Can a player's SPD rating improve over time?

[stylee]

Quote: Originally Posted by utahman19

But was it your speed or your technique that improved and shaved that half-second off your time? I'm willing to bet that your top-end speed improved very little while your start out of the blocks and better technique over the first 10-20 meters is what took 99% of that time off. I have no problem with speed improving 1-2 points over a career, but acceleration is really where "speed" improves.

Personally, it was actually the former.
Top-end speed is just as "easy" to improve as anything else running-related.
That's why sprinters do so much work on stuff like flying-20s or flying-30s, plyometrics, some do overspeed runs (either running with downhill at a very slight angle or being "dragged" somewhat), lots of form work to ensure maximum stride length, countless hours trying to obtain triple extension, etc.
I recommend wading into the murky world of sprint training. Guys obsess over seemingly infinitesimal pieces of the clock...but they make a difference. Richard Thompson didn't go from being a pretty-good high school sprinter to being an Olympic silver medalist just by working on his start. He got faster through lots of work.

Then again, football players are a little different than track guys. Who knows what Trindon Holliday or Jeff Demps could run if they didn't waste their time on the gridiron ( )

A lot depends on what constitutes a significant speed improvement and what the correlation is to the speed rating in the game though.

If my top-end speed improves by .05 per 10 meter interval, for instance, that lends itself to a pretty drastic improvement in overall 100 meter time. But .05 is such a tiny sliver of time, quicker than an eye blink, that it's tough to appreciate that fact.

[Kingfish]

Quote: Originally Posted by Morning Thunder

Thats a myth.. speed can be increased. Some people can increase their speed a whole lot actually with the right workout regimen.

Yeah, out of HS I was a 5.4 40 offensive lineman. I was a little chunky and IF I'd finished out my scholarship the college coach and his staff could have slimmed me up and made me stronger and I could have probably became a 4.8 type 40 guy. This would be indicative of lineman, LBers and even the occasional speedster type. System and conditioning, strength and technique matter and can be coached.

Its not the same with a guy who runs a 4.4 or 4.6 40. It shouldn't be common for 10-20 guys on a team to be able to improve to 4.3 or faster speed. This use to happen on every team all through the game...its not that much of a 'myth'.

[shttymcgee]

Quote: Originally Posted by utahman19

But was it your speed or your technique that improved and shaved that half-second off your time? I'm willing to bet that your top-end speed improved very little while your start out of the blocks and better technique over the first 10-20 meters is what took 99% of that time off. I have no problem with speed improving 1-2 points over a career, but acceleration is really where "speed" improves.

Then I guess the S & C coach needs fired, the players will be happy.

First, on average, men continue to grow between the ages of 17-23 (college years). Were you faster when you were 18 or when you were 10? Where are faster times ran, in the NCAA or the Olympics? The physical maturation of the individual alone can lead to a faster athlete.

Second, who cares if it's a technique improvement or an increase in speed of contraction? The bottom line is the individual's time from point A to point B decreased, they got faster. Good S & C coaches spend numerous hours improving the running form and change of direction skills in their athletes; making them faster.

Third, the stronger the individual, the more force they can produce when in contraction, the greater the ground reaction force is propelling them down the track/field. Simply put, the athlete's stride length improves as they get stronger, thus getting them from point A to Point B faster.

Fourth, this "idea" that speed can't be improved is hogwash. Modern exercise physiologists have done much to debunk this archaeic thinking and the fact that it still exists among some is quite disturbing to people who have devoted their careers to improving athletic perfomance. The speed of contraction of the individual fibers may not be able to be increased, but the order of recruitment as well as the number of recruited fibers certainly can be improved through correct training techniques and appropriate periodization.

Fifth, top speed is basically irrelevant in football, anyway. It takes between 30 and 55 yards to reach so-called "high end speed," and there are only few instances in which a football player has that type of time and space to reach their "top speed."

I don't mean to sound irritated, but this is something that obviously hits close to home with me; I have a great deal of respect for what strength coaches do and I appreciate and am grateful for the work that they do. Without the work of those coaches, those of us who deal with the players on the field would have a much harder job to do.

[stylee]

Most top sprinters actually don't hit top speed until about 50-60 meters. But yeah, otherwise.


ACC is important, no question, but a 10.6 guy is almost always going to go from 0-10 yards faster than an 11.6 guy. There are probably a few exceptions but that's just what they are.... aberrations

[adembroski]

Speed is a measurement of full stride velocity once the player has accelerated as much as he possibly can. This speed is very difficult to improve after age 18, but it can. I would say 6 points at most over the course of a player's career, and that should be rare.

[GatorChomp1]

I worked at a speed/agility performance place (Bachelors in Exercise Phys). Top speed can definitely be improved in real life. How much? Well it depends on the person. A lot of factors go into it. I think the way NCAA does it is pretty accurate. Usually it's agility and acceleration that improves the most dramatically, while speed improves but only slightly.

[kcarr]

I have had fullbacks and tight ends really jump up in speed gaining as many as 4 points in an offseason and as many as 11 over the course of their career. Most players with good speed however 2 is the best I have seen in one offseason and 5 is the most in their career. Really looking at the 40 times they give for guys coming in as recruits that is only about a tenth of a second off of a 40 time. Players often have nearly that much difference in 2 runs the same day so the idea that a player can't train to make that much improvement is pretty rediculous.

If speed cannot be improved then why are there so many workouts out there to improve an athlete's speed? Why do sprinters train to try to get faster?

[SeaOfRed75]

Quote: Originally Posted by kcarr

I have had fullbacks and tight ends really jump up in speed gaining as many as 4 points in an offseason and as many as 11 over the course of their career. Most players with good speed however 2 is the best I have seen in one offseason and 5 is the most in their career. Really looking at the 40 times they give for guys coming in as recruits that is only about a tenth of a second off of a 40 time. Players often have nearly that much difference in 2 runs the same day so the idea that a player can't train to make that much improvement is pretty rediculous. If speed cannot be improved then why are there so many workouts out there to improve an athlete's speed? Why do sprinters train to try to get faster?

Ive never had this happen. Ever. Ive had guys improve maybe 2-4 max over their careers. And this is at 6 star program winning 5 MNC's in a row in an OD with a friend.

Thats crazy going from say a moderate 75 speed TE or FB to a pretty damn fast 86?