The 40-yard dash (figure 3.3) is regarded as the crown jewel of combine testing, and for good reason. The test contains several valuable metrics that football teams rely on to gauge a prospect’s general athleticism.
Figure 3.3 40-yard dash course.
The split recorded at 10 yards—indicative of lower-body explosiveness and pure acceleration—is critical across all position groups. The 20-yard split reveals how long an athlete can continue to accelerate, and at what point he begins to transition into top-end speed mechanics. The back end of the 40-yard dash indicates the athlete’s ability to maintain his speed.
Execution
The athlete approaches the starting line with both feet together and pointing straight ahead. From this position, he steps back with one foot so that his feet are in a heel-to-toe relationship, then brings his other foot back to meet it so he is standing a full shoe’s length behind the starting line. The athlete again moves one foot back, creating the same heel-to-toe relationship with his front foot. Next, he moves his back foot out to the side so that he is standing with his feet hip-width apart, with his front foot’s heel and back foot’s toes still aligned. He wiggles his back foot on the ground back about 3 to 4 inches and drops to a kneeling position with the toes of both feet remaining in place.
Now in a kneeling position with one leg back and one forward, the athlete places the arm opposite his front leg—referred to here as the lead arm—rotating his hand so that his biceps points toward the finish line. His lead hand should take the full starting line by placing the inside of his thumb and index finger as far forward as possible, right along the very edge of the line. The athlete then raises his hips, maintaining only three points of contact with the ground: front foot, rear foot, and lead hand. His weight shifts forward, but he maintains some weight on his rear leg, a distribution of 75 percent weight forward and 25 percent on his back leg.
Shifting his body weight forward allows the athlete’s shin to move forward over his toes, a term referred to hereafter as shin angle. This forward lean should result in the hips being in a higher position than his shoulders in the starting stance. The forward body weight is evenly distributed between the athlete’s front leg and lead hand so that if he were to pick up his lead hand from the ground, he would fall. His other arm, referred to here as the up arm, reaches back to hip height with a slight elbow bend. (See figure 7.8 on page 108 for a photo of this position.)
Figure 7.8 Setup for acceleration from a three-point stance.
The 40-yard dash start is an orchestration of several movements occurring at once. The athlete simultaneously pushes off both feet, punching his back leg forward as the front leg drives back into the ground, fully extending. This push creates an aggressive split of the legs, which he mirrors by concurrently splitting his arms the opposite way. He swings his up arm forward into a “block” position, elevating his forearm and bending at his elbow so that his forearm crosses in front of his head. The block position shortens the athlete’s arm, allowing him to quickly move it from a somewhat awkward starting position to synchronize with extension of that same-side leg. From there, the athlete focuses on driving his arms back, swinging at the shoulders and aiming his hands for just outside hip level. As he picks up speed and his stride quickens, the athlete’s elbow will bend slightly more so that his arm swing speed can match the turnover rate of his legs.
Common Errors
An athlete’s vertical and broad jump numbers are generally predictive of performance in the 10-yard split, but sometimes these results differ. When athletes run a slower 10-yard split than their jump numbers forecast, the disparity typically is due to a mechanical breakdown in the setup of the sprint. Restrictions in lower-extremity ranges of motion can prevent an athlete from setting up at the right angles to execute his start; improper limb positioning coming out of the start may also negatively affect his sprint times.
Many athletes crowd too close to the line when taking the starting position. Although it is helpful to place the hand as far forward on the starting line as possible, the rest of the body need not follow suit. A cramped starting position forces the athlete’s front shin angle to remain vertical. The thigh will move to wherever an athlete’s shin angle points. If he pushes into the ground with a vertical shin angle, his thigh will follow, and he will pop straight up out of his stance. Too much or too little forward lean causes an unbalanced start, which disrupts acceleration mechanics.
At combine and pro day events, the back hand often is seen positioned high above the hip in the starting stance because that is where countless athletes are taught to place it. For coaches or scouts standing 10 to 40 yards away, that hand movement will be the first movement they see to start their stopwatches. The same goes for lifting up one’s front hand from the ground before the rest of the body begins moving; every movement in the start should happen all at once.
Coaches commonly cue athletes to “stay low” as they accelerate. Although acceleration position is indeed based on a leaning torso angle, the torso should come up naturally. Attempting to hold body lean for too long generally results in a slumped chest and head, which diminishes speed. Coaches should never tell athletes when they should or should not be in an upright position. Ankle range of mobility, trunk stability, and lower-body explosiveness (estimated using vertical jump height) are all indicators of the body angle an athlete can find and maintain as he accelerates.
Cyclical leg motion in the acceleration phase is another common error in the 40-yard dash. As discussed in chapters 7 and 9, the technical model for acceleration mechanics differs from that of top-end speed; the former requires a piston-like movement of the legs, whereas the latter is a cyclical motion. Athletes who accelerate cyclically will not be able to produce optimal force into the ground, and this will produce slower 10-, 20-, and 40-yard dash times.
During the second half of the 40-yard dash, athletes often begin to display sloppy recovery mechanics, delaying their back-side recovery, which then results in a lower thigh position upon front-side recovery. This places great strain on the hip flexors and adductors, which could eventually cause injuries. Sometimes athletes lack dorsiflexion in the foot as they recover. Similarly, suboptimal strike patterns—casting the foot out to strike in front of their hips, or striking on the fourth and fifth metatarsal rather than the ball of the foot—will not only slow athletes’ times but also put them at risk for hamstring injuries.
One fundamental error seen in the 40-yard dash may seem to be the most obvious and the easiest to fix, but it must be stated because of how prevalent it is: athletes who do not finish the test. Sadly, many players clock a slower time than they are capable of running because they begin to slow down before reaching the finish line. At Landow Performance, this is known as “running 38” instead of the full 40 yards.
Methods to Improve
Simply positioning the back arm correctly in an athlete’s starting stance can shave substantial time off his measured 40-yard dash time. Landow Performance coaches teach combine athletes to keep their back hand hidden right at their hip so that it does not serve as a flag for scouts to start their watches.
Improving total body strength and lower body explosiveness in the weight room will certainly produce a faster 40-yard dash time. Yet many coaches and athletes overlook the dedicated practice of movement mechanics because they don’t know how to go about it properly. Practitioners who study, practice, and coach the preeminent technical models for acceleration and top-end speed will help their athletes make significant improvements not only in this test but also on the football field.
Moving back from the line an adequate distance can significantly aid the athlete’s mechanical ability to accelerate. Many athletes crowd the line with their stance in a seemingly logical attempt to start as close as possible to the finish line. However, for the 40-yard dash, consider “trading inches for angles.” This means to sacrifice a small bit of distance to the finish line so the athlete can have a greater forward shin angle on his lead leg, thereby creating a better position from which to accelerate. He should not try to create more of an angle than he can hold in acceleration, however, or he will begin to stumble forward out of his start. If the athlete can execute an excellent first three acceleration steps, he stands a chance to run a great 40-yard dash.
More Excerpts From All Pro Performance TrainingLeading up to the NFL draft, I spoke about how “There’s Money in the 40” for football players. I noted in the blog I wanted to take time to teach you how to coach the 40-yard dash start. Now that summer offseason training has begun, it is time.
I want to quickly clarify that I am calling the “start” the combination of getting into the proper starting position and the first couple steps out of that position into the sprint.
In my experience, everybody needs help with the start, from high school kids to even the aspiring pro prospect coming out of college. Many athletes have not been properly taught the starting position and the technique coming out of it.
Your athletes have the best chance to “steal time” at the start. The mechanics I will teach have made many players millions of dollars coming out of the NCAA and moving into the NFL. I’ll detail the strategy in a minute, but first, let's look at two case studies.
A defensive back out of the University of New Mexico was sent to me by his agent on Tuesday to prep for the NFL Combine. I was told he needed help with, of course, his 40. When I asked his agent how much time I had he told me three days.
What!? How about three weeks?
So, I went to work and taught him non-stop my procedure. He went to Indianapolis and ran his fastest 40-yard dash time ever--a 4.47. Previously he had always been in the 4.5 second range.
The other player, a wide receiver from the University of Florida, was projected to go about #15 overall in the draft. He had a terrible showing in Indy.
When he got back to Gainesville, he fired everybody, got a new agent and came to Dallas.
After a couple of weeks of speed training, he went back to his college campus for his pro day. He also ran his best 40-yard dash time on grass and on draft day jumped to the 10th overall pick. Going from #15 to #10 equates to how much more money in his contract?
Class? Anyone? It equates to millions.
For the high school player, the money comes in the form of a scholarship (and now maybe NIL deals).
Now, let me make a point here about "coach speak". If a guy runs a 4.51, a coach can say he runs a low 4.5. Not bad. If he runs a 4.49, that would be a high 4.4. Obviously there is only .02 difference between a 4.49 and 4.51, but how much faster does a high 4.4 sound as opposed to a low 4.5. Often coaches will hear the tenths of a second and decide.
I want to help you find small ways to steal time at the starting line. My goal is to make every coach and parent who reads this a performance coach in their own right learning how to make their athletes faster.
From much film study, I have aggregated a number of observations about sprinting and how it relates to the 40.
1. The 100 meter sprint is not entirely a good event to compare and model the starting protocol after. It is often used as a reference of how to start, sprint and finish but actually only the sprint and finish are useful. How many leads begin changing after the 60-meter mark? Several places change from 60-100 meters. If you are following me, the 40 is long over by then. Therefore what you have to do is take the top-end speed of the 100 meters and push it as close to the 40 start as possible.
2. The drive phase is poorly coached.
Here’s the deal: we have all seen a player start the 40 and stumble in the 3-5 yard range. The reason for that is:
•the player is staying down in the drive phase too long
•the hips are too low
•the legs want to get up and run and turn over
•but the foot and knee have poor lift resulting in a bad shin angle, catching the toe in the turf
•this causes a stumble
We need to polish those mechanics.
3. Size matters, or to be more specific, height matters. There have been tall athletes or top heavy (long torso, short legs) ones where staying down at the start causes too much forward lean and thus stumbling. The answer, then, is to think of a plane taking off, not a space shuttle lifting off. In some cases they have been taught to crowd the line and that too causes a problem. Fire out and rise up but don’t pop straight up.
4. It’s a myth you have to be born a track and field sprinter to have a good 40 time. I tell my athletes that no matter what position you play or what size you are, train the start, get reps at the steps (especially in the 0-10), and steal time where you can.
What you need to do is learn the procedure so well that you can verbally teach it to your athletes. You have learned something pretty well if you can teach it yourself. Let’s begin.
For starters, the three-point stance I’m teaching is not – I repeat, IS NOT - a football stance. It is a speed stance. Also, there is a foot-spacing template that is adjusted according to height. About 5’9 is usually where an adjustment needs to be made.
•Begin by putting the toe of what will be your back foot on the edge of the line
•Then put the toe of what will be your front foot directly behind on the heel of the back foot (on the same line like they would be on a slalom ski)
•Then the back foot moves to its back position at a toe-to-heel stagger, widening slightly to hip width, not shoulder width
Hip width is where your feet are when sprinting. Hip width is also the way track blocks are designed. Hip width is the position of your feet when doing an explosive vertical jump. Hip width is the proper stance for Olympic lifts. My point is that hip width is the fastest, most explosive position your feet can be in athletically, and I’m all about athleticism.
The whole point of this 1-2-3 step off is so that anywhere on the planet you need to run a 40, you will be in the right place because your feet are doing the measuring.
Should you need to adjust because of smaller feet or shorter height, only the second part of the sequence changes.
•Place the first foot (the back foot) as stated
•Now tuck the inside curve of the front foot (the ball of the foot curve) into the instep of the back foot
•Then put the back foot into the proper position as stated.
Works every time.
The most important letter in the alphabet for a good start is the letter H. There are three essential cues: hips up, head down, hand back.
Hips Up
→Hips up means that the hips should be at least higher than your shoulders.
→Hips up is to allow you to lean forward and put pressure on the ground hand so that it is uncomfortable to “sit” in your stance and when the hand comes off the ground you either fall or run.
→Hips up is to create the angle in the knees that is powerful and explosive.
Head Down
→Head down is because your body follows your head and your head follows your eyes. Keep your head down and look to make sure that your shoes are tied.
→Head down because you don’t want to pop up. The raising of the shoulders eventually brings the head up.
→The head is for looking and breathing; it can’t make you faster. Done wrong, it can make you slower.
Hand Back
→Hand back has two meanings for two hands: for the ground hand and the back hand
→Hand back for the free hand is to raise it just above the hips, no higher. Too high and it will cause an excessive forward swing bringing the shoulders up too quickly.
→Hand back in regards to the ground hand means throw it back when you start. If you lift the hand, the clock starts, but you don’t. You don’t want to just lift because that causes a brief pause while the feet catch up with what is going on. I call this motion without movement. Throwing the ground hand unlocks the back foot for a faster start.
→Putting the ground hand down is done by putting the thumb and index finger on the inside edge of the line like a track start, not a football stance. Place the hand down just wider than the same leg.
→Here it is! Throwing the ground hand back at the start may allow you to steal time, that is, if you are being hand timed. You would like the timers to “miss the start” and be late with the clock, giving you a couple of hundredths off your time. No shame in the game!
There’s not much to this other than getting the length right. Get reps with the steps. Practice by coming out of the starting position and only sprinting the first 10 yards of the 40.
Your goal with step one is to not overreach by taking too long of a step and to not take a short step that doesn’t cover enough ground and potentially leads to a stumble. Your levers and athleticism will dictate this. One way you’ll know if step one is good is how it leads into steps two, three, and four. Feel it out. Remember, be like a plane taking off.
If possible, film yourself and make marks. It’s a game of inches.
This opinion was reached after watching who knows how many 40s over the decades. After placing the feet for the stance applying the 3 H’s for the posture, it is show time.
What I believe to be detrimental is when the athlete gets into a crouch too long or worse, puts a hand on the ground and begins to fidget and create a subtle fatigue in the legs from holding the crouched position too long. If you want to visualize and finish your final mental preparation, do it standing. Close your eyes if you want and see yourself executing the perfect start, sprint and finish. Otherwise, when you put your hand on the ground, you should think of two words:
“Just run.”
Put your hand on the ground, freeze for one second, and go! By the time the hand gets to the ground either you are ready and prepared or not.
Just run, baby.