The Need For Quickness Training In Flag Football

Over the ten plus years that I have been in the sports performance training arena, I have had the pleasure of training a lot of athletes. What I have learned and continue to expound upon with my athletes and parents is that there is a difference between quickness and speed. An athlete can be really quick, but when timed in the 40 yard dash, it may appear that they are not as fast as they looked. Speed is the ability to maintain a constant velocity; whereas quickness is the ability to accelerate to that top speed or velocity. Most sports rarely have an athlete running for an extended distance or an extended period of time. Rarely in flag football do you see people breaking away from the line of scrimmage or catching a pass and running straight down the sidelines unless it was a pass play that was a 9 route. In most sports, quickness is more important than speed because of the continual change in direction and the small distances that the athlete has to cover over an extended period of time. To transition it over to flag football, when will a player ever run for over a distance of 40 yards? Heck in most leagues the field is only 80 yards long! Usually players need quick feet and quick movements to elude their opponent and make them miss grabbing their flag. In order to develop quickness, an athlete must have a quick first step and faster reaction time than his opponent. This allows him to be a split second faster which could mean being the highlight reel or being on the highlight reel.

A player’s First Step Quickness (FSQ) is described as his or her aptitude at acceleration. First step quickness makes the difference between winning and losing in flag football. It is the difference between going to the next round of the tournament and going home. It could mean the difference between catching the game winning pass or making the game winning interception; being a little late or a being little slow.

The key factors in FSQ are power and footwork in order to develop first step quickness.

One of the limitations I’ve seen with this concept is an athlete taking a long first step, which is not rewarded in flag football. Too long of a first step places the athlete’s base of support too far forward to their center of gravity. A long first step means a player is in the air for a long time and can't change direction while in the air. The opposite would be the player that can stop and cut on a dime and change direction without losing a step (what I like to call Houdini’s “Now you see me Now you Don’t”). The most common error is the false step or miss-step away from the intended direction. This concept is best illustrated in the old cartoons where the characters would run in place before taking off. In order for a player to take a long first step, he must push back in the opposite direction before he can go forward. A good example would be someone who is backpedaling too high and trying to defend a quick receiver who comes of the line fast and stops abruptly for a hitch or a curl route. The defender if backpedaling too high will have all his momentum on his back foot when he/she tries to react, which causes separation from them and the receiver. Developing a quick forward first step can be trained just like throwing a football. Players need to work on the length and direction of their first step. The foot movement should be as low as possible and their foot should return back onto the ground as soon as possible. The first step must be in the intended direction to gain a step!

Quality before quickness!

The athlete’s main focus is to learn the correct technique before progressing to doing any drill with speed.

Another limitation I see in FSQ is an athlete’s lack of arm action, which can be a result of poor trunk strength. The arms and shoulders are important body parts when dealing with running and changing direction. The arms and hands should be positioned to aid in the first movement. Remember, the arms are huge drivers that can propel the body forward if sequenced correctly with the lower body and legs. If the trunk cannot stabilize and transfer the force effectively, the athlete will automatically decrease their arm swing to avoid being thrown off balance.

Once you get the concept of forward first step quickness, one must move on and take into consideration that flag football is a sport that requires multi-directional movement. As a result, flag athletes should train to move in all directions and be able to develop first step quickness in all directions. To accomplish this, I like to use the analogy of a giant clock when training in for FSQ multi-directionally. Think of a large clock with the numbers 12, 3, 6 and 9 on it. From the center facing 12 o’clock, a player should apply the concepts used in forward first step quickness to accomplish multi-directional movement.

In closing, developing an explosive linear first step is all about loading the body quickly with an optimal posture. This can best be trained by getting the athlete to reflexive move into this position without conscious awareness. By using the suggestions discussed in this article, you should improve speed, power, and quickness, translating into a more improved and enhanced performance on the field.

Speed and Strength Coach for Rec Athletes in Charlotte, NC