I have had the opportunity this summer to work with an NFL hopeful. Armand Robinson is a local product, graduating from Reynoldsburg, and moving on to Miami (OH). He is a slot receiver who holds the single game reception record at Miami and fourth on their list for receptions and receiving yards in a season. Unfortunately, Armand was not drafted in this past year’s draft, but there is a pretty good chance that he will be invited to some NFL camps in hopes of making a team.

I was contacted by Armand’s agent to keep him in shape so that when this NFL lockout ends, he will be ready to go. We wanted him to improve his speed so he can run faster and get quicker on the field. If you have been training with us this summer, you might have had the chance to train along side him and get to know him. Armand has something to prove, so he has been working pretty hard in our workouts to optimize his potential and get him running as fast as he can. That hasn’t gone unnoticed by the younger athletes that I work with. If they think they are working hard, they watch Armand and realize that they might have another gear to shift to when it comes to training.

Armand’s workout is more than what my average client is doing with me. All of our clients get a basic strength program when they start speed training with us. This is optional and they do on their own time. I personalized this program for Armand, so he can strength train outside of here and I give him an updated schedule each week.

He then makes it to the facility three times a week for speed training and conditioning. So he is doing our normal speed workout, but I am also putting him through a conditioning component that I don’t do with other clients primarily because my purpose with most clients is getting them faster. With Armand, I have to get him faster, but in great shape for NFL camps he might attend.

Armand is at the highest level an athlete can be at, so the speed training I get to do with him, I don’t usually get to do with a lot of my clients. I can put him through speed drills and plyometrics that are more advanced, but his body can handle. It has been fun getting the chance to do these things with him and also so other clients can see what they might be able to look forward to as they get older.

Here is a video that shows Armand using our speed sled. The weight he has on is more than any athlete we have had who wants to improve speed. Watch how he powers through his run with the sled attached to him:

The conditioning has also been fun for me. I don’t do this with most clients, but my knowledge of conditioning different sports is quite extensive. I’m always amazed at the old school approach most high school and youth coaches put their athletes through. The same passed down conditioning drills. Their are better ways to get your kids in shape.

One of those ways for football is pattern running. Football has many different positions, but the energy demands are different for each position. Are you really going to condition an offensive lineman the same way you condition a wide receiver? So, what I do is put together about 6 patterns that Armand would run in a game. They are all of various distances. He runs 6 to one side of the field then the other side and then rests for a certain time frame. He runs each pattern at full speed and then jogs back to the line of scrimmage. We did 5 circuits of these the other day in 90 degree heat in a span of about 12-14 minutes and Armand was spent. A great conditioning tool.

I wanted to introduce you to Armand and have you keep an eye out for him when this lockout ends. Obviously, I will keep you informed as to how he does. He’s a great kid with some good talent and hopefully some team will recognize that talent and give him a chance. You can follow Armand on twitter at @armandrobinson.

If you would like to read more about the speed sled I talked about in this video, you can click here for that information and to purchase it.