Speed Training for DBs Part I

By: Chad Wilson ~ All Eyes DB Camp

This article and series is a long time coming because I get asked this question quite a bit. A lot of people that play defensive back want to know how to get faster.

The prevailing thought by most that play this position, especially the young ones, is that developing more speed will eliminate all of their issues. This is like saying being rich will mean you will no longer have problems. In case you didn’t know, this is also false. However, having speed, like having money will fix some problems and it’s a very nice thing to have so let’s talk about it.

In part I of this article, I am going to talk about the different types of speed. There are different elements to being fast. It’s possible to have speed but the wrong kind of speed. It’s also necessary to develop all of the aspects of speed but naturally you are just going to better at one part than the others. If you excel at all three then you probably should’ve gone to the Olympics to challenge Usain Bolt and friends.

(1) Acceleration

Acceleration is as it sounds. How fast do you get from 0 to 100 or also known as top speed. As I will talk about in the other parts to this series, there are different types of acceleration and it’s good to know when to use them. If we are talking about a track athlete, there is a difference in acceleration for an athlete running the 60m vs. one that is running the 200m. With the 60m sprint being a short race that ends quicker, it is best for the sprinter in this event to reach top speed much sooner than in a 200m sprint. One may ask, why does it matter, shouldn’t we want to hit top speed as soon as possible in any sprint? The answer is no and the reason why is you can only hold top speed for so long before you begin to decelerate. It’s the just the law of physics and biology, two things that make most people nauseous. Either way, having strong acceleration is crucial for speed and for defensive backs.

(2) Top End

The goal of acceleration is to reach our peak at some point. Depending on the situation, reaching that top speed needs to happen sooner or less sooner. For all athletes, there is a time when acceleration ends and top speed is reached. The better the top end speed, the faster you’ll run. Let’s use a car for this example. Car A is a Honda. Car B is an Altima. Car A & B may reach 0-100 mph at the same amount of time but Car A may be able to reach a max speed of 120 mph while Car B may only top out at 100 mph. Ask yourself, which car is faster. Working on top end speed requires different work than acceleration. So developing your top end speed is also important in the game of getting faster to play better at defensive back.

(3) Speed Endurance

This is probably one of the more overlooked aspects of speed for those who aren’t well versed on it. When most people think of speed they look at acceleration and less think of top end but only a small few consider the factor known as speed endurance. What’s crazy is that most athletes who train on their own tend to train this aspect of speed the most when what they are trying to acquire is acceleration and top end. Go figure. Going back to my car example, let’s say Car A can reach 120 mph but only hold it for 100 feet before rapidly decreasing back down to 80 mph, while Car B that can only reach a top speed of 100 mph but can hold that 100 mph for 800 feet before decelerating. Can you see how that might affect things? How about this other example. Say Car A can reach 140 mph in it’s first speed test after turning the car on but each test after that, it’s top speed is 20 mph lower. What if Car B can reach 100 mph for 20 tests in a row? Which would you rather have?

Some athletes may not reach the top end speed of others but they can run at that top speed longer. Other athletes may be able to run at their top speed for all four quarters of a game while another athlete is only at their best up until halftime. Having speed endurance is a must and you must train to acquire it.

Now that you understand the different types of speed, we can move onto how to structure your workouts to develop all three types of speed. I will do that in Part II of Speed Training for DBs.

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alleyesdbcamp

Owner at All Eyes DB Camp

Chad Wilson is the founder of All Eyes DB Camp and a former standout defensive back for the Miami Hurricanes. After an elite collegiate career, Wilson spent a season with the Seattle Seahawks before transitioning into coaching. A 3-time Florida state champion defensive coordinator, he has spent over 20 years developing the "All Eyes" blueprint that has produced NFL All-Pros and stars like Xavien Howard, Patrick Surtain II, Tyson Campbell, Minkah Fitzpatrick and more. His coaching system is proven at the highest levels—his own sons, Quincy and Marco Wilson, both excelled as starters in the SEC before being drafted into the NFL.

Chad is the author of "101 DB Tips"—The Ultimate DB Reference Guide. You can find more information on the manual and how to order your copy in the sidebar and footer of this page.

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