The short answer
The average 40-yard dash for a 13-year-old is about 5.7 seconds for boys and 6.2 for girls, hand-timed. A good time at 13 is under 5.4 for boys and 5.9 for girls. The fastest 13-year-olds run 4.7 to 4.9 and 5.1 to 5.3 on a hand watch, which is roughly 5.0 and 5.4 on a laser.
Key takeaways
- Typical 13-year-olds: 5.5 to 6.0 for boys, 6.0 to 6.5 for girls, hand-timed
- Eighth-grade football combines are where most 13-year-olds get their first serious 40
- Under 5.1 for a boy or 5.6 for a girl is a fast time for the age
- Boys drop about two tenths a year from 12 through 16; 13 to 14 is where maturity starts splitting the field
- A 40 under 5.0 at 13 usually goes with a 100m in the 12.5 to 12.8 range
What is the average 40-yard dash for a 13-year-old?
The 40 gets serious at 13 because eighth-grade football does. Youth combines, high school camps and middle school testing days all time the 40, and for a lot of boys it is the first number a coach has ever attached to them. Among 13-year-olds who get timed, the typical boy runs about 5.7 seconds and the typical girl about 6.2.
The boys' number is starting to separate by maturity. A 13-year-old who has had his growth spurt can already run 5.2; one who has not is often still at 6.0 with the same effort. Neither number predicts much about where they will be at 16. The tiers below describe the age as a whole.
40-yard dash benchmarks at age 13 (hand-timed)
| Tier at age 13 | Boys | Girls |
|---|---|---|
| First timed 40, no sprint training | 6.1 - 6.6 | 6.6 - 7.1 |
| Typical (plays a running sport) | 5.5 - 6.0 | 6.0 - 6.5 |
| Good (top quarter of the age) | 5.2 - 5.4 | 5.7 - 5.9 |
| Fast (top 5 percent) | 4.95 - 5.1 | 5.4 - 5.6 |
| Elite for the age | 4.7 - 4.9 | 5.1 - 5.3 |
Hand time versus laser time
Every number on this page is hand-timed from the athlete's first movement, the way a coach with a stopwatch at practice does it. Laser or electronic timing, the NFL combine standard, starts the clock earlier and reads about 0.2 to 0.3 seconds slower for the same run. A hand-timed 4.8 is roughly a laser 5.0.
Source: NFL Scouting Combine timing procedure; coaching practice
Ages 12, 13 and 14 side by side
Boys keep falling two tenths a year at the typical level, but 13 to 14 is the year the early developers pull away from the late ones. Girls are also dropping about two tenths a year here; the flattening comes later, from 15 on.
The 40-yard dash at 12, 13 and 14
| Level | Age 12 (B / G) | Age 13 (B / G) | Age 14 (B / G) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical | 5.9 / 6.4 | 5.7 / 6.2 | 5.5 / 6.0 |
| Good for the age | 5.5 / 5.9 | 5.3 / 5.8 | 5.1 / 5.6 |
| Elite for the age | 4.95 / 5.3 | 4.8 / 5.2 | 4.65 / 5.05 |
What is a good 40-yard dash for a 13-year-old boy?
Under 5.4 is good. Under 5.1 is fast enough to be noticed at a high school camp as an incoming freshman. The elite 13-year-olds run 4.7 to 4.9 hand-timed, and those boys are usually also running the 100m in the 12.0 to 12.5 range at USATF 13-14 meets. A boy in the typical 5.5 to 6.0 band has nothing wrong with him; he has not been taught to start, and that alone is worth a tenth or two.
What is a good 40-yard dash for a 13-year-old girl?
Under 5.9 is good for a 13-year-old girl and under 5.6 is fast. The elite girls run 5.1 to 5.3. Girls at this age often gain speed from a better start rather than from strength, because the strength gains that boys are about to get do not arrive for girls in the same way. A girl who learns to drive out of the first three steps instead of standing up will usually find two tenths without getting any stronger.
How these numbers were built
- Population. Athletes who were timed in a 40 at a practice, combine or testing day, drawn from published youth combine results, high school testing data and coaching records. A child who has never sprinted from a stance is usually slower than the first-time row.
- Typical band. The middle 50 percent of that population for the age, rounded to a tenth.
- Good, fast, elite. Roughly the top 25 percent, top 5 percent and top 0.5 percent of the age.
- Timing. Hand-timed from first movement. Subtract nothing; if your time came from a laser, take about 0.25 off before you compare it here.
- Cross-check. The bands were checked against the same athletes' 100m times using the standard 40-to-100m relationship, so a 5.0 boy and a 12.8 100m boy land in the same tier.
From 5.7 to 5.3 at 13
- Start position. Weight over the front hand, hips higher than the shoulders, and a first step that lands under the body rather than out in front.
- Ten yards of drive. Stay at a lean through the fourth or fifth step. Popping upright early is the single biggest time cost at this age.
- Short, fast ground contacts. A 13-year-old who overstrides looks smooth on video and is slow on the clock.
- One clip from the side. The pop-up, the overstride and the arm cross are all visible in the first fifteen frames. Seeing it beats hearing about it.