Does track hurt football abilities of athletes?

[BillVol]

Does participating in track (instead of Spring football drills) hurt the football abilities of athletes?

I don't think it does. I think an athlete can get enough preparation and reps at his position in Fall drills. I think Spring drills are overkill.

[gh]

I'd love to see spring football eliminated completely, but having said that, I'll grudgingly have to admit that I suspect that if yhou're a QB or wide receiver that there's no such thing as overkill when it comes to honing precise patterns.

[buckeye II]

As someone who has coached both college & HS levels and dealt with football coaches, it is my experience that many cannot give up control of top athletes. Even though they may think highly of the track coaches, it is hard to give up ownership of the athletes' development, particularly if it is you who draws the heat if the athletes do not progress to the uninformed public's standards. Under their own tutelage, they "know" what the athlete is doing. Then there is the film, work on plays, specific training/practice to their position, etc. When you view the big picture, it is a miracle track gets any, even after meeting their FB obligations in the spring.

[Track fan]

At one time football coaches used to encourage all of the speed position athletes to run track in the spring. Even if you were a mediocre player, my coach felt that it encourage overall fitness, which helped your agility. I remember Wayne Gretzky crediting cross country running with helping his endurance while he was a young hockey player.......

[Run DMC]

Football hurts the development of young T&F athletes. They end up with impact injuries and they get bulky from all the roids. It should be banned.

[fieldguy]

i clearly remember tressel saying running hurdles would be a great aid to ted ginn jr. because of the increased height of the college barriers, so it would increase explosiveness, etc.
you can see from the flourishing track career of ted ginn jr how fully that was followed through.