The purpose of this study was to examine the physical demands of a high school American football scrimmage. Male high school football players (N = 25) participated in a spring scrimmage. Global positioning system data and game film were recorded throughout the entirety of the scrimmage to determine the total distance covered, the distance covered in different velocity bands, the number of accelerations and decelerations performed, and the work-to-rest ratio of the scrimmage. The athletes were divided into 2 groups: linemen (L) (N = 7) vs. nonlinemen (NL) (N = 8) for statistical analysis, and independent T-tests with Holm's sequential Bonferroni adjustment were used to determine differences in movement characteristics between the L and NL groups. Average play duration was 5.7 ± 2.1 seconds, whereas the rest interval was 33.4 ± 13.6 seconds between plays, for an overall exercise-to-rest ratio of 1:5.9. Total distance, standing and walking distance, running distance, striding distance, sprinting distance, and total high-speed running distance covered by NL was greater than L (statistically significant at p ≤ 0.05). Distances traveled in each velocity band by position and by play are also included to provide context of our findings. Data from the present study add to the pool of support for the use of position-specific training in preparing high school football players for competition.

Direct current (DC) potential is an objective measure of the functional state of the human organism. It is a sensitive and accurate indicator of short- and long-term adaptations to stress, adaptive capacities, and it is an important marker of athlete readiness. Sleep is posited to be the most efficacious strategy for improving recovery to enhance sport performance, and adequate sleep is considered vital to normal psycho-physiological function. Thus, optimal sleep may enhance the functional state, in turn enhancing an athlete’s adaptability to training stress. However, little is known about the relationship between sleep and DC potential. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the effect of acute (one-night) and extended (two-night) sleep quantity and quality on DC potentials in collegiate American football players. Twenty-four Division 1 American football players (Age: 20.6 ± 1.30 yr; Height: 183.4 ± 6.40 cm; Body mass: 114.40 ± 24.60 kg) wore a wrist-worn actigraphy band seven days per week over the course of 136 days, which spanned the pre-season training camp and competitive season, to measure sleep quantity and quality. DC potential was assessed six days per week using the Omegawave Ltd (Espoo, Finland) athlete monitoring system either 30 minutes upon waking or 75-120 minutes prior to the onset of the football training session. Sleep quantity was stratified into duration categories and sleep quality was stratified within sleep latency, number of awakenings, and sleep efficiency variables. Sleep quantity and quality were evaluated using acute (one night) and extended (rolling average of two consecutive nights) sleep outcomes. Within subject comparisons of DC potential were made across sleep quantity and quality categories using repeated-measures analysis of variance to examine the influence of acute and extended sleep quantity and quality on DC potential outcomes. The level of significance was set at p ≤ 0.025. Statistically significant main effects were identified for acute sleep (F3,16 = 4.68, p < .02, η2p = 0.47) and extended sleep durations (F2,17 = 7.71, p < 0.005, η2p = 0.48). Specifically, for acute sleep durations, there was a 17.1% increase in DC potentials (3.59, p < 0.01, Cohen’s d = 0.52, SE 1.18) for sleep durations ≥ 7 hours to < 9 hours, compared to sleeping < 6. For extended sleep, there was a 20% increase in DC potentials (4.53, p < 0.002, Cohen’s d = 0.68, SE = 1.13) when recording a two-day sleep average of ≥ 7.5 hours and < 9 hours, compared to an extended sleep duration of < 6 hours. A statistically significant main effect was also identified for extended wake episodes (F2,19 = 4.5, p = 0.025, η2p = 0.32). For extended sleep periods with > 4 wake episodes there was a 12% increase in DC potentials (2.57 ± 2.24mV, p < 0.25, Cohen’s d = 0.34) compared to extended sleep periods with 2-3 wake episodes. There was not a significant effect of acute (p ≥ 0.20) sleep quality or extended latency (p > 0.18) and efficiency (p > 0.08) on DC potentials. These findings suggest that sleep quantity affects DC bio-potentials and thus the functional state of the athlete. Specifically, sleep durations between 7.00/7.50 to 9 hours correspond with higher measures of DC potentials compared to lesser durations. Given the effect of sleep quantity on biological markers for training adaptability, practitioners should prioritize sleep in the training process and educate athletes on proper sleep hygiene and sleep quantity to enhance their readiness to train.

This dissertation explores the culture of sport among African American male football players as well as African American perspectives on sport and success. A case study of six African American, Division 1 FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) collegiate student athletes was conducted along with seventeen supplemental interviews with community members, parents, coaches and former athletes and fans. The participants answered questions that explored education, success, identity construction, ethnicity and sport. Archival data was also reviewed framing the discussion on football in Florida, links between education and sport participation and African American male academic achievement. While many perspectives varied, there were collective trends in relation to how African American Athletes in Florida define themselves as well as their perspectives on ethnicity and sport. The individual perspectives and collective trends are discussed in this dissertation.

For decades strength and conditioning professionals have been seeking optimal training volumes and intensities to yield maximum performance outcomes without the onset of injury. Unfortunately, current studies apply experimental training techniques without considering the individuals’ response to the imposed training load. Due to the vast genetic variability and extraneous environmental factors that affect one’s ability to recover, results from such studies are controversial and inconclusive. Athlete monitoring systems offer an objective assessment that is purported to evaluate an individual’s physiological readiness to adapt to an overload stimulus and thus allow for daily manipulations in training loads (i.e., fluid periodization). However, little is known about the efficacy of this technology to enhance training outcomes. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the effect of fluid periodization on performance outcomes in American football players. Sixty-one Division 1 collegiate American football players (Age: 19.7 ± 0.9 yr; Height: 1.88 ± 0.3 m; Mass: 107.3 ± 11.1 kg) participated in this study and were stratified into experimental (n=33) and control (n=28) groups. Performance outcomes were measured prior to and following the summer training program. Physiological readiness parameters (heart rate variability and direct current brain wave potential outcomes) were measured daily in the experimental group only with Omegawave technology prior to training sessions and adjustments in training volumes or intensity were made based upon physiological readiness outcomes. The control group trained according to the daily prescribed workout. The findings from this study indicate that the experimental group significantly improved in vertical jump, vertical power, aerobic efficiency and broad jump (P < 0.01) compared to the control group. Additionally, significant improvements and effect sizes between groups were noted for fat-free mass (relative improvement: 54%, effect size: 0.30), vertical jump (relative improvement: 157%, effect size: 1.02), vertical power (relative improvement: 94%, effect size: 0.86), broad jump (relative improvement: effect size: 592%, 0.81), triple broad jump (relative improvement: 338%, effect size: 0.63), aerobic efficiency (relative improvement: 154%, effect size: 1.02), and medicine ball overhead throw (relative improvement: 50%, effect size: 0.26). In addition, the experimental group achieved these improvements with less core (-9.5%) and accessory (-13.2%) training volume (P < 0.01). In conclusion, fluid periodization produced greater improvements in performance outcomes at a reduced training load compared to a similar unmodified periodization scheme. These findings highlight the importance of modifying training parameters based upon the daily physiological state of the athlete.

Thesis (M.S.)--Georgia Southern University, 2008. / "A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Georgia Southern University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Science." Under the direction of Daniel R. Czech. ETD. Electronic version approved: May 2008. Includes bibliographical references (p. 88-91) and appendices.

Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 69-70). Also available online in Scholars' Bank.

The artificial intelligence is a constant topic of conversation with a field of research that is pushed forward by some of the world's largest companies and universities. Deep learning is a branch of machine learning within artificial intelligence based on learning representation of data such as images and texts by processing the data through deep neural networks. Sports are competitive businesses that over the years have become more data driven. Statistics play a big role in the development of the practitioners and the tactics in order to win. Sport organizations have big statistic teams since statistics are manually obtained by these teams. To learn a machine to recognize patterns and actions with deep learning would save a lot of time. In this thesis a deep learning approach is used to examine how well it can perform to classify the actions pass and run in American footbal lgames. A deep learning architecture is first trained and developed on a public video dataset and then trained to classify run and pass plays on a new American football dataset called the All-22 dataset. Results and earlier research show that deep learning has potential to automatize sport statistic but is not yet ready to overtake the role statistic teams have. Further research, bigger and more task specific datasets and more complex architectures are required to enhance the performance of this specific type of deep learning based video recognition.

Title: Evaluation of selected parameters in American football players as possible causes of their injuries Objectives: The aim of this thesis is, after studying selected theoretical backgrounds, to point out at the performance players of American football deliberately selected team to the possible causes of injuries (with special focus on the area knee joint) by evaluating body parameters, then selected three tests and at the same time by evaluating the screening of two positions in progress vertical jump. Methods: To write down the diploma thesis, we mainly used knowledge and conclusions from a literature search of foreign articles and studies dealing with the issue of injuries, injury prevention, sports performance, and normative data. In the next step, testing of selected three tests and subsequent normative evaluation was performed. Screening was also important for the evaluation of two positions during the vertical jump. Results: Through hand-picked performance tests, it was found that the selected players from the team achieved a sufficient level of movement based on the results according to standardized tables that we used. In comparison with professional players and the norm set out by Palmieri (2019), the players that we tested lag behind. As for the injuries in the selected group, the...

This thesis Specialization of American football players in relation to their somatotype deals with the differences in somatotypes of American football players in the Czech Republic. Its main aim is to describe the somatotypes of American football players from the side of their player specialization and their participation in the 1st and 2nd league of American football in the Czech Republic. For successful achievement of the main aim are defined partial aims of the thesis, which are primarily to find out the somatotypes of players of all specializations and then to compare these somatotypes from different perspectives. The whole purpose of this description of somatotypes is mainly to identify the role of somatotype on differentiation of players in individual game positions. The sample of this work is made up of 70 probands located across all players' specializations in the 1st and 2nd league of American football in the Czech Republic. Somatic measurements of parameters necessary to determine their somatotypes were used on all subjects. The measured values were processed and statistically analyzed through calculations and spreadsheets in Microsoft Excel and through somatocharts. The results of this thesis show us somatotypes of players of all specializations, but also differences between somatotypes...

Bakgrund: Hjärnskakningar är ett stort problem inom amerikansk fotboll på alla nivåer och mörkertalet hjärnskakningar som inte rapporteras och behandlas anses stort. Obehandlade hjärnskakningar kan få stora konsekvenser för den aktive både på och utanför planen. Hjärntrappan används som ett rehabiliteringsverktyg för idrottsutövare drabbade av hjärnskakning inom svensk idrott, men det saknas studier i vilken utsträckning den används inom amerikansk fotboll. Syfte: Syftet med studien var att kartlägga strategier gällande rehabilitering för säker återgång till idrott efter hjärnskakning hos amerikansk fotbollslag på seniornivå i Sverige. Metod: En enkätundersökning genomfördes via telefon. Populationen var 36 amerikansk fotbollslag som var i seriespel i Sverige under säsongen 2020 och 16 lag deltog i studien. Resultatet av enkäten analyserades sedan med deskriptiv och jämförande statistik. Resultat: Majoriteten av de deltagande lagen använde Hjärntrappan som strategi för rehabilitering av hjärnskakning. En signifikant skillnad mellan dam- och herrlag och användningen av Hjärntrappan påvisades. Det påvisades inte någon signifikant skillnad mellan varken tillgång till medicinsk personal i laget eller storleken på orten som laget utgick ifrån och användningen av Hjärntrappan. Slutsats: Hjärntrappan är den mest använda rehabiliteringsstrategin vid hjärnskakning inom amerikansk fotbollslag i seriespel på seniornivå i Sverige. Det finns skillnader mellan dam- respektive herrlag och användningen av Hjärntrappan. Fler och större studier behövs för att generalisera resultaten till samtliga amerikansk fotbollslag i Sverige. / Background: Concussions are a big problem in American football and the number of concussions that goes untreated is considered large. Untreated concussions can have serious consequences for the athlete both on and off the field. Hjärntrappan is used in Sweden to rehabilitate concussions, but there is no studies to what extent it is used in American football in Sweden. Aim: The aim of the study was to investigate what rehabilitation strategies senior American football teams in Sweden used when a player had a concussion. Method: A survey was conducted via telephone. The population was 36 Swedish American football teams that were playing in the Swedish league system during the 2020 season and 16 teams participated in the study. The results of the survey were then analyzed with descriptive and comparative statistics. Results: The majority of the participated teams used Hjärntrappan as rehabilitation strategy when a player had a concussion. A significant difference between the woman’s and men’s teams and the use of Hjärntrappan was found. No significant difference was found between either the access to medical staff in the team or the size of the city where the team was based and the use of Hjärntrappan. Conclusion: Hjärntrappan is the most common rehabilitation strategy among senior American football teams in the Swedish league system after concussion. There is a difference between men’s and woman’s teams and the use of Hjärntrappan. More and extended reseach is needed to generalize the results to all American football teams in Sweden.