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Speed/Power Development

(38) DIFFERENCES IN MOMENTUM AND SPEED PERFORMANCE BETWEEN POSITIONS AMONG DIVISION I COLLEGIATE FOOTBALL PLAYERS

Friday, July 12, 2024
12:30 PM – 2:00 PM East Coast USA Time
Location: Exhibit Hall

    Poster Presenter(s)

  • Drew E. Gonzalez, PhD, CSCS,*D, TSAC-F,*D, SCCC, CISSN, EP-C

    Post Doctoral Research Associate
    Exercise and Sports Nutrition Laboratory, Texas A&M University
    San Antonio, Texas, United States

    • Author(s)

  • TM

    Tommy Moffitt

    Director of Football Strength & Conditioning
    Texas A&M University
    College Station, Texas, United States

  • JJ

    Jeremy Jacobs

    Associate Director of Football Strength & Conditioning/Director of Football Applied Sports Science
    Texas A&M University
    College Station, Texas, United States

  • BM

    Blake McCall

    Assistant Director of Football Strength & Conditioning
    Texas A&M University
    College Station, Texas, United States

  • BM

    Brad Minter

    Assistant Director of Football Strength & Conditioning
    Texas A&M University
    College Station, Texas, United States

  • BS

    Brandon Stegall

    Assistant Director of Football Strength & Conditioning
    Texas A&M University
    College Station, Texas, United States

  • JM

    James Mann

    Clinical Associate Professor
    Texas A&M University
    College Statoin, Texas, United States

Abstract Details:

Background: Collision sports, such as football, are influenced by the relative momentum (i.e., body mass x velocity) of the colliding players. There is evidence that momentum can help discriminate across player levels and positions in collision sports. However, to what extent momentum can be used to distinguish positional differences and player success is unclear.

Purpose: This study determined if time and momentum for sprint and agility drills could be used to delineate between starter and non-starter NCAA Division I college football players.

Methods: Data from 512 collegiate football players who completed the 40-yard dash (40-m), ProAgility (ProA), and L-Drill were analyzed. Momentum was calculated using body mass and the average speed from each test. Players were grouped into three positions: Skill, mid, and big. Data were analyzed with univariate repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Fisher's Least Significant Difference (LSD) post hoc to compare differences in time and momentum between starters and non-starters within each positional group for the 40-m, ProA, and L-Drill. Between-group effect sizes were calculated using Cohen’s d and were interpreted using the Hopkins scale. Partial eta squared (ή2) and observed power were reported for main effect comparisons by position. Receiver Operating Characteristic Curves (ROC) were performed to establish cutoff values to distinguish starters from non-starters. An area under the curve (AUC) less than 0.5 denotes no ability to discriminate between starters and non-starters, while 0.7-0.8 is acceptable, 0.8-0.9 is excellent, and >0.9 is outstanding.

Results: Univariate ANOVA revealed significant differences for both time and momentum between starters and non-starters for all tests in all positions (See Table 1A and 1B), except the big positions during the L-Drill (p=0.06). Significant and poor ROC curves were noted for all tests for time. Significant ROC curves ranging from acceptable to excellent were noted for momentum in the 40-m and ProA tests across positional groups, while near-acceptable ROC curves were noted for the L-drill across all positions (See Table 1C). For 40-m momentum cutoff values of >690.3 kg·m·s-1 and >881.1 kg·m·s-1 were established for starters for the skill and big positions, respectively. In terms of the ProA test, a cutoff value of >385.3 kg·m·s-1 was established for the skill position, while the cutoff values of >428.2 kg·m·s-1 and >493.5 kg·m·s-1 were established for starters for the mid and big positions, respectively.

Conclusions: These findings suggest a greater reliance should be placed on tracking momentum across position groups when considering starter vs. non-starter status. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Coaches can make decisions regarding starting players based on these performance cutoff values for momentum.

Acknowledgements: None