How to Get Faster for AFL: Speed Science Every Football Player Needs to Know

Speed is the most sought-after quality in Australian football. It determines whether you beat a player to the contest, whether you run past a defender, whether you get back in time to smother. And unlike most physical qualities, genuine sprint speed is highly trainable — if you train it correctly.

Most footballers do not train speed. They train fitness. There is a significant difference.

WHAT AFL SPEED ACTUALLY REQUIRES

True speed in AFL comes from three components working together:

1. Maximum Velocity — Your top speed over a straight line. Developed through sprint mechanics, stride length, and power output at high speeds.

2. Acceleration — How quickly you reach your top speed from a standing start or change of direction. Driven by force application angle and first-step mechanics.

3. Reactive Agility — Speed in response to an opponent or ball. This requires decision-making speed as much as physical speed.

Most gym-based conditioning programs address none of these specifically. Running laps and doing agility ladder drills will improve your aerobic capacity and coordination — but they will not make you meaningfully faster.

HOW ACE BUILDS AFL SPEED

At ACE Performance, our speed programs begin with a sprint profiling assessment. Using timing gates and force plate data, we measure your acceleration capacity, maximum velocity, and mechanical efficiency. This tells us exactly where your speed is being limited — and where the training investment will produce the biggest return.

From there, programs are built around resisted sprint work, plyometric loading, and technical sprint coaching. Sessions are at the track and in the gym. Progress is measured at regular intervals with objective data.

THE TRAINING MISTAKE MOST FOOTBALLERS MAKE

The most common speed training error is doing too much aerobic work at the expense of neuromuscular speed work. Aerobic fitness and sprint speed are developed through different systems. If every session ends in fatigue, you are never training the neuromuscular system in a fresh state — which is the only state in which true speed adaptation occurs.

Speed sessions at ACE are kept short, with full recovery between efforts. The quality of each rep matters more than the volume.

Book a Sports Performance Testing session at ACE Performance to find out exactly where your speed ranks and what is holding it back. Available at Fairfield, Mt Waverley, and Oakleigh.