SIOUX FALLS — In the 12-plus years since Sanford first began hosting its annual high school football combine, the innovation behind it has continued to evolve.It started off rather bare-bones and was driven by necessity in order to allow college coaches to get a fair assessment of potential recruits — all in one venue. From there, the testing was optimized before recruiting workshops were added to the mix for both players and coaches. ADVERTISEMENT In recent years, though, Sanford has established another option designed to best prepare recruits for the multitude of tests they’ll see at the combine.The Elite Training Prep program is a six-week initiative that takes place ahead of the combine in which recruits gather once a week, working with the Sanford Sports Performance team to focus on agility training, speed training, 1-on-1 drills, skelly drills and film analysis.Kurtiss Riggs is the director of the Sanford Sports Football Academy and a key figure behind the orchestration of Sanford's football combine, with this year’s edition slated for Friday, April 25, at the Sanford Fieldhouse.While demand has flourished throughout the years, Riggs says the ETP program first originated to meet that demand and allow recruits to best prepare themselves for the combine setting.“We said, ‘If we can give those kids in the area a distinct advantage to be able to come in and excel in the combine, what a great opportunity,’” Riggs said. “Also, it’s an opportunity to introduce them to Sanford Sports, Sanford Performance, all of those elements they would have in this facility.“It would carry on into their college careers, too.” Kurtiss Riggs talks to the student-athletes prior to the start of the the Sanford Sports Academy High School Football Combine on Friday, April 26, 2024, in Sioux Falls.Trent Singer / Sioux Falls Live College coaches from around the region will once again get the chance to see and meet with potential recruits at this year’s combine. That includes representation from about 28 universities from South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota and Nebraska, with various levels — FCS, Division II, Division III and NAIA — represented at a singular setting, according to Riggs. ADVERTISEMENT Among the FCS programs typically represented at the combine are South Dakota, South Dakota State, North Dakota and North Dakota State.Riggs says the best way to illustrate what the ETP program can offer for recruits is exemplified by Taryn Christion, a Sioux Falls Roosevelt graduate who went on to play four seasons at SDSU.To this day, Christion’s sub 4.6 time in the 40-yard sprint remains the fastest recorded time at the local combine. It was a performance that wooed a number of college coaches, as Christion received multiple offers before he left the Fieldhouse that day.“That’s been the norm now since then,” said Riggs, who expects about 200 participants at this year’s combine. “The college coaches come in, see the kids, and right then, they know, ‘This kid passes the eyeball test. This kid did very well and is someone we want in our program.’” Sioux Falls Jefferson's Isse Ibrahim stretches prior to the start of the the Sanford Sports Academy High School Football Combine on Friday, April 26, 2024, in Sioux Falls.Trent Singer / Sioux Falls Live Training that's 'second to none' This year, the ETP sessions will run once a week on Wednesday evenings, lasting an hour and a half per session.The first session is scheduled for March 12, while the sixth and final session will take place on April 16. A select number of athletes will be organized by position group, and the total cost for the six-week package is $275. ADVERTISEMENT Brad Rilling is the lead strength and conditioning coach on the Sanford Sports Performance team and has been with the organization for 26 years. With a team of about 15 or 16 physiologists, dieticians and performance coaches on staff, Rilling says the resources that are available at the Fieldhouse are “second to none.”“We have the best staff when it comes to performance and coaching and skill development,” Rilling said. “The data we’re collecting for testing is strict and valid, and coaches know that 4.5 is a 4.5. There’s no ifs, ands, whats or buts about it.“We’ve done it for so long that we’ve got a good system and flow in place.” Data collection is an element that also serves as a true differentiator for Sanford when hosting its annual combine.Each year, the results are typically sent to coaches at the FBS level who are unable to attend, but for college coaches in attendance, the data is readily available on site.And as far as the standards for testing, Sanford’s electronic technology has created credibility in which coaches can trust.“The reason they want it is because they know it’s professionally done,” Riggs said. “It’s not enhanced. It’s not by word of mouth. The 40 times don’t throw. It seems like with others, it’s people doing hand-held times, and the times seem to get faster the more they tell people about it. ADVERTISEMENT “This one, it’s locked in. They’ve got the data, and they know how to compare it to all the other athletes.” Through the ETP program, recruits will learn how to best utilize their skills primarily through reps and body-positioning. Participants in the six-week program will run through the same drills they’ll see at the April combine, allowing them to perform to the best of their abilities.With help from the performance coaches on staff, recruits will learn starting techniques for the 40-yard sprint, 10-yard dash and 5-10-5 shuttle, and additionally, they’ll receive some tips on how to maximize explosiveness on the vertical and broad jump.Using film breakdown, performance coaches will also work with recruits in order to make gains in times and measurements.Then, in the final two weeks of the ETP program, a smaller-group setting will be available for an additional cost for those who are interested in concentrating primarily on testing prep.“It’s all about the athlete and the exposure,” Rilling said. “We’ve got the best set of football coaches. We’ve got high school, college and pro coaches in here training with the athletes, and then we’ve got performance coaches that have been around as long as 26 years and have seen a lot of changes and a lot of performance over the years.“Just that experience will make them better, and then we’ll get them some exposure through the coaches that come.” ADVERTISEMENT Dating as far back as the 2022 combine, a collection of the top 40-yard sprint times sorted by linebackers is displayed Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, at the Sanford Fieldhouse in Sioux Falls.Trent Singer / Sioux Falls Live More tools for exposure Jason Dorman is also a part of the sports performance team at Sanford, where he serves as the lead exercise physiologist.Since 2022, Dorman has been collecting data from the high school football combine, tabulating top-10 rankings at each position that helps contextualize top performers and how they stack up historically.This year, each participant’s results at the combine will be collected in a z-score graph, which are commonly used at the NFL Scouting Combine, illustrating strengths and weaknesses and how each participant grades out on a normal distribution curve.But there’s also another tool Dorman plans to provide for participants at this year’s combine.Given the vast nature of today’s recruiting landscape, social media is sometimes the best avenue for recruits to expose themselves to college coaches who might not otherwise know about them. With help from Sanford’s marketing team, Dorman will be providing player card graphics that will be given out to participants once they’ve completed each of their drills at the combine. A sample player card is displayed Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, at the Sanford Fieldhouse in Sioux Falls.Trent Singer / Sioux Falls Live “We would send this to the athlete afterwards, and then they can promote it on their social media pages because we all know they go to their Instagram, X/Twitter accounts to get their numbers out,” Dorman said. “I think it gives them credibility when a coach from a university sees it. ADVERTISEMENT “They know when they come to us that the numbers they’re putting out there are legit. … We take a lot of pride in the testing that we do. It’s very quality controlled. We want to make sure the numbers they’re doing out there really represents their athleticism.”The deadline to register for this year’s ETP program is March 5.Meanwhile, the registration deadline for the high school football combine is April 14. The cost for this year’s combine is between $125-175 based on when participants register. For more information on the combine and to register, visit the Sanford Sports website.

Sanford Sports' Elite Training Prep program offers instruction ahead of annual high school ...

This year, each participant’s results at the combine will be collected in a z-score graph, which are commonly used at the NFL Scouting Combine, illustrating strengths and weaknesses and how each participant grades out on a normal distribution curve.And as far as the standards for testing, Sanford’s electronic technology has created credibility in which coaches […]

This year, each participant’s results at the combine will be collected in a z-score graph, which are commonly used at the NFL Scouting Combine, illustrating strengths and weaknesses and how each participant grades out on a normal distribution curve.And as far as the standards for testing, Sanford’s electronic technology has created credibility in which coaches can trust.

A sample player card is displayed Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, at the Sanford Fieldhouse in Sioux Falls.

To this day, Christion’s sub 4.6 time in the 40-yard sprint remains the fastest recorded time at the local combine. It was a performance that wooed a number of college coaches, as Christion received multiple offers before he left the Fieldhouse that day.ADVERTISEMENT“They know when they come to us that the numbers they’re putting out there are legit. … We take a lot of pride in the testing that we do. It’s very quality controlled. We want to make sure the numbers they’re doing out there really represents their athleticism.”

Sanford Sports' Elite Training Prep program offers instruction ahead of annual high school …

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