The short answer
The average 40-yard dash for a 15-year-old is about 5.3 seconds for boys and 5.9 for girls, hand-timed. A good sophomore time is under 5.0 for boys and 5.6 for girls. Fast 15-year-olds run 4.65 to 4.8 and 5.1 to 5.3, and the elite for the age run 4.5 to 4.6 and 4.9 to 5.0 on a hand watch.
Key takeaways
- Typical 15-year-olds: 5.1 to 5.6 for boys, 5.7 to 6.2 for girls, hand-timed
- Sophomore year is when a verified laser 40 starts mattering for football recruiting
- Under 4.6 hand-timed at 15 is roughly 4.85 on a laser: not a Division I number yet, but a sophomore there usually gets to a verified 4.6 by junior year, which is
- A 15-year-old girl under 5.3 is usually a state-level 100m sprinter
- Most sophomores lose more time in the first ten yards than in the last thirty
What is the average 40-yard dash for a 15-year-old?
Sophomore year is when the 40 turns into currency. Football camps post laser-timed results, recruiting services start listing verified times, and a 15-year-old who runs a fast one at a camp gets a different set of phone calls. Among 15-year-olds who get timed, the typical boy runs about 5.3 seconds and the typical girl about 5.9, hand-timed.
The important thing to know at 15 is the gap between a coach's stopwatch and a camp laser. The stopwatch flatters by two to three tenths, so a sophomore who runs 4.7 at practice and 4.95 at a camp has done the same run twice. Every row in the table below is hand-timed; the callout under it does the conversion.
40-yard dash benchmarks at age 15 (hand-timed)
| Tier at age 15 | Boys | Girls |
|---|---|---|
| First timed 40, no sprint training | 5.7 - 6.2 | 6.3 - 6.8 |
| Typical (sophomore on a team) | 5.1 - 5.6 | 5.7 - 6.2 |
| Good (top quarter, varsity skill player) | 4.85 - 5.0 | 5.4 - 5.6 |
| Fast (top 5 percent, camp standout) | 4.65 - 4.8 | 5.1 - 5.3 |
| Elite for the age | 4.5 - 4.6 | 4.9 - 5.0 |
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 14, 15 and 16 side by side
The boys' curve is still falling two tenths a year at the typical level and about a tenth at the elite level. The girls' typical time moves about a tenth a year, half the boys' rate, and the girls who beat that rate are the ones doing sprint-specific strength work.
The 40-yard dash at 14, 15 and 16
| Level | Age 14 (B / G) | Age 15 (B / G) | Age 16 (B / G) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical | 5.5 / 6.0 | 5.3 / 5.9 | 5.1 / 5.8 |
| Good for the age | 5.1 / 5.6 | 4.92 / 5.5 | 4.78 / 5.4 |
| Elite for the age | 4.65 / 5.05 | 4.55 / 4.95 | 4.45 / 4.85 |
What is a good 40-yard dash for a 15-year-old boy?
Under 5.0 is good and it is about the line for a starting varsity skill player at most schools. Under 4.8 is fast. The elite 15-year-olds run 4.5 to 4.6 hand-timed, which is roughly 4.75 to 4.85 on a laser. Nobody drives to see a 4.8, but a sophomore running it has the head start that turns into a verified 4.6 a year later, and that one gets watched. A sophomore in the typical band, 5.1 to 5.6, usually has a start problem rather than a speed problem, and fixing the first ten yards is worth more than any amount of top-speed work.
What is a good 40-yard dash for a 15-year-old girl?
Under 5.6 is good for a 15-year-old girl and under 5.3 is fast. The elite girls run 4.9 to 5.0, and almost all of them are running the 100m under 12.6 at the same time. Girls' 40 times at 15 respond well to two things: a proper block-style start and a year of lifting. Neither of those happens by accident, which is why the girls' typical band moves slowly between 14 and 16.
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.
Getting under 5.0 or 5.6 at 15
- Get a laser time. A sophomore who is serious about the number should run a laser-timed 40 at a camp so the benchmark is real.
- Build the drive phase. Five or six steps at a lean, pushing the ground back, before the body comes up. Most sophomores are upright by step three.
- Strength. Trap-bar deadlifts and sled pushes move the 40 more at 15 than sprint drills alone.
- Film every test. Compare the stance and the first five steps against a good model. The fault is almost always visible in the first twenty frames.