ArenaGear University · Football Testing

How to Time a 40-Yard Dash Accurately (and Why Hand Timing Gets It Wrong)

The 40 is the most-quoted number in football testing, and one of the most often mis-measured. Here's how to get a time you can defend.

Why hand-timed 40s are fast

A stopwatch 40 depends on two human reactions: starting the watch when the athlete moves and stopping it when they cross. Timers tend to start late and stop early, so hand times usually come out faster than electronic times, commonly estimated at around two-tenths of a second or more. Two timers watching the same rep often disagree. That's why a hand-timed "4.4" may be a 4.6 on electronic timing, and why recruiters discount self-reported times.

Electronic gates vs a stopwatch

How to set up the 40

1. Measure it. Mark exactly 40 yards. A few inches off changes the time.
2. Start gate on the start line, finish gate at 40. Mount both at about waist height so the beam triggers near the athlete's center of mass, not a hand or foot. ArenaGear gates are self-aligning, so there's nothing to aim.
3. Add split gates if you want 10- and 20-yard splits. The 10-yard split tells you about acceleration; the fly segments tell you about top speed.
4. Pick a consistent start. Use the same stance and start method every time, whether the athlete's first movement breaks the start beam or you use a hand start. Consistency matters more than any single method.
5. Give every athlete the same number of attempts and record every rep, not just the best one.

Keep athletes safe at the gate

In a three-point stance, an athlete's head is low and close to the start gate. ArenaGear uses an eye-safe infrared beam, never a Class 3R laser, so there's no eye-safety concern at the start line. Why that matters.

Make the time count

• Video proof: the gates start and stop video automatically, and each clip carries a security watermark of the athlete's name and time.
• Live results: parents and scouts can follow a live leaderboard on any device.
• History: TEAMS, our free cloud data management service, tracks lifetime records, consistency and trends, with exports sorted by class, athlete or drill.
• Projection: free AI athlete profiling projects position fit, recruitment chances and national ranking.

ArenaGear is the most cost-effective professional timing system on the market, used by thousands of schools and professional teams.

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