There are a lot of guys with a lot of sports knowledge on here so do we have any weightlifters? My brother Ryan is a freshman in high school that plays running back, but he doesn't have the big last name so he needs to really show the coaches what he can do. He is an extremely hard worker and in extremely good shape. He's done P90x to get ripped, Sparq to help speed and quickness, and hes an avid weightlifter, but he just can't quite get over the hump. So could you guys give me some input of how to improve his: Bench, Squat, Clean, 40 time, His quickness, and Change-of-direction.

His Measurables:
Age: 14
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 180 lbs
Bench: 230
Squat: 405
Clean: 215
40 time: 4.9

He would like to clean 240 by august to help his overall explosiveness. And Bench around 270 because that will help his blocking. Squat needs to improve for leg drive. And the 40 time and quickness needs to improve so he can make people miss and then turn on the jets and take it to the house.

As a big bro I want to help the kid succeed and have a chance to play. So please if you have any suggestions on how I could help him, I would appreciate it so much!

I am no expert, but in my opinion a lot of how an athlete performs in high school and at such a young age is based on how matured his body is. Some guys are late bloomers and don't excell until later in their careers, so don't push the kid to be Unga right now. Sounds like he is doing a ton already and should keep up the good work. He is a bit slow for a RB on a college level...you know those college coaches always like speed. But for High School, sounds like he is doing a lot. I remember when I was in high school back in the 90's all i did to prepare for football was to play basketball, i am shocked at the amount of pressure high school athletes have these days to be so good, so fast. Such a different game than when i was lacing 'em up, and I am not that old.

Cougfan84 wrote:

There are a lot of guys with a lot of sports knowledge on here so do we have any weightlifters? My brother Ryan is a freshman in high school that plays running back, but he doesn't have the big last name so he needs to really show the coaches what he can do. He is an extremely hard worker and in extremely good shape. He's done P90x to get ripped, Sparq to help speed and quickness, and hes an avid weightlifter, but he just can't quite get over the hump. So could you guys give me some input of how to improve his: Bench, Squat, Clean, 40 time, His quickness, and Change-of-direction.

His Measurables:
Age: 14
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 180 lbs
Bench: 230
Squat: 405
Clean: 215
40 time: 4.9

He would like to clean 240 by august to help his overall explosiveness. And Bench around 270 because that will help his blocking. Squat needs to improve for leg drive. And the 40 time and quickness needs to improve so he can make people miss and then turn on the jets and take it to the house.

As a big bro I want to help the kid succeed and have a chance to play. So please if you have any suggestions on how I could help him, I would appreciate it so much!

I am not a physiologist. All I can speak from is experience. I played tight end on my varsity team in the largest school division in Boise, ID in the mid 90's. His lifts look about like mine as a senior and I was in a pretty exclusive 1000 lb club adding up your bench, squat, and dead lift. He is already doing that at 14 I think he is doing exceptionally well. Remember, he still has a lot of testosterone to produce, and a lot of filling out to do. I agree his speed is high for a running back but he probably hasn't reached the peak of his coordination either. Other than just continuing his whole body workouts, I would suggest running a lot of sprints. Running a ton of sprints with body weights or parachutes should help a lot.

Man its a different game than when i played and that was only in 2003. My brother is bigger than I was in HS. As a senior i was only 165lb corner and was considered a bruiser haha, but unlike my bro I was blessed with great speed. I used to cover the likes of Marquis Wilson when he played for Juan Diego, Brandon Brown of Kanab (kid ran a 4.3), and Devin Frishneckt of Manti (Now plays TE at Washington State). Injuries ended my career so I guess I kind of live my dreams of playing for BYU through my little bro.

His work ethic is second to none, he has the drive and determination to do anything. So please if anyone knows any speed and strength drills will you post them or something. Do you think if he ran sprints in track that could help boost his speed a bit?

Just imagine if he someday does get the chance to Don the Blue and White. And what if you were the person that gave him the speed drill that helped catapult him into college success.

Thanks WACoug. What about hills? I know Walter Payton and LaDainian Tomlinson are big on hills...does that help speed or power only?

It sounds like he is doing great in the lifting but needs to work on his speed and quickness. There is only so much you can do to improve speed and quickness. There is a book that my nephew uses to cut .2 seconds off his time called, "Speed improvement for young athletes" that focuses on improving younger kids speed and quickness. Anyone can lift amazing weight with the right conditioning and training. Not everyone can run a 4.4 regardless of effort.