Most youth and high school tryouts now borrow the same format college and NFL scouts use: a 40-yard dash, a pro agility shuttle, a vertical jump, a broad jump, and sometimes a bench press or push-up test. Coaches use these numbers to sort a crowded field quickly, so a kid who’s never practiced the actual drills can test poorly even if they’re a good football player.
This guide breaks down every core combine drill, how to train for each one in the weeks before tryouts, and — since it’s one of the hardest numbers to find real data on — what an actual good 5-10-5 shuttle time looks like at each level, from middle school through the NFL. None of this requires a private trainer or expensive equipment; cones, a stopwatch, and a few weeks of focused work go a long way.
Quick Answer
To improve combine results for youth tryouts, practice the exact drills being tested — 40-yard dash starts, the pro agility (5-10-5) shuttle, vertical and broad jumps, and the 3-cone drill — two to three times a week for at least three to four weeks, paired with basic bodyweight and light-resistance strength work. A competitive 5-10-5 shuttle time for a middle-school-age boy is roughly 5.2 seconds or faster; for high schoolers, roughly 4.75 seconds or faster. Technique and repetition of the specific movement patterns matter as much as raw fitness, since first-time test-takers usually lose time to poor starts and footwork, not lack of speed.
Know the Tests: The Core Youth Football Combine Drills
Most youth and high school combines run a version of the same five or six stations used at the college and NFL level. The 40-yard dash measures straight-line speed and is often broken into a 10-yard split to isolate first-step quickness, which matters more than top-end speed for linemen and skill positions alike.
The pro agility shuttle (5-10-5) tests change of direction: sprint 5 yards to one side and touch the line, sprint 10 yards the other way and touch that line, then sprint back 5 yards through the start. The vertical jump measures lower-body power using a jump-and-reach board or vane device. The broad jump (standing long jump) measures explosive leg power from a static stance — the athlete must land balanced without stepping forward, or the jump doesn’t count. Some combines add a bench press or max push-ups for upper-body strength, scaled to age, and many now include the 3-cone drill (an L-shaped course that adds even more change-of-direction demand on top of the shuttle’s own two turns). Ask the organizer for the exact station list before you start training — a kid who drills the wrong shuttle pattern or skips broad jump practice entirely is giving away easy points.
How Fast Is a Good 5-10-5 Shuttle Time? Benchmarks by Age and Level
There’s surprisingly little verified data on shuttle times broken out by exact age, but performance testing groups do track them by competitive level, which tracks closely with age since most kids move from middle school to high school programs in step with their birth year. For boys playing football, laser-timed averages generally run: middle school, about 5.20–5.50 seconds, with 5.00–5.19 considered good and sub-4.80 elite for that age group; high school, about 4.75–5.10 seconds average, with sub-4.30 elite; college, about 4.40–4.70 seconds average; NFL, about 4.25–4.55 seconds average.
Two caveats matter more than the exact numbers. First, position changes the baseline — skill players like receivers, defensive backs, and running backs typically run 0.20 to 0.50 seconds faster than linemen at the same level, so a lineman shouldn’t compare his time directly to a slot receiver’s. Second, timing method changes the number: hand-timed results (a coach with a stopwatch, which is how most youth combines actually run) tend to read 0.15 to 0.25 seconds faster than electronic laser timing, since a human reaction to the athlete’s movement is quicker than an athlete triggering an electronic gate. If your kid’s youth combine hand-times a 4.9, that’s roughly equivalent to a 5.05–5.15 laser time — still solidly in the middle-school-average range, not automatically “slow.”
Speed and Agility Drills That Transfer to the Combine
For the 40-yard dash, the biggest gains for young athletes come from cleaning up the start, not just running more sprints. Practice the three-point (or two-point) stance start, drive out low for the first 10 yards, and time that 10-yard split separately — most youth athletes leave more time on the table in the first two seconds than anywhere else in the run. Resisted starts (a light band held by a partner, or sprinting up a gentle incline) build that first-step drive without teaching bad habits.
For the shuttle run, walk through the footwork slowly before adding speed: plant the outside foot, keep the hips low, and use short choppy steps to decelerate before each direction change rather than one long stride. For the vertical and broad jumps, practice the actual jump-and-land mechanics — a controlled arm swing, a quick dip into the hips, and a full extension through the ankles — rather than just doing generic box jumps. Landing balanced matters as much as jump distance for the broad jump specifically, since an off-balance landing can void the attempt.
The 3-Cone Drill and Other Change-of-Direction Tests
Beyond the 5-10-5, some combines add the 3-cone (L-drill): three cones set 5 yards apart in an L shape, requiring a sprint, a tight turn, a weave through the middle cone, and a full loop back around it. It’s a better predictor of on-field cutting ability than the straight-line 40, which is why skill-position and defensive back evaluators weight it heavily. A simple lateral shuffle-to-sprint pattern and a cone weave (five cones, 5 to 8 yards apart, run in a zigzag with a ball in hand) build the same footwork and are easy to set up in a backyard or park with a handful of cones — no formal drill station required to start practicing the pattern.
A simple two-to-three-day-a-week plan works well: one day focused on acceleration and jump mechanics, one day on shuttle and 3-cone patterns, and one day combining both at lighter volume in the week leading into tryouts so legs are fresh on test day.
Strength Training: Keep It Age-Appropriate
You don’t need a heavy lifting program to test well — functional strength and body control matter more than added muscle mass at youth ages. Youth strength and conditioning guidance from the National Strength and Conditioning Association emphasizes starting with bodyweight movements and light resistance (bands, light dumbbells, medicine balls), teaching proper technique before adding load, keeping training volume low, and using qualified supervision — adult lifting programs and philosophies shouldn’t simply be scaled down for kids, since younger athletes are still developing physically.
Good building blocks for combine performance include bodyweight squats, lunges, push-ups, planks, and med-ball throws for rotational power. These improve the same explosiveness that shows up in the vertical jump, broad jump, and 40-yard start without the injury risk of heavy barbell work for a preadolescent or early-adolescent athlete. Two to three sessions a week is enough; more isn’t better at this age, and recovery matters as much as the work itself.
Tips and Common Mistakes
Warm up properly before every training session and on test day itself — a dynamic warm-up (leg swings, high knees, lateral shuffles, a few build-up strides) reduces injury risk and improves the first couple of reps, which matters when you only get one or two combine attempts. Don’t try to peak too early: back off volume in the final few days before tryouts so legs feel fresh rather than fatigued.
Avoid learning a drill’s footwork for the first time on test day — practicing the exact pattern (stance, touch points, direction changes) removes the hesitation that costs most first-timers their best time. Finally, don’t skip the strength and mobility work in favor of only running sprints; a stronger, more stable base is what lets speed and jump numbers actually improve over a training block instead of plateauing.
youth football combine drills and shuttle time benchmarks FAQs
How long should a kid train before a football combine or tryout?
Three to four weeks of focused, consistent practice (two to three sessions a week) is enough to see real improvement in start technique, shuttle footwork, and jump mechanics, even without adding much raw fitness.
What drills are actually tested at a youth football combine?
Most youth combines run some combination of the 40-yard dash, the pro agility (5-10-5) shuttle, the vertical jump, the broad jump, and sometimes a push-up or bench press test and a 3-cone drill. The exact list varies by organizer, so ask ahead of time.
What is a good 5-10-5 shuttle time for a 12-year-old?
For a middle-school-age boy, a hand-timed 5-10-5 in the roughly 5.0-to-5.2-second range is solidly average to good; sub-4.8 is considered elite for that level. Girls and different timing methods (hand vs. laser) shift these numbers, and position matters — skill players tend to run faster than linemen at the same age.
Is the 5-10-5 shuttle the same drill as the pro agility test?
Yes — “5-10-5 shuttle” and “pro agility test” refer to the same drill: a 5-yard sprint to one side, a 10-yard sprint the other way, and a 5-yard sprint back through the start, used to measure change-of-direction speed.
Do you need a private trainer to prepare for a football combine?
No. Cones, a stopwatch, and a few weeks of focused practice on the exact tested movements — starts, shuttle footwork, jump mechanics — closes most of the gap for a first-time test-taker. A trainer can refine technique further, but isn’t required to see meaningful improvement.
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