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What do people around here have against track & feild?

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So, after all this, nobody can answer my question as to how participating in track and field events makes you a better football player. Yes, I know a guy who runs fast on a track will probably run fast on a football field but is he fast because he runs track or does he run track because he's fast?
 
DTP said:
So, after all this, nobody can answer my question as to how participating in track and field events makes you a better football player. Yes, I know a guy who runs fast on a track will probably run fast on a football field but is he fast because he runs track or does he run track because he's fast?
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It's a little bit of both. Whether you are fast or slow, there are techniques taught that can increase an athlete's speed. Of course, there is a limit to what proper form and technique can do for someone's speed, and that's where body composition and genetics comes into play.

That being said, for your skill position guys, track can help marginally improve a football player's speed. But track speed does not always translate to game speed. Some players post great numbers in the 40 and 100, but don't play to their speed for certain reasons (usually mental).

Some of the field events (shotput, for instance), are of marginal relevance for football players (DL and OL, usually), in that they require strength, balance, and coordination to perform at a high level.

But at the end of the day, nobody is wearing pads at a track meet or physically lining up across from the track athlete and challenging him, so the significance of track skills on football skills is by no means clear. A kid who does well in track and field is definitely an athlete, but not all athletes are good football players.

IMHO, the best thing track has going for it for a HS football player is it's a spring sport that will keep the athlete working out and regimented in the off season. Of course, the rise of 7 on 7 has minimized this benefit, since skill position kids can work on more football-related activities year round.
 
Anyone that tries to tell you that running track won't help football players is a fool. The first thing you learn in track is how to run efficiently. Forward lean, how to pump your arms, how to not take false steps when you start running. All critical skills for your skill guys. You would be surprised at how bad some football players are at running. When you are talking about tenths and hundredths of a second, running technique matters. Getting to full speed quickly matters.

You also do drills to help develop your fast-twitch muscles; Drills that you don't do in football that can help you be faster and more explosive. All runners are thought how to create explosion in their movements out of the block. Literrally spend countless hours on how to quicken your first three steps. Field athletes learn how to be explosive long jumping, high jumping, throwing, etc. Learning how to create power from your base is a part of the jumps. Football is all about explosion, power and short area quickness.

Genetics matters more than any of this, but that's not the discussion. Does track and field translate to the football field? Absolutely.

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DTP said:
So, after all this, nobody can answer my question as to how participating in track and field events makes you a better football player. Yes, I know a guy who runs fast on a track will probably run fast on a football field but is he fast because he runs track or does he run track because he's fast?
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Football has a speed element involved so obviously the faster you can react to something the better player you'll be depending on what position you play.

Track helps with football related skills and its good for the body (speed, flexibility, endurance, cardio vascular etc. ). But, just because you run track doesn't mean you're a great football player. Like No Fly Zone mentioned there are certain mental aspects that come into to play as well.

Deon sanders didn't run track in HS but you knew he was fast as ****. Track helps quantify your speed amugnst other things already mentioned. That's why a lot of football players incorporate track related workout into their training regime.
 
Good posts by both previous posters. Not going to bother quoting both but I appreciate a little explanation rather than "fast guys run track. We need fast guys on the football team."
 
DTP said:
Good posts by both previous posters. Not going to bother quoting both but I appreciate a little explanation rather than "fast guys run track. We need fast guys on the football team."
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Don't forget sustained straight line speed. When DJ Johnson chases what would have been a 2 point safety eight yards deep in the end zone down at the opposite 2 yard line, you will be thankful he worked on his 100 meter dash.
 
Track and field is awesome. The only event I currently despise is the triple jump because the Gators have been dominant on an international level.

A Canes woman won an indoor national championship a few weeks ago. Big hair and very emotional. I forget her name or what distance it was. Relatively short. Maybe 300 yards.

I can't imagine watching a track meet and giving a flip about football. The only correlation is that football-only players have a vastly inflated view of how they'd fare if they switched to track, or if they competed against the current fastest track guys. That's been true since I was a kid, and I'm sure long before that and long into the future. As always, a handful of exceptions, those wonderful outliers that are so popular on forums like this.

The football players have become more proficient in their starting technique in the 40. That's the only change I've seen and it's almost universal. Njoku was a rare exception but even he wasn't as awful as some of the guys who lined up for the 40 decades ago.

Oh yeah, I'm still smarting that Almaz Ayana pushed those middle laps absurdly fast in the 5000 at Rio and gave away a gold medal. I had a nice wager on her to sweep the 5000 and 10,000 at favorable odds after betting it months early. But at least I did collect on that world record she shattered in the 10,000. By the time she reached the starting line in the 5000 you couldn't even wager on her to win. That's how lopsided the perception was. The only prop available was Even money she'd break that world record also.
 
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Awsi Dooger said:
Track and field is awesome. The only event I currently despise is the triple jump because the Gators have been dominant on an international level.

A Canes woman won an indoor national championship a few weeks ago. Big hair and very emotional. I forget her name or what distance it was. Relatively short. Maybe 300 yards.

I can't imagine watching a track meet and giving a flip about football. The only correlation is that football-only players have a vastly inflated view of how they'd fare if they switched to track, or if they competed against the current fastest track guys. That's been true since I was a kid, and I'm sure long before that and long into the future. As always, a handful of exceptions, those wonderful outliers that are so popular on forums like this.

The football players have become more proficient in their starting technique in the 40. That's the only change I've seen and it's almost universal. Njoku was a rare exception but even he wasn't as awful as some of the guys who lined up for the 40 decades ago.

Oh yeah, I'm still smarting that Almaz Ayana pushed those middle laps absurdly fast in the 5000 at Rio and gave away a gold medal. I had a nice wager on her to sweep the 5000 and 10,000 at favorable odds after betting it months early. But at least I did collect on that world record she shattered in the 10,000. By the time she reached the starting line in the 5000 you couldn't even wager on her to win. That's how lopsided the perception was. The only prop available was Even money she'd break that world record also.
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I've said this before and I'll say it again.... there is no reason why Miami doesn't have as top flight mens track program considering the amount of talent in the area/State. It will also help the football program.
 
PAR said:
I've said this before and I'll say it again.... there is no reason why Miami doesn't have as top flight mens track program considering the amount of talent in the area/State. It will also help the football program.
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Like baseball, the scholarship rules make it tough for private schools to compete. Everyone running track isn't on a full ride, most aren't, and as a result, you have to get kids that can qualify for all kinds of additional aid. There's a reason why a private school hasn't won the outdoor NCAA track and field championship since Stanford in 2000, and before that it was SMU in 86.
 
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Canedude08 said:
PAR said:
I've said this before and I'll say it again.... there is no reason why Miami doesn't have as top flight mens track program considering the amount of talent in the area/State. It will also help the football program.
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Like baseball, the scholarship rules make it tough for private schools to compete. Everyone running track isn't on a full ride, most aren't, and as a result, you have to get kids that can qualify for all kinds of additional aid. There's a reason why a private school hasn't won the outdoor NCAA track and field championship since Stanford in 2000, and before that it was SMU in 86.
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I understand that but where there's a will there's a way.
 
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