Sports Performance Coach Bill Welle counts Cris Carter, Larry Fitzgerald and Randy Moss among his clients.

In fact, he’s trained Fitzgerald, who will enter his 14th NFL season, since high school.

Known more for his hands than his wheels, Fitzgerald learned more about sprinting from Welle because they’ve worked together so long. In fact, Welle’s greatest challenge are the seasoned college and professional athletes looking for quick results. 

“If you give me a 21-year-old who has been running a certain way for 20 years, he’s harder to fix,” says Welle, founder of Wellefast Elite Sports Training. “Give me someone who is 8, 9 or 10, and you’re going to see greater improvement because they learn and adapt quickly.”

Speed doesn’t equal skill, of course, but it’s an asset coveted in the NFL. That’s why the NFL Combine has become an event in and of itself, and the showcase is the 40-yard dash, which is critically important for players who play receiver, running back, cornerback, safety and quarterback. Even linebackers or tight ends who clock exceptional times often get drafted much higher than projected.

Speed Performance Coach Tom Shaw’s clients have recorded seven of the 10 fastest times ever in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine. Chris Johnson, who trained with Shaw, had the fastest time (4.24 seconds) until John Ross of Washington posted a 4.22 in March.

Shaw is baffled why he speaks to so many parents who are willing to invest so much money in specific skills — hitting, throwing, shooting — but not the most fundamental one.

“They’ll pay thousands and thousands of dollars to go to a hitting coach but not a dime for speed work,” says Shaw, a former speed and conditioning coach with the New England Patriots. “They don’t think speed is important.

“But speed changes every game.”

Given his reputation, many college athletes preparing for the NFL Combine train with Shaw at his facility at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando. 

Shaw, though, estimates that half of those athlete athletes — virtually all of them who play Division I football — have poor sprinting technique. With all of his athletes, Shaw emphasizes stride frequency and stride length.

He notes that cornerback Dri Archer runs the 40-yard dash in 18 strides. Receiver Calvin Johnson, meanwhile, runs the 40 in 17 strides. 

Archer is 5 foot 8, Johnson 6 foot 5.

“The average Olympic sprinter’s stride length is 6 foot 6 inches,” Shaw says. “Usain Bolt’s is farther, which is why he can run away (from competitors) toward the finish line. He has frequency and length.”

Shaw wants clients to be explosive and powerful.

To see whether it's effective and useful, I requested Welle put my two children — Elijah is 9, Zarah is 6 — through a speed training session. After a warm-up, Welle asked them to sprint half the length of a basketball court at 43 Hoops, a basketball and volleyball facility in Hopkins.  

Welle times each of them, but he focuses more on their technique. He then shows them different exercises that are both challenging and engaging.

He has them grab a knee then fall forward, giving them the sensation of exploding rather than running. He shows them what to do with their arms, telling them they to picture putting their favorite candy bar in their mouth with each pump.

And he has them lean against a wall, drive one knee forward and flex the back leg, strengthening the hips and glutes. 

“The difference between good and great is inches, millimeters."
                                             - Sports Performance Coach Bill Welle

Speed-training young athletes is a part of Welle’s business but should be bigger, he says.

“Part of it is educating the general population the importance of these fundamentals,” Welle says. “The difference between good and great is inches, millimeters. But for young kids, because they’ve never done this before, you see improvement so quickly, and they adapt so quickly.”

Shaw believes he can help any athlete — whether an offensive linemen or running back — get faster, especially those lacking confidence. 

“If you’ve been told your whole life, ‘You’re slow, you’re slow, your lead-footed,’ ” Shaw says, “then you will believe it. 

“But once you figure out that you can run you think, ‘Oh, I’m not as bad,’ ” Shaw says. “Everyone can run better.”