Momentum, Rather Than Velocity, Is a More Effective Measure of Improvements in Division IA Football Player Performance

Abstract

Mann, JB, Mayhew, JL, Dos Santos, ML, Dawes, JJ, and Signorile, JF. Momentum, rather than velocity, is a more effective measure of improvements in Division IA football player performance. J Strength Cond Res 36(2): 551-557, 2022-Speed, or the time to complete straight runs or agility drills, is commonly used to assess performance in collegiate American football players. However, it is common for players' speeds to plateau by the second year of eligibility, whereas their body masses continue to increase. The purpose of this study was to track change in speed, body mass, and momentum (body mass • velocity), across Division 1 football players' 4-year careers (n 5 512). Complete data were derived for the 40-yd sprint (n 5 82), the proagility shuttle (n 5 73), and the L drill (n 5 73) from the same NCAA Division 1 team over a 15-year period. Significant changes were seen for velocity between year 1 and the next 3 playing years (p , 0.05), with no differences between years 2 and 4, whereas body mass increased significantly across all playing years (p , 0.05). Further momentum increased across all years for all tests (p , 0.0001). These results indicate the importance of including changes in body mass when evaluating performances during sprints and change of direction drills. Our results also suggest that using sprint or agility drill times to evaluate playing potential across football players' collegiate careers may be ineffective and can provide players with a false and disheartening picture of their improvements across their careers. Momentum, which incorporates training-induced increases in both speed and body mass, would be a more relevant and supportive measure of players' improvements. In addition, the simple computation of this variable, using existing speed and body mass data, may be an important addition to the National Football League combine as a measure of playing potential in the professional game.

Changes in Lower Body Strength and Linear Speed Performance in Ncaa Division 2 Collegiate Football Players Across Three Competitive Seasons

“…The 40-yd dash was conducted with participants beginning in a threepoint stance, as performed within the NFL combine, and running as fast as possible for 40 yards (Kuzmits & Adams, 2008). According to Mann et al (2015) hand timing allows for accurate classification of 40-yard dash performance among college football players. The sprints were performed on an outdoor Mondo sprint track, and lanes on the track gave guidance to the participants.…”

“…A minimum of five minutes of rest was provided between sprint trials. Sprint momentum was calculated using suggestions by Mann et al (2022). The best of the three sprint trials was converted to a velocity by dividing the distance (36.6 m) by the time.…”

“…Lastly, Mann et al (2022) recently proposed that there is a common trend in which collegiate American football players continue to make gains in body mass that are not accompanied by improvements in speed across their collegiate careers. Therefore, it was suggested that practitioners and researchers should take into consideration these increases in body mass by also looking at momentum (i.e., mass x velocity).…”

“…Therefore, it was suggested that practitioners and researchers should take into consideration these increases in body mass by also looking at momentum (i.e., mass x velocity). Solely looking at sprint velocity or sprint completion times may provide practitioners with an incomplete picture of the im-provement made over their collegiate careers (Mann et al, 2022).…”

Does Dominant Somatotype Differentiate Performance of Jumping and Sprinting Variables in Young Healthy Adults?

“…Sprint velocity was determined by dividing the distance (30 m) by the time (speed = distance (m)/sprint time (s)). This was then multiplied by the subjects' body mass in kg, which gave the momentum (sprint momentum = body mass (kg) × velocity (m/s)) [24].…”