Stephen?Wallace excels in National?Athletic Testing System

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Wallace, in a test of five skills, ranked twelfth in the nation. Stephen's speed, strength and agility were put to the test in 3 combines this spring. One test was put on by Nike in Chicago, while others took place in St. Louis and Decatur.

Wallace excelled at Illinois High School Combine site, winning the triple jump and tying for first in the bench competition.

All testing sites focused on five key football measurements. The forty yard dash requires a 20 yard explosion of rapid acceleration followed by 20 yards of maintaining that speed.

The short shuttle requires quick acceleration and the ability to rapidly and efficiently change direction. Five yards are covered in one direction, the runner touches a line, goes back ten yards in the opposite direction, touches another line and then dashes back in the direction he started five yards to the finish line.

It's hard to be a good football player if you can't change direction, so the 3 Cone drill tests that ability. The third test, the 3 Cone drill, shows an athlete's ability to combine short burst acceleration with change of direction skills.

The fourth test, the standing broad jump, is described this way by the NATS. "The standing broad jump is one of the best test indicators of raw athleticism and explosion. Athletes that excel in this area demonstrate the ability to rapidly accelerate from a stationary position to explode into another player to make a block or tackle. A good score in this test indicates that an athlete may excel in a variety of positions on the field."

Upper body strength and control is the purpose of the 185 pound bench test which determines a football player's skill in the hand-to-hand combat that takes place between offensive and defensive players. The test is simple: bench press 185 pounds as many times as you can.

Stephen's father, Steve Wallace said that perhaps the discipline of "running on your own" was the most demanding part of training. Training also included a Nike-provided training video. Among the surprises was one combine where the parents were not allowed to watch. Steve said they were told, basically, "Drop your kids off. See you later."

Academics are also added into the equation and, when mixed together with his excellence in each of those five areas tested, enabled Stephen Wallace to place 12th among all participants in this year's competition.