Test yourself: 30 m sprint
Transcript
Time your sprint the same way every time. Here's how. Warm up fully first. You need a tape measure, two cones, a stopwatch or phone timer, and an adult. Measure thirty metres on flat grass or a track, with room to slow down. Watch. Go when you're ready. First, start standing, front foot just behind the line. No run-up. Then, sprint through the finish, not to it. The adult stands level with the finish, timing from your first movement until your chest crosses the line. Three runs, at least three minutes rest. Record your fastest, to two decimal places. Then take the free test at footballreach.com.
What it trains
A 30 m sprint time you can repeat: a standing start, an adult timing at the finish line and the fastest of 3 runs. Time it the same way every time: hand times are only compared with hand times, and gate times with gate times.
Set up
- Tape measure, 30 m
- 2 cones: start, finish
- Stopwatch or phone
- An adult to time you
How it works
- Warm up fully first, every time: the FIFA 11+ Kids warm-up (ages 7-13) or FIFA 11+ from 14 (episode 2 shows it), or your club warm-up. Then do 2-3 build-up runs.
- With a tape measure or measuring wheel, measure 30 m on a flat, non-slip surface (grass, a 3G pitch, a track or a sports hall) with room to slow down after the finish (we suggest 10-15 m). Put a cone on the start line and one on the finish line.
- Start standing, with your front foot just behind the start line. No run-up: go in your own time.
- The timer (an adult with a stopwatch or phone timer) stands level with the finish line, starts the clock on your first movement and stops it as your chest crosses the line.
- Run 3 times with at least 3 minutes of rest in between. Record the fastest time, to two decimal places.
- Always time it the same way: hand times (stopwatch or phone) are only compared with hand times, and electronic timing-gate times with gate times. Keep the surface, shoes and time of day the same too. Your first result is your baseline: what matters is how it changes.
Coaching points
- Front foot behind the line. Stand still with your front foot just behind the start line and go in your own time. No run-up, and no rocking or stepping back first: the clock starts on your first movement.
- Sprint through the finish. Keep sprinting until your chest is past the finish line, then slow down in the run-off. Easing up before the line adds time.
Not this
Taking a run-up, or a step back before you go. The test starts from a still, standing start, so a moving start gives a time you cannot compare with your others.
Dose
- 3 runs, 3+ min rest
- Fastest, 2 decimal places
Our target: Test on day 0 and again at day 90 (the Football Reach plan's check-in, not an FA rule).
Harder / Easier
Harder
At a club with electronic timing gates? Use them, but compare gate times only with gate times, never with hand times. On a full test day, do the jumps first, then this sprint, with at least 3 minutes between tests, and the bleep test last or on another day.
Easier
New to flat-out sprints? Practise the standing start with a few build-up runs at three-quarter pace, and test on another day. Never shorten the lane: a shorter run is a different test, and its time does not compare.
Safety
- Test safely: warm up fully first, with an adult there (under 18), on a flat, non-slip surface such as grass, a 3G pitch, a track or a sports hall, with room to slow down, never a road or pavement. Do the bleep test last or on another day, and do not test while injured or in pain.
- If you get chest pain or feel faint or dizzy when you train, stop straight away (under 16: tell an adult) and get it checked the same day by your GP or NHS 111. Call 999 if someone collapses.
- Under 16: if your knees or heels hurt when you run or jump, stop and tell an adult. Knee and heel pain is common while you are growing, and a GP or physio can help. 16 and over: stop rather than train through pain.
Sources
- Football Reach - how the measured tests work (30 m sprint) (opens in a new tab)
- PMC - youth football sprint test protocol (opens in a new tab)
- PubMed - Haugen & Buchheit 2016, sprint timing (opens in a new tab)
- PubMed - Hetzler 2008, hand vs electronic timing (opens in a new tab)
- PubMed - Mann 2015, hand vs electronic timing (opens in a new tab)
- JSCR (copy) - Pauole et al. 2000, test order and rest (opens in a new tab)
- PubMed - Fradkin et al. 2010, warm-up meta-analysis (opens in a new tab)
- The FA Boot Room - youth development and the physical corner (opens in a new tab)
Not sure which skill to work on first? The free Football Reach test gives you a Player Development Score and shows which of the four corners of your game to work on next, in about two minutes.
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