Overview
Those who play organized football know that the sport requires full-year training. It’s not enough to participate in summer training camp, go to practice and play in games. You also have to work hard in the off-season to get in top condition. Much of that training involves weight-room work, but many other activities also help prepare a player for the upcoming season.
Speed Training
Football players need to become faster. They can work on their speed with a running chute. This is a device that the player slips over his back and wears it much the same way a student puts on a back pack. By going to the local high school or college track, the football player can improve speed by sprinting while wearing the chute, which provides resistance. On the coach’s signal, sprint 100 yards. At the conclusion of the sprint, go back to the starting line and do it again. The resistance is heavy, and the runner should resist the urge to slow down or turn around.
Endurance Training
Working on endurance is vital for a football player. Many games are decided in the fourth quarter, and players who can maintain their strength, speed and athleticism without fatigue have a better chance of helping their team win. Playing 1 1/2 hours of full-court basketball three times per week can help a player gain endurance. So can running early in the morning. Three to four miles three times a week will help give a player the endurance he needs to play for 60 minutes.
Shuttle Drill
Speed is one thing, but quickness is quite another. All football players need quickness to operate in tight quarters. One of the best regimens is the shuttle drill that requires a player to pick up a football at a designated set of cones and then set it down at another. Do this drill inside the gymnasium. Start off at the baseline of the basketball court. On the coach’s whistle, sprint to the free-throw line and pick up the football on the ground. Run back to the baseline and drop the ball. Sprint to the far-end free-throw line, pick up another football and then sprint back to the baseline. Do this three times, take a 30-second break and repeat the set.
Strength Training
While the majority of strength training occurs in the weight room, football players can build overall strength by doing push-ups, pull-ups and abdominal crunches. Former All-Pro running back Herschel Walker was one of the most powerful players at his position, and he never lifted a weight. Instead, he followed a regimen of push-ups and sit-ups to get in top shape. Other players like the late Walter Payton, Hall of Famer Jerry Rice and Adrian Peterson depended on calisthenics to become stronger and get in better shape.
Building Functional Power
Using a medicine ball to do twists will build core strength. When the player’s core is strong, that translates into power on the football field. In many ways, this routine can be more effective than weight training because that activity builds overall strength, but it may not always translate into functional football power. The medicine ball builds power. Grab a 10-lb. medicine ball and raise to the level of your midsection. Twist to the left as far as you can before bringing the ball back to center. Then do the same move to the right side. Do this 10 times. You may feel exhausted, but you are building power. Take a one-minute break and repeat the set. Do this three times per week.
About this Author
Steve Silverman is an award-winning writer, covering sports since 1980. Silverman authored The Minnesota Vikings: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and Who’s Better, Who’s Best in Football — The Top 60 Players of All-Time, among others, and placed in the Pro Football Writers of America awards three times. Silverman holds a Master of Science in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism.
