A coach times a 20 m sprint in week one and again in week four. The second time is slower. Did the athlete get slower?
Maybe. Or the start moved half a step, the finish phone got bumped, the first test was on a track and the second on grass, or the athlete ran after a heavy lifting block instead of after the warm-up.
A sprint time is only useful when you compare it with another one. That comparison only works if the test was the same both times. The athlete should be the only thing that changed.
Here is how to set that up with SpeedTrackr Timing Gates.
Timing Gates turns two devices into a start gate and a finish gate. The second gate can be an Android phone, an iPhone, or a laptop. You get one start-to-finish time per rep. It is practice-grade timing for training and testing weeks. It does not give split times and it is not fully automatic timing (FAT) for meets.
Pick one distance and keep it. 20 m is a good default for team sports. 10 m tells you more about the start, 30 m more about getting up to speed. Choose one for the testing block and do not switch halfway through. If you do change the distance, move the finish device to the new line. The app reminds you to do that when you change the distance.
Mark the lines, not just the cones. Tape or a painted line at the start and the finish, measured with a tape measure. Write down where they are so next month's test uses the same spot.
Leave the finish device in one place. Put it on a stand beside the lane, line it up with the finish mark, and do not touch it until the block is done. Most strange times come from a device that moved between reps.
Keep the start the same. Same stance, same distance behind the line, same cue. If one athlete starts from a crouch and another from standing, you are comparing two different tests.
Test at the same point in the session. After the warm-up and before any hard work is the usual choice. Sprints after a lifting session or at the end of practice are a different test.
Use the same surface and similar conditions. Track to grass, or a calm day to a strong headwind, will show up in the time. If you cannot control it, write it down next to the result.
Give full rest and take the best rep. Two or three reps with full recovery between them, and keep the best one for the day. A tired third rep tells you about fatigue, not speed.
Then read the trend, not one result. The first test is the baseline. After that, look at the change over weeks. One slow day is not a lost block. A slower trend over two or three tests is worth a conversation.
If you coach a group, turn on Coach Mode. It is on the web app and on Android. Add athletes in the Squad tab, or type a name when you save a result. Each athlete gets one page with their records, progress and every result, so week four sits next to week one without digging through screenshots.
The Android app is on Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.speedtrackr.reactionpro
For an iPhone or a laptop, use the web app: https://www.speedtrackr.com/auth/login
There is no native iPhone app. iPhone users use the web app.
Before your next testing day, write down five things: the distance, where the lines are, where the finish device sits, the start position, and when in the session you test. Use that same list every time. That list is what makes your times comparable.
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