We live in a time in which it seems everybody wants something for nothing – or at least as little investment as possible.

We don’t have to hunt for our food. Restaurants will deliver your meals for no extra cost, ordered from the free apps we downloaded.

We’ve lost the appreciation and value of the process. We don’t see the manufacturing, agricultural, farming, shipping, and preparation procedures involved with the food.

We order. It shows up. We eat.

This is not how athletic development works. You are the farmer, and your harvest is predicated on the commitment to your crop.

The fact is this that if developing quick feet were as easy as investing into a $4 speed ladder, most offensive linemen would have them. Put simply, there are no drills, widgets, and gadgets that will magically turn you in to some sort of dancing bear.

What are quick feet?

In a nutshell, quick feet are a representation of movement mastery, meaning you move your body in a seemingly effortless manner.

Some offensive linemen are more genetically gifted and move better than others. Others work diligently at developing efficient movement patterns.

Here’s an example: Jason Peters is a better athlete than Joe Thomas, but Thomas is a better pass blocker than Peters. Why? Thomas has mastered the movement patterns best suited for him to be the most effective player he can be.

Peters has more athletic tools than Thomas, but Peters hasn’t reached that same level of consistency with his craft.

Do you want quick feet like Peters, or do you want Thomas’ consistency as a pass blocker?

(Let it be known, both of these guys are deservedly heading to Canton and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.)

Are quick feet needed?

The answer is a resounding “No.” There are plenty of NFL offensive linemen who don’t have the swiftest of feet. I was one of them.

What’s needed to develop yourself as a player is a more finely-tuned understanding of angles and how to move your body.

You don’t need to be quick. You need to be efficient. Efficiency is developed through constantly working the patterns of the task you are required to execute.

When golfers want to develop a better swing, what do they do? They practice their swing. If a baseball player needs to up his batting average, what does he do? He practices his swing.

When an offensive lineman wants to become a better pass blocker, what does he do? He does ladders and agility drills. You notice the disconnect there? Great swimmers train in the water; they don’t run track to become faster swimmers.

What do you need?

Offensive linemen need power, stability and understanding. Great offensive linemen move with authority. They’re able to explode out of their stance, transfer force, absorb force and stabilize their bodies under the most violent of circumstances.

These attributes are developed in two places:

• The weight room. The basis of all human movement begins and ends with strength. If you aren’t strong, you won’t move well. The next step to enhancing movement capabilities is to increase strength in key places, including lower back, posterior chain and oblique muscles.
• Eating habits. If you truly want quicker feet, commit to eating better. When there’s less of you to move, you will move easier. Fat hasn’t won a fight, ever.

Am I telling you to never use a speed ladder or do agility drills? No. I want you to understand that nothing comes easy.

There’s a line from “A League of Their Own” from Tom Hanks that goes like this: “It’s supposed to be hard. If it were easy, everyone would do it.”

Well, everybody is showing up for speed ladders and agility work. That should tell you all you need to know.

It’s not easy being the last guy in the weight room. It’s not easy making the right food choices. It’s not easy finding the right information when everyone is on Snapchat.

I get it. Your coaches get it. Now it’s time for you to decide what’s important to you.

LeCharles Bentley is a former Pro Bowl center and guard who played six seasons with the New Orleans Saints and Cleveland Browns. Certified in strength and conditioning, sports nutrition, functional movement systems, fascial stretch therapy and Olympic weightlifting, he operates LeCharles Bentley O-Line Performance in Chandler, Ariz., and is Nike’s lead offensive line performance coach.