What’s the Most Accurate Way to Time a 40-Yard Dash?

Why the 40 Matters

Every football coach knows the 40-yard dash is the headline test. It’s not the only thing that matters, but it’s the number everyone talks about. For athletes, shaving even a tenth of a second off their 40 can change how scouts, coaches, and programs see them.

But here’s the issue: timing the 40 accurately isn’t as simple as it looks.

Hand Timing: The Old Standby

Most coaches still hand-time the 40. It’s quick, cheap, and everyone has a stopwatch.

The problem? It’s not accurate.

• Human reaction when starting/stopping adds ±0.1–0.2s.

• Coaches often anticipate the start and stop early.

• That’s why a “4.4 hand-timed” athlete often runs a 4.6–4.7 electronically.

Hand times are fine for a rough baseline, but they’re not a true reflection of performance.

Laser Gates: A Step Up (with Issues)

Laser systems are more common at combines and showcases. They’re better than stopwatches, but they’re not perfect.

• A hand, knee, or head can break the beam and stop the clock early.

• Setup takes time, and accuracy depends on consistent positioning.

• They don’t always handle large groups well when multiple players are cycling through.

They look precise, but in practice you sometimes walk away questioning the numbers.

The NFL Combine Standard

At the NFL Combine, the 40-yard dash is timed with a fully electronic system — often a combination of laser start/finish with video/photo confirmation.

This gives millisecond accuracy and removes human bias. But the setup is expensive, requires specialized staff, and isn’t something most coaches or schools can realistically replicate.

It’s the gold standard — but it’s not practical for everyday training.

What Coaches Actually Need

For daily practice and testing, the goal isn’t Olympic-level precision — it’s consistency and repeatability.

• Use the same setup every session.

• Make sure the timing method measures the same thing each time.

• Focus on whether the athlete is improving, not on chasing combine-level precision.

Consistency makes the data meaningful. If you can track progress reliably over time, you’ll know if training is working.

Practical Takeaways for the 40

• Stopwatch → Quick but inaccurate (expect times ~0.1–0.2s too fast).

• Lasers → More accurate but can misfire.

• NFL-style electronic systems → Perfect but not realistic for most.

• Best practice → Pick a method you can use consistently, session after session, so athletes trust the numbers and you can measure real progress.

Final Thoughts

So what’s the most accurate way to time a 40-yard dash?

• For the NFL Combine → fully electronic systems with video/photo backup.

• For everyone else → a consistent, repeatable method that removes as much human error as possible.

At the end of the day, athletes don’t just need a “fast time.” They need a time they can trust, and a system that shows whether their hard work is paying off.