PERFORMANCE CHANGES DURING A COLLEGE PLAYING CAREER IN NCAA DIVISION III FOOTBALL ATHLETES

    Authors

    J. R. Hoffman; N. A. Ratamess;J. Kang

    Comments

    Authors: contact us about adding a copy of your work at STARS@ucf.edu

    Abbreviated Journal Title

    J. Strength Cond. Res.

    Keywords

    strength; speed; power; agility; sport; SKELETAL-MUSCLE; AMERICAN FOOTBALL; PLAYERS; STRENGTH; POWER; SUPPLEMENTATION; ADAPTATIONS; POSITION; FITNESS; PROGRAM; Sport Sciences

    Abstract

    Hoffman, JR, Ratamess, NA, and Kang, J. Performance changes during a college playing career in NCAA division III football athletes. J Strength Cond Res 25(9): 2351-2357, 2011-The purpose of this study was to compare anthropometric and athletic performance variables during the playing career of NCAA Division III college football players. Two hundred and eighty-nine college football players were assessed for height, body mass, body composition, 1-repetition-maximum (1RM) bench press, 1RM squat, vertical jump height (VJ), vertical jump peak, and vertical jumpmean (VJMP) power, 40-yd sprint speed (40S), agility, and line drill (LD) over an 8-year period. All testing occurred at the beginning of summer training camp in each of the seasons studied. Data from all years of testing were combined. Players in their fourth and fifth (red-shirt year) seasons of competition were significantly (p < 0.05) heavier than first-year players. Significant increases in strength were seen during the course of the athletes' collegiate career (31.0% improvement in the 1RM bench press and 36.0% increase in squat strength). The VJ was significantly greater during the fourth year of competition compared to in the previous 3 years of play. Vertical jump peak and VJMP were significantly elevated from years 1 and 2 and were significantly higher during year 4 than during any previous season of competition. No significant changes in 40S or LD time were seen during the athletes playing career. Fatigue rate for the LD (fastest time/slowest time of 3 LD) significantly improved from the first (83.4 +/- 6.4%) to second season (85.1 +/- 6.5%) of competition. Fatigue rates in the fourth (88.3 +/- 4.8%) and fifth (91.2 +/- 5.2%) seasons were significantly greater than in any previous season. Strength and power performance improvements appear to occur throughout the football playing career of NCAA Division III athletes. However, the ability to significantly improve speed and agility may be limited.

    Journal Title

    Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research

    Volume

    25

    Issue/Number

    9

    Publication Date

    1-1-2011

    Document Type

    Article

    Language

    English

    First Page

    2351

    Last Page

    2357

    WOS Identifier

    WOS:000294280200001

    ISSN

    1064-8011

    Share

    COinS