Force-Velocity Profiles in Collegiate American Football Players

Abstract

The application of force-velocity (FV) profiling in American football has yet to be explored. Purpose: To measure and compare FV profiles in collegiate American football players grouped by position, and to determine if FV profiles could predict countermovement jump (CMJ) height and sprinting performance. Methods: Horizontal and vertical FV profiles, CMJ and sprinting performance were assessed in 81 collegiate American football players. One-way ANOVAs were used to determine if significant differences in FV profiles existed between position groups (big: offensive/defensive lineman, big skill: linebacker, skill: quarterback). Correlation analyses were used to determine if performance measures (CMJ, sprints) were related to FV profiles (maximum force, F0, maximum velocity, V0, maximum power, Pmax). We hypothesized that 1) “big” athletes would have the highest F0, and 2) horizontal and vertical FV profiling metrics would correlate with sprinting performance and CMJ height, respectively. Results: “Big” athletes had the highest absolute F0 in the horizontal FV profiles but when normalized to body weight, they had the lowest F0 and 77% were classified as force-deficient. When accounting for body weight, vertical FV metrics explained 62.8% of the variance in CMJ height and horizontal FV metrics accounted for 85.0% of the variance in sprinting performance. Conclusion: Athletes’ FV imbalance could not be predicted by their position. Vertical- and horizontal-related FV variables predicted performance metrics that were performed in the same plane, suggesting that FV profiling could be a useful performance assessment tool in American football.