This is an absolute false statement. Most athletes arrive in college as 18 year olds and can DRAMATICALLY improve their speed throughout their college years with the proper training that goes on in any track program.
Why do you think that some improve their speed so much for the NFL combine after getting outside private trainers?
It is correct. Pick up any undergrad exercise physiology book and you will find my statement is supported by the majority of research. You can really trust me on this.
Athletes who do improve speed during college or combine training do so for a few reasons. The training principle of specificity is probably the biggest reason. An athlete who has to train for a sport as dynamic as football doesn't have the time, energy, or physical resources to put into only improving their 40 time. Once they leave their college team, they work exclusively on getting better at a 40 yards distance. They are training for the test. That is specficity.
They can focus exclusively on the technical and mechanical aspects of running 40 yards as fast as possible, as well as the other handful of tasks. And like I said, technique and mechanics are already being trained by our football sports performance coaches.
Athletes who do not improve technique or mechanics at all may still improve speed by increasing their muscular strength. The increase in strength enables them to produce more power (combination of strength and speed) which may allow them to get further with each individual step.
If our sports performance coaches are competent, we won't get any additional benefit from competing in track.
That’s a reach reason not to have a track team. Track athletes are often some that have the best grades.
If you knew how many of our starters sit in the back of class, talking amongst each other, on their phones, and fail classes you might have a new perspective on increasing the demands of their schedules. It's sad and, as a fan, scary.
Not really true either. Most athletes that run track, when playing football get less less injuries for a variety of reasons. Additionally, track injuries are rarely serious and there are virtually no injuries involving contact or lateral movement
Please link or list evidence that track provides some kind of protective benefit. Track is a sport of maximal intensities. Participation in track by football players will most likely increase the number of injuries.
