NATIONAL ACCELERATION/SPEED STUDY
Trended Performances of Athletes vs. Non-Athletes

Speed/Acceleration is perhaps the most important quality that an athlete can possess. Many coaches believe that speed/acceleration is only inherited, and regardless of what they do, they will not be able to improve it. To a certain extent this is true. If an athlete runs the 10 yard dash in 2.5 seconds, it is not likely that his/her time could be reduced down to 1.5 seconds. However, it is possible to significantly reduce his/her time. Developing speed/acceleration does not occur over night. It takes a disciplined effort day after day, week after week.

There are two fundamental ways to improve speed/acceleration. First, most athletes do not have the proper running mechanics. If his/her technique can be improved, his/her speed can be improved. Second, the stronger the athletes' legs become the more force they will be able to apply against the ground. As a result, they will run faster.

Recognizing the importance of speed/acceleration, National Athletic Testing Program (NATP) investigated the improvement from year to year for both males and females in the 10 yard dash. The high school students were classified as either an athlete or non-athlete/physical education. A total of 52,945 students were used for this study.

NATP discovered that for males, the athletes and non-athletes improved their 10 yard dash times at nearly the same rate from year to year (See Figure 1). The percentage of overall improvement from 9th to 12th grade for male athletes was 6.43% while the improvement for male non-athletes was 6.06%. Although the average weight for male athletes was higher than for male non-athletes, the athletes still had faster times (See Table 1).

For females, NATP found that the percentage of improvement was much less than the males (See Figure 2). The percentage of overall improvement from 9th to 12th grade for a female athlete was 2.50% while the female non-athlete improved 1.02%. The decreased rate of improvement from 9th to 12th grade compared to the males for that same time period could be attributed to the lack of an emphasis on a strength training program for females.

Two points should be taken into consideration:

1. Some of the improvements from year to year for both athletes and non-athletes can be attributed to physical and mental maturity.
2. Although the athletes and non-athletes improve at nearly the same rate from year to year, it is more difficult to improve the time for the 10 yard dash, as the time gets faster.