This is a topic that someone asked about a while ago.  I conveniently forgot about it because I don't really enjoy the running part.  And, I'm not very good at it.

I keep it very simple and straight forward.  I like to have them do a few things and get really good at them.

Running/Conditioning is different at different times of the year.  I can control a good amount of what we do in the winter with the exception of the Friday Team Run when the coaches are involved.

Regardless, I try to treat this the same way as I would handle the summer when I'm in total control.

  • Monday - Speed
  • Wednesday - Conditioning
  • Friday - Agility

In the  early summer Wednesday and Friday are flipped.  Since we do 8 stations on Fridays in the winter it's Agility work.  I use the Wednesday as a recovery and general conditioning day.

Once we get into July we add a day of running.

  • Monday - Speed (Lift)
  • Tuesday - Agility
  • Wednesday -  No Run (Lift)
  • Thursday - Agility
  • Friday - Speed (Lift)

Speed Workout

  • Starts: 6-10 reps (vary positions)/10-15 yards/60-90 seconds rest
  • Single-leg Hops: 3-5 reps each leg/10-15 yards/60-90 seconds rest
  • Skater Hops: 2-3 reps/20 yards/60-90 seconds rest
  • Bounding: 2-3 reps/20-30 yards/60-90 seconds rest
  • I usually wait until Week 3 or 4 to add Bounding.  When I add Bounding I cut the Single-leg Hops back to 1-2 reps each leg.
  • Flying 10's/20's (Done on Friday only): 2-4 reps/40 yards/60-90 seconds rest
  • The Fat Guys (OL and interior DL) will do 10 and 20 yard sprints (basically starts all over again)
  • The Big Fellas will also do half the reps and usually a little less distance with the SL Hops and Bounding.  Those are very taxing on big people.

Agility Workout - Cone Drills

  • Also known as "Perfection".
  • Choose 4, 4 Cone/Box Drills (5x5 or 10x10 yard boxes)
  • Must perform 4 reps of each drill without a mistake before we move on to next drill
  • 16 reps (minimum - perfect day) up to...  It all depends on how focused everybody is

Agility Workout - Line Drills

  • Similar to "Perfection" - Choose 4 drills (I usually do 3 every week and have a 4th as some variety)
  • I use the NFL Pro Agility, Nebraska Agility and Squirm.  The 4th drill changes every week.  If I have assistant coaches around I'll have the DB's do a Backpedal drill in place of the Squirm and the "variety" drill
  • This is basically short burst of straight line change of direction as opposed to the Cone drills where there are variations of Straight Line, Crossover Run, Lateral and Backpedal)
  • I usually tell them, "Put your foot in the ground and go back the way you came."

Conditioning Workout

  • If I use variety, this is where it happens.  I have a yardage goal for each week.  I usually have 3-4 different drills.  The reps for each add up to the yardage goal for that week.
  • Early in the summer/winter these are longer and easier (70-80% effort) (1/2 Gassers, 50's, 120 yard Shuttles...)
  • Last 4 weeks of summer/winter they get shorter and harder (85-95% effort)

If I'm organized and explain things well, Warm-ups and Speed/Agility workouts take about 25-30 minutes total.  As we get deeper into the training cycle and the kids know what we're doing it drops down to about 20-25 minutes.

If you do the math, the rest periods will make the sessions longer.  The basic "rules" I follow are:

  1. They get rest while their teammates are doing their reps.
  2. I do "sets" with short rest.  Once the sets are done (X number of reps) we get a nice little break to catch our breath and continue.

Total workout time in the weight room is around 45-50 minutes and 20-30 (including warm-ups) on the field.  A little more than an hour.  I make adjustments to the running/lifting based on where we are in training and what the injury report looks like.  I also listen to and watch the kids move.  If they look like shit and the warm-up doesn't help much I'll make a game time decision.  We may just do Tempo type runs instead of what's planned.  This is where the art of coaching comes in.

I finished training about 15 minutes before this idea came into my head.  I feel like I'm starting to ramble.  I hope this makes sense.

By no means is this perfect.  It is consistent.  We start light and progress slowly.  We take breaks/make changes when needed.  We get really good at a few things that can help improve speed and agility.  It is not comprehensive.  I don't do everything that can help speed and agility.  I don't think you need to.  I think you touch some of the basics and as mentioned, get really good at them.  Magically, it seems to work.