Abstract
Achieving longitudinal improvement among Division I collegiate football players is a key goal. Research indicates that improvements are typically noted in successive years of involvement in a program. Understanding how athletes sprint speed changes across time in a program may inform how coaches, trainers and athletes design and implement effective training and conditioning strategies. PURPOSE: To investigate the longitudinal progression of sprint speeds in collegiate football players across two seasons. METHODS: As a secondary analysis from the HAMIR study, this study utilized timing gate technology to measure sprint speed, with sensors placed at the 0, 45, and 60-yard markers on the field. Offensive and defensive linemen sprinted 45 yards, while athletes in all other positions sprinted 60 yards. Sprint times were recorded when the player crossed the initial sensor and stopped when they passed either the 45- yard or 60-yard sensor, depending on their respective position. RESULTS: Two separate paired t-tests were performed for the linemen and the rest of the athletes. Linemen were significantly slower in mean sprint times from the first to the second year (6.07 s to 6.57 s, a difference of 0.50 s, p = 0.009). Similarly, all other athletes slowed in mean sprint times from the first to the second year (7.24 s to 7.45 s, a difference of 0.21 s, p = 0.017). CONCLUSION: Sprint times slowed f rom year one to year two. Not only was this decrease statistically significant but also practically significant, as this could be the difference between successfully completing a play or not. Although speculative, possible reasons for this are participants did not run through the gates before achieving the gates distance or had apathy regarding this measurement. Alternatively, a change in strength and conditioning staff may have contributed to this finding. For example, a shift to training explosive bursts of speed rather than the longer distance runs measured in this study. Other researchers reported findings supporting this notion with improvements in the bench press, vertical jump, and squat strength, but not speed or agility in D lll football players. These findings may suggest that whilst strength and power improvements are attainable over a player's career, speed and agility may be more difficult.
Recommended Citation
Glissmeyer, Colton; Wilwand, Malorie; Mortensen, Bartley B.; and Johnson, Aaron W.
(2024)
"Sprint Speed Decreased Between Two Successive Seasons in Division l Football Athletes,"
International Journal of Exercise Science: Conference Proceedings: Vol. 14:
Iss.
4, Article 43.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/ijesab/vol14/iss4/43