Movement Training

Let's talk movement. What are you doing with your football players during the offseason to improve their movement skills?


Rob Livingstone MS, CSCS, SCCC
Head Strength and Conditioning Coach
Norcross High School Football

by movement do you mean mobility or SAC?

Acceleration, Deceleration, Cutting, etc...

We lift four days a week, M,T,TH,F. On Wednesdays, we have done some light drills for SAQ, mostly some short sprints working on acceleration/ deceleration. I will have them use a falling start and sprint from cone to cone, usually 8 to 10 yards apart and they work on deceleration at each cone, dropping their hips and coming to a complete stop finishing in a good athletic position. We have also worked technique on the pro shuttle, since it is one of our pre and post tests. I was going to work starts with them this Wednesday for the forty, but obviously the weather did not cooperate. My football kids get most of that kind of work in their warm up and individual periods everyday. All of our coaches go a good job of working in some movement drills similar or the same as drills we did over the summer. My kids from most other sports are doing that with their individual coaches and they are doing much the same of what I did with them this summer. Our pro shuttles continue to improve from sport to sport, so I think we are on the right track.

Now I let my dynamic warmup and practice drills serve as my SAC. Our groups are very similar to Clays.

Here's one to ponder. Do we train to test or train to become more athletic?


We do alot of open environment training during the offseason consisting of all different types of spatial drills including visual and auditory. Once I get our guys to the peak of my scaffolding and have them understanding the process of efficient movement, I open the field up and use all visual cues without any cones or training devices.


Rob Livingstone MS, CSCS, SCCC
Head Strength and Conditioning Coach
Norcross High School Football

Both, I will not lie. But very little time is spent on training to test. It usually happens when we have an extra ten minutes or so left on SAQ days and it usually consists of talking about or working on cutting off the proper foot and always facing the same way when they change directions. We may spend some time working on starts this Wednesday. I dont see it as a negative when it does not take up the bulk of our day. The 40 is a big deal to our kids, and if I can help them improve it by spending a minimal amount of our training time on a certain aspect of it, then I will do so. Many days I am by myself with 80 kids, so what is optimal and what is reasonable does not always match up.

And speaking of testing, 40 times go a long way into building the pysche of your players and helps them believe in what you are doing more.

Great topic for a discussion Coach Livingstone. I appreciate your contributions to the GSCA and look forward to meeting you and picking your brain some. Thanks again.

Clay