GW Field Guide // Straight Comparison
Walk speed vs half speed vs full speed
| Decision point | Walk speed | Half speed (the dead zone) | Full speed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Does it teach the play | Yes. Assignments, alignments, keys, footwork and read progression all install at a walk. | Yes, but no better than a walk did, and the reps get sloppier as tempo rises. | Yes, and it is the only tempo that also rehearses game timing. |
| Does it build speed | No, and it is not trying to. | No. This is the whole problem. It sits above recovery pace and below the intensity that develops anything. | Yes. This is the only tempo that develops speed. |
| What it costs the nervous system | Close to nothing. The direction is well established. The brief states no measured percentage for walk pace versus full speed, so treat it as near baseline, not as a number. | Real cost with nothing bought against it. High-CNS work needs more than 48 hours for full neural recovery, and this tempo starts drawing on that account without earning anything. | The highest cost on the field, and the one you plan the rest of the week around. |
| Can you run it the day before a game | Yes. This is the true walkthrough. | No. Worst option on the board on a Thursday or a Friday. | Only if you commit: head coach on board, 60 minutes or less, 10 to 12 reps. Otherwise do the opposite. |
| Effect on Friday legs | Protects them. | Taxes them, and nobody logs the tax. | Sharpens them if the dose is small and costs them if it is not. |
| Who polices the tempo | Somebody has to be assigned or it drifts up. | Nobody, which is exactly how a period ends up here. | The clock and the rep count police it for you. |
| What it costs you in equipment and heat | Lowest. Helmets can come off where the rules allow, flat shoes on grass, and the block can be short and shaded. | Same standing time, same heat, plus the running. | Short by design, so the exposure window is small. |
| Can you hide extra work inside it | Yes. A squat, a step and a lunge through three planes fit in the block for free, and backups can shadow the rep on the sideline. | No. Everyone is working hard enough that nothing else fits. | No. The rep is the work. |
| Where it belongs in the week | The low day, on purpose, defended. | Nowhere. | Two or three days, spaced, never back to back. |
| What it costs to run | A whistle and somebody willing to say "walk" out loud. | Free to schedule and expensive to own. | Costs the most and returns the most. |
The verdictWalk it or run it. There is no third tempo worth having. If the period is on the sheet to teach, then it is a walk and you say so out loud before it starts. If it is on the sheet to build speed, then it is full speed, it is short, and everybody knows the rep count before they line up. Half speed is the tempo of a coach who never made the decision, and your kids pay for that indecision in October.