Drill Clock LogoGrass BackgroundText Box: Timers For High School Athletics? Football, Track and Field, Baseball, Soccer and... Do you take advantage of every opportunity to win? Then you should have Timers in your athletics program! First of all, timers that have been designed to work within an athletic training environment fall into 3 main categories. Each of the 3 is a description of the timers’ intended purpose and operation. This discussion is not meant to be a timer tech brief but simply a basic way to get you thinking about how you might use timers in your training program. #1 is the segment timer. The most common segment timer is a self-contained unit with an outdoor type display of 2 to 4 digits. This unit also has a means to create an audible alert that signals athletes to change to a different part of the routine or drill. These segment timers generally have a means to set a series of “times” or “segments” that each ends with a loud buzzer signal. Some will have as part of their timing routine a timed “rest period” that gives the athletes a break or time to get ready for the next segment in the drill routine. A drill that is run using a segment timer has the advantage of being able to define sections in the drill of higher intensity and mix that in as the routine progresses. Used as the day-to-day drill conductor, the segment timer gives the coach the means to increase the work load over time. The coach can make incremental increases in the routine intensity as training progresses. #2 is the buzzer timer which is simply a loud buzzer that sounds after what is usually a “set” short span of time. These timers will usually have a time set in in increments of 1/10ths of a second with the “time” set less than ten seconds. That’s not to say that there are no uses for 30 seconds or longer but for the most part it is shorter. The method of starting the buzzer timer “time event” can be a handheld switch pressed by the coach, or by an audio trigger that picks up a peak in the ambient sound level to start the timer. Both of these can be of a wireless type and be attached to an athlete or a kicking T for picking up the audio trigger. The buzzer timer can be a great tool for the coach to get a group motivated to sprint that 10 yards before the buzzer sounds or get 5 yards of penetration before the buzzer. How about stealing second base before the buzzer or special teams getting a punt off before the buzzer. If your sport has a “time” factor there are probably dozens of very good places that a buzzer timer will be an incredible motivational tool. #3 is the stopwatch lap timer, we will just call it a lap timer. This is the more critical of the timers because it must have the ability to capture accurate timing of an “event”. The events that the coach and athlete would benefit from could be any part of a competition that is giving the athlete trouble. For instance, the first 5 steps leaving the blocks for a sprinter. “Trapped” time results that can be compared to optimize the athlete’s performance and correct those very small mistakes in technique that add time to your race. In a routine where the teams’ linemen are taking turns going to a “set” stance and then wait for a tone that will signal a “ball snap” and then attacking 5 yards through an imaginary line. Such an offensive or defensive drill can be automated with each athlete seeing how they compare. Improving focus, waiting for the snap (tone) and minimizing false starts or offside penalties. These lap timers will have accessories that will make such automated drills easy to set up. Drills to start the timing cycle would begin when the athlete steps onto a pad switch and then stopping the timed event when he runs through breaking a light beam. That is one scenario of many and you might have a perfect application no one else has thought of! The simple fact is that there are applications for timers in every training program. These aren’t short cuts, these are tools that can be used to enhance the training process. Their roll in training ranges from an always “on” workout partner to being the relentless drill coach that is not going to let you off easy. After all, achieving your goal is just the beginning of training for the next one! Have a great season! Avatar Custom Electronics Text Box: DST-55PKG Segment Timer more info New! DST-55PRO Segment Timer more info New! TR2010 Drill Timer, Buzzer Timer more info TR2012 Lap Timer, Stopwatch more info DST-55PKG Timer InfoDST-55PRO Timer InfoTR2010 Timer InfoTR2012 Lap Timer InfoText Box: DRILLClock Products DRILLClock DST-55PRO TimerDRILLClock Products