 when you shun track for 7on7,\u00a0 you are overloading yourself with one element (skill) and neglecting the other (speed).\u00a0 This hurts when you start getting tested and the speed times don’t measure up to your counterparts.<\/p>\n

With all of that said,\u00a0 the trick is to not have to pick one over the other but instead,\u00a0 find a way to do both.\u00a0 When it comes to doing this,\u00a0 communication,\u00a0 negotiation and understanding are key.\u00a0 If you are a key member on the track team especially in relays then missing key meets is going to be a problem.\u00a0 Track is an individual sport until you are a member of a relay.\u00a0 When you are a good to great runner,\u00a0 expect your coach to put you on a relay or two.\u00a0 For the coach and that team,\u00a0 it’s about accumulating points to win the state meet.\u00a0 There’s also an important part of chemistry that is developed on relays when you run them in the big meets.<\/p>\n

On the flip side,\u00a0 the better player you are in 7on7,\u00a0 the more willing the coaches are to work with your schedule.\u00a0 They too would love to have you at every 7on7 event but will gladly take you when they can if you are elite.\u00a0 This does not mean that you abuse that position that you find yourself in simply because you can.\u00a0 It says a lot about a person when they have the power to do something but choose not to use it.<\/p>\n

If you are good to great in both track and 7on7 then you need to do some communicating and negotiating.\u00a0 Get the schedule for both sports as soon as you can.\u00a0 Determine (with the coach) which are the big events and make a plan to be available for those events.\u00a0 In the event that major events for both sports occur on the same day or weekend then choose the track meet over the 7on7 event.\u00a0 Again,\u00a0 this is if you are great in both.\u00a0 If you are great in only one then most likely that one is your priority and you should lean in that direction.\u00a0 The only thing I will say is that if you are a DB, WR or RB and you lack speed,\u00a0 you should be trying to do everything you can to get some.<\/p>\n

After figuring out which events are key.\u00a0 Tell your coach up front which events you will make it to and which ones you will miss.\u00a0 It may annoy either coach that you will miss but for them it’s a whole lot better to know well in advance so that they can plan than getting a text a few days before, the day of or even worse the day after.\u00a0 Successful coaching is about planning,\u00a0 keep that in mind.\u00a0 While you are trying to be great,\u00a0 be sure to give your coaches a chance to do the same.<\/p>\n

If you are not great in one or both sports then this is where the understanding part kicks in.\u00a0 When you are not a key member of a team you become more replaceable.\u00a0 A coach may choose not to run you in an event or put you in the 7on7 lineup as much as you would like.\u00a0 You will just have to understand that and learn as much as you can from each sport while you are not actively participating in it.\u00a0 This is easier when you are a freshman or sophomore.\u00a0 It’s more difficult as a junior or senior.<\/p>\n

For the coaches that may be reading this,\u00a0 treat the players that follow this formula with respect.\u00a0 If they have been open and honest with you then be open and honest with them.\u00a0 Resist the urge to do things to them just for spite.\u00a0 Don’t make an athlete think he will participate on the event day then sit him just because you are upset about previous times he missed.\u00a0 Keep in mind that he likely missed the other sport to attend yours.\u00a0 Also,\u00a0 keep in mind that the kid’s ultimate goal is to try and go to college.\u00a0 \u00a0You would never want to stand between the athlete and that goal.\u00a0 Sometimes you have to put your ego in the trunk and steer the car down the road of integrity.\u00a0 \u00a0When all sides can communicate,\u00a0 compromise and understand,\u00a0 \u00a0everyone has a better chance of reaching their goals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By: Chad Wilson – GridironStuds Twitter: @GridironStuds Oh you thought practicing in the Fall and playing games on<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":4239,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,995],"tags":[991,997,1106,1105],"class_list":["post-4237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","category-recruiting-tips","tag-7on7","tag-camps","tag-skill-positions","tag-track"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gridironstuds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4237","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gridironstuds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gridironstuds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gridironstuds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gridironstuds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4237"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gridironstuds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4237\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gridironstuds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4239"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gridironstuds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gridironstuds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gridironstuds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}