Physical Testing for football

The only problem I have with conditioning testing is that you invariable have to answer the question : "What do we do with the kid that doesn't pass the test". Of course, this base question then breaks down into variations such as : the kid who went to every single summer workout, but can't pass the test, the kid who didn't go to a single workout but passes the test, the kid who didn't go to any workouts and fails the test, the kid who went to some of the workouts but fails the test.....

How do you handle the assessment portion of such a test. I know there have been several threads on conditiong tests. You might want to try the search feature to bring some up

rcoon---My problem when I was coaching Div 1 ball is that it was tough to devise a consistent test. We found that the skilled positions could usually gut out any type of "stride" tests (120's or gassers, or whatever) through their general athleticism. Also, this never stressed the energy system we were going to use in the sport. And while I did like the accountability issue, I always felt pre-camp conditioning tests were more for the S&C guy than for the football program.

Lastly you are still stuck with the "what do you do if they fail" For instance, once camp starts, do I want someone competing for time doing conditioning test make up work? He needs to be recovering, so he can compete.

The question for me is "Why do you test?" Are you going to cut a kid that doesn't pass the test? Not fast enough, strong enough, quick enough? Probably not - at least at high school. During the first 2 days of our Double Sessions, we have a circuit period where we divide our team (around 30) into 4 groups. On day one the players rotate through the following "tests": 40, Long Snap, Dot Drill, & 1 Man Sled Drive. It takes about 6-7 minutes to get all of the guys through one station (usually 30 minutes for the full circuit). We do these to find out who is fast, who is quick, who can be a back up (or starter) at long snapper, and who looks good/bad on drive technique. It helps in initial evaluation as well as in motivation - we post all of the scores in the locker room. It also helps to to explain to the career lineman why we are not going to look at him at RB this year ... "Billy, we have 12 guys who run the 40 faster than your 5.3

Phantom and football doc. Thanks- this has been at the back of my mind as well. Why test? Many moons ago it seemed the thing to do. As Phantom said Why waste practice time?"
I was just thinking about the time factor involved in records. Staff time better spent otherwise.
I guess I will leave that in my file cabinet.

I agree with the idea that you can paint yourself in a corner with the kids that don't hit the standards you set. An incentive based approach seems to make sense to me. The time involvement in establishing baselines and doing the actual testing may be a waste of time, or it may be something that helps motivate kids to achieve. One benefit can be that it helps identify who really cares about his performance in helping the team, one component in establishing core leadership.

coachd: I understand. I guess it is just something that coaches do, just because the majority of programs do it. I dont know if there is a perfect test. May be the best bet is too not do a test. u will find out who is in shape during training camp.

We do not do a conditioning test, but we do test. We test the Squat, Bench, Power Clean, and Snatch. The guys that lift over 1,000lbs will get a shirt. We also test the 40, Pro Agility, and Vertical Jump. We test these areas for a couple of reasons. One, we want to see how much the players have improved over the course of the summer cycle. The guys that have worked their butt off usually make incredible to moderate gains and find out that their skill level is better when they hit the practice field. These are the guys that we brag on as practice begins. We also test these things as coaches to make sure that we know who our strongest guys and fastest guys are as well as those with a lot of power (VJ) and can change direction well(PA). This helps us as we look at personnel going into the season.
At the HS level these young men go through some incredible changes over the course of two months.
We want our guys to be goal-setters and step into the weight room with a purpose. Testing allows them to see where they rank among their teammates and gives them an opportunity to set goals to climb the ladder so to speak.
In short I test to reward rather than punish. I test to understand the ability of my personnel and make our coaches and the individual aware they are in relation to their teammates in these areas.
My favorite of the test is the Vertical Jump - this more than any other indicator tells me what I can expect from the young man on the field.

<sup>I've coached H.S. for quite awhile now and we do the following.
1. We test all in agility tests, and short sprints - That's it. We only do this because we test these things in the spring and the kids need to see their improvements.

2. We run all kids who did not make 80% of summer weights/conditioning in a 5K run. They hate it and they should.
3. We run all kids who did not make 85% of summer weights/conditioning in 12x110 yard runs with a 45 sec rest. They hate this too.

When parents complain about their Joe or Johnny having to have to do the dreaded 5K or Dozen 110's ("coach, that doesn't seem fair"), I just tell them that if they can get the 75-85% of the kids who did bust their butts all summer to give their precious boy a free pass they are more than welcome to come and talk to the team. I'm not being an a$$ but that's the reality of our program</sup>

I've posted on this (similar) topic before... but that is close to what we do- ours is a 12 min run (DBs 10 laps, LBs-9 DL 8). Only for those under 80%. We had one who was close this year (had to do two make up sessions before he got 80%). We haven't had anyone run it in almost 10 years (or more... it has been a while).

RE: Actual testing, we do it almost daily during the summer (Pro Agility to beat their previous best, VJ to beat previous best, etc.), so they will test everything 4-8 times throughout the summer (depending on what lift/event).

Our last day of conditioning (not counting make up) was Aug. 4 (we start pract. Aug. 11, I want them fresh...plus, though we are one of the smaller counties population wise, we have the 3rd largest county fair in the state... plus Sturgis this week... I leave tomorrow). Anyway, we always call our last day "Test Day" they have to run at least 1 pro agil, get weighed, test VJ and 1 40. They may test on lifts, but no one has to.

Here is what I have noticed: they are ALL PUMPED to test. We had 7 guys earn shirts (for getting in to a LB club). Our entire backfield can bench and clean over 200 and squat over 340- two of them reached this level on Monday (not great numbers for some of you, but we are a school of 72 total students). Everyone made attempts at their new record. Not all made it, but there was yelling, screaming, encouragement... we were supposed to be done and out of there in an hour and 20 min... they stayed over two hours.

We do not have penalties for not making something... our starting tackle is a short, pudgy kid... he is pretty slow, and strength is fair. Still, he tried 250 bench (not really even close- he weighs about 195 and can probably bench 225). He can't run as well as I want, he can't lift as much as I want him to- but he is one heck of a lot better now than he was 6 months ago...and he is the only one I've got (unless I move our backup FB there or something).

The moral: "testing" was very good for us... and while I have concerns about our roster size, depth, inexperience, etc., our guys are all excited for the season to start... "ignorance is bliss when tis folly to be wise" (Alexander Pope)... true... but often times "perception is more important than fact" (Woody Hayes), and I think that the attitude we had on Monday will serve as a good base to pre-season.

For that reason, I like testing.