What Is a Good 40-Yard Dash Time for a High School Athlete?

The 40-yard dash is one of the most widely used speed tests in high school football and athletic performance testing. From combines and recruiting events to preseason testing and strength and conditioning programs, coaches use the 40-yard dash to evaluate an athlete’s acceleration, speed, and overall athletic performance.

But what is actually considered a good 40-yard dash time for a high school athlete?

There isn’t one number that defines a good 40 time. Age, sport, position, training experience, body size, testing surface, and perhaps most importantly how the 40-yard dash was timed can all significantly affect the result.

Here’s what athletes and coaches should know when evaluating 40-yard dash times.

What Is a Good 40-Yard Dash Time?

For high school athletes, a sub-5.0-second 40-yard dash is generally considered a solid performance, while faster varsity skill-position athletes may run well below that mark.

However, comparing 40-yard dash times without considering the athlete’s position, age, and testing method can be misleading.

A 250-pound lineman and a 170-pound wide receiver should not necessarily be evaluated against the same speed benchmark.

Instead, coaches should consider an athlete’s 40 time alongside factors such as:

• Age and grade level
• Sport and position
• Height and weight
• Training experience
• 10-yard split
• Testing surface
• Start technique
• Timing method

Most importantly, athletes should be compared using consistent testing conditions.

Why Timing Method Matters

One of the biggest problems with comparing 40-yard dash times is that not every 40 is measured the same way.

A hand-timed 40-yard dash requires a coach or evaluator to manually start and stop a stopwatch. Human reaction time can influence both ends of the measurement.

A laser-timed 40-yard dash uses electronic sensors to detect the athlete and record the result automatically.

This removes much of the human reaction-time error from the test and creates a more repeatable measurement.

That means a hand-timed 4.60 and a laser-timed 4.60 should not automatically be treated as equivalent performances.

For coaches trying to monitor athlete development over weeks, months, or seasons, consistency is especially important.

The goal isn’t simply to produce the fastest number. The goal is to produce a number you can trust.

Hand Timing vs. Laser Timing a 40-Yard Dash

Stopwatches remain common because they are inexpensive and easy to use. The problem is repeatability.

Different coaches can record different times for the same sprint because each person reacts slightly differently to the athlete’s start and finish.

Electronic timing systems and laser timing gates reduce this variability.

For a high school strength program, performance facility, football program, or combine, electronic timing provides several advantages:

• More consistent results
• Reduced human timing error
• Easier athlete comparisons
• Better long-term performance tracking
• More credible testing data
• Faster testing when working with large groups

This becomes particularly important when a coach is trying to determine whether an athlete actually improved from 4.82 to 4.76 seconds.

With inconsistent measurement, it can be difficult to know whether that improvement came from the athlete or the stopwatch.

The 10-Yard Split Matters Too

The final 40-yard dash time gets most of the attention, but coaches should also consider the 10-yard split.

The first 10 yards provide insight into an athlete’s acceleration.

This can be particularly valuable for sports such as:

• Football
• Baseball
• Soccer
• Lacrosse
• Basketball
• Track and field

Many athletes rarely reach maximum velocity during competition before they must stop, cut, react, or change direction.

As a result, measuring acceleration alongside total 40-yard dash time can give coaches a more complete picture of an athlete’s speed.

A laser timing system with multiple timing gates can capture the 10-yard split and 40-yard finish during the same sprint.

What Makes a 40-Yard Dash Time “Good”?

Rather than focusing exclusively on one benchmark, coaches should ask three questions.

1. How does the athlete compare with similar athletes?

Compare athletes of similar age, sport, position, and physical profile whenever possible.

2. Is the athlete improving?

An athlete who progresses from 5.10 to 4.95 has made a meaningful improvement even if another athlete runs 4.70.

Tracking performance over time allows coaches to identify these changes.

3. Can you trust the measurement?

A performance number only becomes useful data when the testing process is repeatable.

If the timing method, surface, distance, start procedure, or equipment changes between tests, comparisons become less reliable.

How to Get More Accurate 40-Yard Dash Times

For more consistent 40-yard dash testing, establish a standardized testing protocol.

Use the same:

• Sprint distance
• Starting position
• Timing method
• Timing gate placement
• Surface
• Warm-up protocol
• Rest period

When possible, use an electronic laser timing system instead of relying exclusively on a stopwatch.

Coaches should also save each athlete’s results rather than simply displaying a time and moving on to the next athlete.

That turns an individual sprint into long-term performance data.

Tracking 40-Yard Dash Improvement Over Time

One 40-yard dash tells you how an athlete performed on one day.

Repeated testing tells you whether the athlete is developing.

For example:

Preseason: 4.92 seconds
Midseason: 4.85 seconds
Postseason: 4.79 seconds

That trend is much more valuable to a coach than any single result.

Long-term speed testing can help coaches evaluate:

• Athlete development
• Strength and conditioning programs
• Acceleration improvements
• Return-to-performance progress
• Training interventions
• Seasonal changes
• Individual strengths and weaknesses

This is why modern sports performance testing increasingly combines accurate measurement with athlete data management.

Using Dashr for 40-Yard Dash Testing

Dashr develops laser timing systems and athletic performance testing technology designed to help coaches collect accurate, repeatable performance data.

With Dashr Silver, coaches can electronically time sprint and agility drills without requiring traditional reflectors on the opposite side of the running lane.

For 40-yard dash testing, coaches can build setups that measure the full sprint as well as intermediate splits such as the 10-yard split.

Results can then become part of an athlete’s performance history rather than disappearing after the testing session.

This allows coaches to move beyond simply asking:

“What did you run today?”

and start asking:

“How have you improved?”

40-Yard Dash Testing for High School Football

The 40 remains particularly important in high school football performance testing because different portions of the sprint can reveal different athletic qualities.

The start and early split provide information about acceleration, while later portions of the sprint provide more insight into an athlete’s ability to continue building speed.

For coaches testing an entire football roster, the challenge isn’t simply recording one fast 40.

The goal is to create a testing process that is:

Accurate. Repeatable. Efficient. Trackable.

That allows a coach to test dozens or even hundreds of athletes and maintain useful performance records for future comparison.

So, What Is a Good 40-Yard Dash Time for a High School Athlete?

There is no universal 40-yard dash time that defines a good high school athlete.

A good performance should be evaluated based on the athlete’s age, sport, position, physical profile, and testing method.

More importantly, athletes and coaches should focus on producing accurate and repeatable 40-yard dash times that can be compared over time.

A fast number looks good on a testing sheet.

A reliable performance history tells you whether the athlete is actually getting faster.

Test Speed. Track Progress.

Dashr provides sports performance testing technology for coaches, schools, trainers, combines, and performance facilities looking to accurately measure athlete speed and development.

From the 40-yard dash and 10-yard split to agility, vertical jump, broad jump, and other athletic performance tests, the Dashr ecosystem allows coaches to collect and track performance data in one system.

Learn more about Dashr laser timing systems and start building better athlete performance data.