Creating Your Personal Stance
An athlete's stance should be comfortable but compact. The young athlete tends to be too comfortable in his/her stance. Your stance should be as compact as you can make it without losing the power of your first step. Do not trade comfort or a compact stance for POWER. Make sure you have as much power as you can generate out of your stance. The 10 yard sprint is a measure of the power of your stance.

Positioning Your Feet
Most professional football players use a sprinter stance with, their front foot about four inches from the starting line. The forward foot should your power foot. (An excellent way to figure out which foot should be forward is by standing straight up and having a friend stand behind you and push you forward. Whichever foot steps should be the back foot.) The back foot should rest in a semi-locked position at the instep of your front foot.

Your Hands and Arms
You should place the hand opposite your forward foot on the line with most of your body's weight rested on that hand. If you are starting with your right foot forward, your left hand should be on the line. (Your power leg is easily determined using the drill mentioned later in this article.) The hand not on the ground should be on your hip. Your arm should be cocked at a 90-degree angle and ready to shoot forward.

Your Body Position
Your butt should be the highest part of your body. Your head should be faced straight ahead; you can look at the ground or at the finish line. Your back should be flat, NOT ARCHED UPWARD!! Your muscles should be relaxed. Relaxed muscles move extremely faster than flexed muscles. Example: Flex your arm at a 90-degree angle and see how fast you can move it. You cannot move it very fast unless you allow it to relax.

Start: Your First Couple Steps
Once you are in your stance you should take a deep breath, let it out and explode forward. Your first step should be an explosion! The arm that starts on the ground should shoot backward. Your first step should be as low to the ground as possible. DO NOT STAND STRAIGHT UP AT THE START! You should attempt to be as close to the ground as possible coming out of your stance. Your first step should be as straight as possible. Any step to the side will cost you valuable time. The start to a 40-yard dash must be an explosion because you are gaining the necessary momentum that will carry you through the 40 yards.

Drills to Help You Create A GREAT Stance and Start To Determine Your Power Leg
Stand straight up, relax, and have a friend stand behind you and push you forward. Whichever leg goes forward should be start back in your stance. The leg that you use to push with is your power leg. That is the leg that should be in front when you are starting.

To Create Your Own Stance
Get down in your 40-yard stance and hold it for 30 seconds. Explode out of your stance and repeat the process. Never stand up out of your stance; this creates bad habits. ALWAYS EXPLODE out of your stance whenever you get into it. Practice your 40-yard stance as much as possible. Create a stance that allows you to get your feet as close to the starting line as possible.

To Explode Out Of Your Stance
Lie on your stomach and have someone blow a whistle. Upon hearing the whistle, push yourself up as fast as possible and explode forward for 10 yards. Practice staying as low to the ground in your initial start as you possibly can.
Lie on your back and have someone blow a whistle. Upon hearing the whistle, roll over to your stomach and explode for 10 yards. Sit on the ground with your legs flat on the ground either facing or with your back to the starting line. Try doing this drill both ways! Have a friend blow a whistle. Upon hearing the whistle, explode of the ground and burst for 10 yards.
Start in a squat position, hold it for five seconds and burst out of the position for 10 yards. Concentrate on taking your first step as straight as you possibly can. Drive your arms and explode for 10 yards. Try this drill both and with your back to the starting line. When doing this drill with your back to the starting line, do a half eagle, turning your entire body around, and burst for 10 yards.

Weightlifting Recommendations to Improve Your Explosion
Power cleans and snatches
Squats
Leg press
One-legged squats (light weight)
Lunges
Hip flexor raises (NO WEIGHT)

Plyometrics Drills to Improve Your Explosion
Do plyometrics on a grass surface and only twice a week. Plyometrics should be done in low reps and with close attention to the proper form.

One-leg frogger jumps 3x15 jumps
Broad jumps 3x5 jumps
Squat thrusts forward 3x15 jumps
Scissor kick lunges 3x15 jumps

Other Drills to Improve Your Explosion
Foot fire for 20 yards
In-and-outs for 20 yards
Speed ladder drills

What the First 10 Yards Tell College Scouts
Most college scouts time the first 10 yards of the 40 to evaluate an athlete's power and quickness. A good 10-yard time tells scouts that an athlete possesses excellent quickness and power as well as the potential to run an extremely fast 40-yard dash. The first 10 yards of a 40 is an excellent indicator of an athlete's feet and burst.

Benefits of Running the First 10 Yards Well
The 40-yard dash is a quick speed burst in which every step and every tenth of a second counts. It is broken down into five phases; the second is the first 10 yards. The first 10 yards are crucial because they account for what should be the slowest portion of the sprint and allow an athlete to create the momentum he/she needs to gain the speed he/she will need to finish the sprint strong. In the first 10 yards of the 40, an athlete can gain the crucial tenths of a second that will make or break his/her time. Athletes who learn to run the first 10 yards well can improve their 40 time by two to five tenths of a second. Think about it: An athlete who runs a 4.8 can drop his/her time to a 4.5 just by improving the first 10 yards of his/her sprint.

Burst
The first 10 yards should be an explosion-it's all about acceleration. An athlete must generate power and speed in these first ten yards by making sure he/she takes the proper steps to gain ground. Try to take 5-6 steps in the first 10 yards of the sprint to gain as much ground as possible while not over-striding. Your steps should be as straight as possible but not too long, because that will cause you to overextend your stride, which can cause such problems as lack of power, a stumble, or a slow initial 10 yards. The first steps of a 40-yard dash must be powerful and fairly compact. Don't take too short steps! Short steps will cost you valuable time and vital energy.

Ten-Yard Times

Speed Athletes
An excellent 10-yard time is anything under 1.6 seconds for speed athletes. Younger athletes will tend to have slower 10-yard times because they do not have the power needed to run a fast time.

The Bigger Athletes
For larger athletes, an excellent 10-yard time is anything under 1.8 seconds. The 40-yard dash was created for the smaller, quicker athletes, but the 10-ard sprint is an excellent measurement for bigger athletes. If you fall under this category, pay extra attention to running a fast 10-yard time.

Drills
Pro agility shuttle (20 yards total)
Sitting arm pumps for five seconds
Speed ladder
Change of direction drills
Falling-forward ten-yard sprints
Squat sprints (NO WEIGHTS)-do a squat and then sprint 10 yards
Squat jumps then sprint 10 yards (NO WEIGHT)
Uphill sprints
Broad jump to a 10-yard sprint