Dynamic warm-up
Hips, ankles, hamstrings. Cutting on cold ankles is how you end up on the sideline in a boot.
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Running back training
Vision · cuts · burst
Vision, cuts, burst, balance. Off-season work built on drills developed while training Division 1 running backs.
5.0 from 11 Google reviewsFirst session $0From $30 a month
[ 01 ] Vision and burst
What is running back training?
Elite Speed runs off-season running back training in Granite City, Illinois, built on drills developed while training Division 1 running backs. You work vision, cutting on a dime, burst through the hole, balance through contact and pass-catching footwork. It runs $120 to $240 a month, and the first session is free.
According to the IHSA, Week 1 of the 2026 Illinois high school football season falls on August 20 to 22, and the regular season runs nine weeks before the playoffs open on October 23. The work on this page belongs to the months before that.
A run is decided in about a second and a half. You read the hole, you plant, you get skinny, you get hit, and you either fall forward or you are still going. Nobody at practice slows that down and coaches it. They just run the play again.
Here it gets slowed down. Then it gets sped back up until it is the same at full speed.
What you work on
- Vision. Reading the hole late instead of committing early. Shoulders square so two options stay open. Eyes up the moment you clear traffic.
- Cutting on a dime. One hard plant, no gathering, no stutter. The cut costs you speed only if the mechanics are bad.
- Burst through the hole. Getting back to full speed in two steps after the cut. This is the gap between four yards and forty.
- Balance through contact. Pad level, base, and running through an arm tackle instead of stopping at it.
- Pass-catching footwork. Getting out of the backfield clean, tracking the ball, and turning upfield without wasting a step.
Under all of it, the same speed foundation every athlete in this building gets: footwork, running form, and the first three steps out of a stance.
[ 02 ] Why the off-season
You cannot rebuild a cut in October
In season you are sore, you are game-planning, and every rep costs you something on Friday. That is the wrong time to change how you move. Your body defaults to the habit it already has.
The off-season is when a new plant foot has time to become the one you use without thinking. Elite Speed positions running back training as off-season work for that reason, using drills developed while training Division 1 running backs.
It runs indoors on turf. February does not cancel a session, and neither does rain in April.
[ 03 ] Warm-up to burst
Cut, read, finish forward
Warm-up, change of direction, vision off a live front, contact balance. Nothing here is run for a stopwatch number.
Footwork and change of direction
Plant, redirect, accelerate. Five-ten-five and three-cone patterns run for mechanics, not for a stopwatch number.
Vision and read work
Bags and cones set as a front. Read it at speed, pick the crease late, get skinny through it, eyes up on the other side.
Contact balance
Pad level, base, and finishing forward. You learn to run through a hand on your shoulder instead of stopping at it.
Hands out of the backfield
Release, check-down routes, tracking the ball over your shoulder, turning upfield without losing a step.
[ 04 ] Questions
Backs ask these
What does running back training at Elite Speed cover?
Five things: vision, cutting on a dime, burst through the hole, balance through contact, and pass-catching footwork. Those are the skills that decide whether a four-yard run becomes a fourteen-yard run. Elite Speed trains them as movement problems you can practice, not as instincts you either have or do not have.
Is running back training an off-season program?
Yes. Elite Speed positions running back training as off-season work, using drills developed while training Division 1 running backs. The off-season is when you can change how you move, because you are not recovering from a game every Saturday. It runs on indoor turf, so winter does not cancel it.
Can vision really be trained?
Vision is mostly eyes and patience, and both are trainable. You practice reading a hole late instead of committing early, keeping your shoulders square so two options stay open, and getting your eyes up the second you clear traffic. Drills force you to make the read at full speed instead of walking through it.
How much does running back training cost?
Running Back Training at Elite Speed runs $120 to $240 a month depending on how often you train. The first session is free with no commitment, and that free session already includes position-specific football work, so you get a real running back session before anyone pays anything.
I already run track. Do I need this?
Track speed is straight-line speed, and a running back almost never runs in a straight line. This is the other half: planting, cutting, staying low through contact and getting back to top speed after the cut. The two work together, and Elite Speed coaches the sprint mechanics as well.
[ 05 ] Start here
First session is free, and you will do back work in it
Warm up, cut, read a crease, take contact and finish forward. One session tells you whether this is worth your off-season.
5.0 from 11 Google reviewsFirst session $0From $30 a month