Speed is a Skill: Lessons from the NFL’s Top Speed Coach
Ready to take your game to the next level? Before we dive into the science of elite speed, check out our upcoming programs at myfootballcamps.com, find more resources at coachschuman.com, and see how we do things at the boardwalkbeastsfb.com.
1. The High-Stakes Chase for the 4.4
At the NFL Combine, the atmosphere isn't just electric, it’s clinical. The difference between a first-round multi-million dollar contract and going home as an undrafted free agent often comes down to a few milliseconds. In this pressure-cooker environment, Les Spellman has emerged as the go-to authority for elite speed. Having coached over 100 NFL players and 15 first-round picks, Spellman’s methodology is built on a harsh truth that most young athletes aren't ready to hear: most of you are training speed all wrong.
The biggest mistake? Obsessing over the "look" of the run rather than the physics of the movement. At Boardwalk Beasts Football Club, we see it all the time. Athletes think speed is just about "hustling" or "trying harder." In reality, elite speed is a highly choreographed expression of force. If you want to run a 4.4, you have to stop viewing sprinting as a track event and start viewing it as a technical skill, one that can be mastered with the right blueprint.
2. The Flying 10 is the Real King of Speed
While the 40-yard dash is the "glamour" event of the Combine, Spellman and top-tier coaches prioritize a different metric: the Flying 10. This is a timed 10-yard sprint with a 20-yard build-up. Why does it matter more than the 40?
The 40-yard dash is a test of many things: start mechanics, skill, and transition management. It’s complex. As Spellman notes, "I love a flying 10 way more than a 40… if you had five people time a 40 you get five different times." Human error in timing a static start is massive.
The Flying 10, however, isolates max velocity. It provides an objective, repeatable look at an athlete’s absolute ceiling. It also serves as the ultimate "health check." If an athlete isn't physically healthy or their central nervous system is fried, they cannot produce the massive forces required to set a PR in a Flying 10. If your Flying 10 improves, your acceleration and start times almost always follow. At our skill camps, we focus on these measurable metrics because the clock doesn't lie.
3. The Four Personalities of a Sprinter
One of the most revolutionary aspects of Spellman’s coaching is the ability to distinguish structural necessity from technical flaws. Using the James Wild quadrant, athletes are categorized into four technical "personalities." This prevents coaches from trying to "fix" something that is actually a natural byproduct of an athlete’s body type.
- The Bounder: These athletes are step-length and air-based. They cover massive ground per stride and appear to "float" over the turf.
- The Driver: Step-length and ground-based. These athletes "grind" through the ground phase with longer contact times.
- The Spinner: The "Road Runner" style. They rely on step frequency and rapid turnover, staying close to the ground.
- The Bouncer: Highly reactive and elastic. They are frequency and air-based, essentially bouncing off the turf like a rubber ball.
Consider the case of Devon, a 6'5", 220lb receiver. As a classic "Driver," Devon had incredibly long step lengths but stayed on the ground too long. Many coaches would have tried to force him into a "Spinner" frequency to make him look "quicker." Instead, Spellman leaned into Devon's structure. He knew that as a Driver, Devon simply needed a longer runway and more force to reach his top gear. Knowing your personality is the first step toward elite performance.
4. The 40-Yard Dash is a 12-Step Dance
Spellman views the 40-yard dash not as a blind sprint, but as a "highly choreographed" sequence. Think of an airplane taking off. As the plane accelerates, every single second reveals a different angle and height. No two points in a takeoff are exactly the same. The same logic applies to the first 12 steps of the 40:
- Steps 1–4 (Early Acceleration): This is the most horizontal phase. The focus is on creating "big shapes" and overcoming the fear of falling to maintain an aggressive angle.
- Steps 5–7 (Initial Transition): The most critical change in body height occurs here. Your shins should become vertical by step seven.
- Steps 8–12 (Severe Transition): This is where most athletes fail. They "pop up" too early. By the 20–22 yard mark, an athlete should be at 90–95% of their max speed.
During Devon's Combine preparation, Spellman noticed his head "popped up" at 18 yards, ending his acceleration phase too early. The cue for the next run was simple: "Push two more steps." That one adjustment, staying in the takeoff phase for a fraction longer, dropped his time from a 4.54 to a 4.48. That’s the difference between being a mid-round pick and a Sunday starter.
5. The "High-Low" Secret to Neural Recovery
You can't build a Ferrari engine if the battery is dead. Elite speed requires a fresh central nervous system (CNS). Most college athletes arrive for training "beat up" from a long season. To fix this, Spellman utilizes the Charlie Francis High-Low Model, prefaced by a TSA Protocol (Tissue, Spinal, and Activation).
- High Days (Neural Adaptation): These are the days we go all out. Max velocity work, heavy sleds, and high-force weight room movements like depth drops or overcoming isometrics. These sessions target the CNS to fire faster and stronger.
- Low Days (Tissue Restoration): We remove the neural stimulus entirely. The focus shifts to hurdle mobility, yoga, pool work, or high-volume skill work.
By alternating these, you avoid the "burnout" seen in athletes who train at 90% intensity every single day. If you're always training at 90%, you're never training speed, you're training endurance. To get faster, you need 100% intensity on your high days. Check out our recruiting programs to see how we integrate these professional-level recovery protocols.
6. Training Speed in a "Freezer": The Indoor Advantage
Athletes in the Northeast often feel disadvantaged by the cold. At Boardwalk Beasts, we call this training in the "freezer." Spellman actually argues this is a hidden superpower. Because you often cannot reach max velocity indoors due to space constraints, you are forced to adopt a reductionist approach. You overload specific qualities in isolation before "putting them back together" on the track.
The focus shifts from kinematics (what the run looks like) to kinetics (the forces being produced). Indoor training is the perfect time to master "specific strength" through resisted sprints:
- Heavy Loads (50% velocity decrement): Overloading the first four steps of the start.
- Medium Loads (10–25% decrement): Working the transition from steps four to seven.
- Light Loads (under 10% decrement): Refining the late transition.
This is also the time to master "thigh separation", the range, force, and velocity of hip flexion and extension, which is often the first thing to decline when athletes spend too much time sitting in classrooms or on planes.
7. The "Two-Mass Model" and the Science of Stiffness
To run fast, you have to be "stiff." That sounds counterintuitive to athletes who are told to stay "loose," but in physics, stiffness is the ability to transfer force without energy leaks. Spellman uses the Two-Mass Model to explain how force interacts with the ground. Every footstrike has two force peaks: the lower limb hitting the ground (braking) and the bodyweight passing over the foot (propulsion).
- Ankle Stiffness (Acceleration): Think of a boxer with a rigid wrist. During acceleration, the ankle must be a stiff lever to transfer force without the heel dropping.
- Knee Stiffness (Max Velocity): This prevents "sinking." Without elite knee stiffness, an athlete will "squat" or "sink" upon impact at high speeds, wasting time on the ground and killing momentum.
As Spellman explains, "You need a level of stiffness in your lower leg to attenuate massive forces… you don't want the heel to drop at all." At our upcoming showcases, we look for this specific brand of "stiffness" in every prospect.
8. Conclusion: Speed is a Skill, Not Just a Gift
The overarching lesson from the world’s top speed coaches is clear: speed is not a genetic lottery. It is a skill built through the deliberate training of kinetics and choreographed technical shapes. Whether you are a "Bounder" or a "Spinner," your success depends on your ability to put force into the ground efficiently.
Are you training to "look" like a runner, or are you training the specific forces and stiffness required to actually be fast? The clock doesn't care about your aesthetics; it only cares about the physics.
At Boardwalk Beasts Football Club, we are committed to bringing this elite-level methodology to youth and high school athletes. If you're tired of "guessing" how to get faster, it's time to follow the blueprint.
Don't wait for next season to get faster. Sign up for our upcoming camps and clinics at myfootballcamps.com/schedule, follow the journey at boardwalkbeastsfb.com, and get the edge you need to dominate the competition.
Note to Sonny (Social Media Manager): The blog post "Speed is a Skill: Lessons from the NFL's Top Speed Coach" is live. Please use the exact link from nucsports.com to post across all social channels. Focus the messaging on speed development as a technical skill for our athlete and coach audience.
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