STC CAFS Presentation compressed

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Research & Science: Op0mizing Player Performance

& Football Field Safety

John Sorochan, Ph.D. University of Tennessee

Outline

•  Importance of Field Safety •  Athle<c Field Safety & Playability •  Center for Athle<c Field Safety •  Athle<c Field Research

Importance •  38 million children & adolescents

(NIH, 2009)

•  3.5 million children under 14 receive medical treatment for sports injuries

(Safe Kids, 2007)

•  50% of these injuries are preventable (Brenner, 2007; Safe Kids, 2007)

Importance •  Youth injuries (<14) cost the US public $49,192,781,832 in 1997

•  Emergency room visits (2004) – 116,000 – baseball – 186,000 – football

AAP, US CPSC, & National Youth Sports Safety Foundation

Importance •  5.7% of high school football injuries were definitely related to field condi<ons, 15.2% were possibly related to field condi<ons

(Harper et al., 1984)

•  10% of lawsuits related to sports injuries claim that the athle<c field was inadequately maintained

(Dougherty, 1988)

Accrued Seasons

Number of Players

Total % of Players

AS x NoP

0 368 19.5% 0 1 287 15.2% 287 2 243 12.9% 486 3 205 10.9% 615 4 185 9.8% 740 5 138 7.3% 690 6 111 5.9% 666 7 102 5.4% 714 8 74 3.9% 592 9 59 3.1% 531 10 41 2.2% 410

Average number of accrued seasons for all players on an ac<ve roster on opening day of the 2010 season

Data provided by the NFLPA to Jason Lisk, BigLeagueSports™

Average number of accrued seasons for all players on an ac<ve roster on opening day of the 2010 season

Accrued Seasons

Number of Players

Total % of Players

AS x NoP

11 24 1.3% 264 12 19 1.0% 228 13 13 0.7% 169 14 9 0.5% 126 15 5 0.3% 75 16 1 0.1% 16 17 1 0.1% 17 18 2 0.1% 36 19 1 0.1% 19

6681 Total 1888 3.54

Data provided by the NFLPA to Jason Lisk, BigLeagueSports™

Importance •  Average NFL Player at any <me has ~ 3.5 years of experience (Jason Lisk, 2011)

•  Average NFL Player career is ~ 6 years (Jason Lisk, 2011)

•  Why are careers so short? – Concussions? – Orthopedic injuries?

hip://thebiglead.com/index.php/2011/04/22/nfl-‐career-‐length-‐and-‐average-‐age-‐versus-‐average-‐life-‐expectancy/

What is playing quality?

Safety and Playability

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DIFFERENT SPORTS

DIFFERENT SPECIFICATIONS

Player to Surface Interac<ons

Surface hardness, consistency & reliability

Surface Hardness Surface Hardness • Ground Reac<on Forces

– The force exerted on an athlete by the surface upon impact

(Elnman, 1938; Nigg et al., 1984; Brosnan, 2007)

Assessing Surface Hardness

(Rogers III, 1988)

Clegg & F355 Impact Soil Tester

Tes<ng Evalua<on

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–  Data collected from 14 professional and college football games –  78% of traffic is concentrated on 7% of the field –  Max. traffic concentra0on occurs at the 40 yd line –  56 cleat marks W-‐2

Cockerham, S.T. 1989

Consistency The problem

•  The zone of traffic concentra<on (Cockerham, 1989)

•  Reduces turf cover –  Increases surface hardness – Reduces trac<on

(Holmes and Bell, 1986)

•  Increases poten<al for injury

Cady Traffic Simulator

Trac<on Trac<on

Enable players to make necessary movements

(Bell et al., 1985)

Trac<on

(Middour, 1992; Nigg and Yeadon, 1987; Wannop et al., 2010) Assessing Trac<on

Tennessee Athle<c Field Tester

•  Simulates footstrike

•  Measures the ver<cal and horizontal forces

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Tennessee Athle<c Field Tester • Athlete weight

–  45 lbs – 315 lbs •  Running

– 1 m/s

•  Contact distance – 230 mm

TAFT

Why is playing quality so important?

Importance •  Poor playing quality of athle<c fields can nega<vely impact player performance and safety

Image @ espn.com

(Cockerham et al., 1993)

Surface Hardness

Consistency

Trac<on! University of Tennessee

Center for Athletic Field Safety Objectives: •  Determine safest playing surfaces possible

•  Establish safer and higher performance optimums for players

Turf Climates in U.S. •  Adaptation: Cool vs. Warm Season

•  Transition Zone –  37° latitude: 200 miles wide –  Tall fescue

•  Arid/Humid (cool and warm)

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Cool/Arid

Warm/Arid

Cool/ Humid

Cool/Humid

Warm/Humid

*

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CAFS Sports Turf Research

•  K-12 to Professional Fields •  Basic Management & Safety •  Field Performance •  Shock Attenuation •  Athlete to Surface Interaction

Ground Breaking 6-‐18-‐2010

Preparing the Varying

Rootzones

Liners and Drainage

University of Tennessee Center for Athletic Field Safety - CAFS Center for Athletic Field Safety (CAFS)

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•  72 Plots (150 W2) –  12 Synthe0c –  6 Natural Turfgrass (Sand Based)

–  Bermudagrass –  Kentucky Bluegrass : Perennial Ryegrass Mixture

–  6 Natural Turfgrass (Soil Based) –  Bermudagrass –  Kentucky Bluegrass : Perennial Ryegrass Mixture

•  10 year commitment

Comparing Sports Turf Surfaces Developing a Model to Predict Synthe0c Turfgrass Surface Temperature Using Atmospheric Condi0ons

A.W. Thoms, J.T. Brosnan, and J.C. Sorochan. University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN. 37996 J.M. Zidek. ZedX Incorporated. Bellefonte, PA 16823

40

45

50

55

60

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Me

an

Te

mp

era

ture

(°F

)

Surface

A

D

A ABC AB

D

A A

BCD CD

CONCLUSION Atmospheric data can be used to model differences in synthe<c turf surface temperature

150

125

100

175

8 – Combine Fields 50 yards x 5 yards – 6 Synthe0c Fields

– 2 Natural Turfgrass Fields (Sand Based) –  Bermudagrass –  Kentucky Bluegrass : Perennial Ryegrass Mixture

– Proving grounds for player safety and trac0on –  Footwear –  Different surfaces –  Different condi0ons (wet and dry, etc.)

Athlete Safety & Performance Testing Athlete to Surface Interaction •  Surface Hardness •  Surface Trac0on •  Interac0on between the two

X

Natural Turf Research

Bermudagrass Varie0es with Grooming & Overseeding

Mowing Football games required for bermudagrass to achieve 70% cover for 3 mowing heights

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

1/2"

7/8"

1"

Tifway

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Variety Tes<ng Overseeding Rates Percent turf cover for four bermudagrass varieties after 20 games

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Tifway

Patriot

MS Choice

Riviera

% Cover

Varie

ty

w/ P. Rye w/o P. Rye

Number of football games until 70% cover occurs bermudagrass varieties

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20

Tifway

Patriot

MS Choice

Riviera

Games

Varie

ty

w/ P. w/o P. 0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

2008 2009

Leaf Angle

Tifway

Riviera

Patriot

Celebra<on

Leaf angle for cultivar in 2008 and 2009. Knoxville, TN PGR and Traffic

Sports Turfs Species and Crumb Rubber Comparisons Crumb Rubber Topdressing

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0.75” Crumb Rubber

No Crumb Rubber

Crumb Rubber

Vanini et al

Anaylsis

A Comparison of a Control Plot Start End

A Comparison of 1/4in Rubber Plots Start End



Crumb Rubber Study aner 25 games

0” CR 0.25” CR 0.50” CR 0.75” CR

Determine athlete to surface interaction

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TAFT – Tennessee Athle0c Field Tester

vs

Cleat Type

Kirk et al. (2006) – Proc of Int. Sports Eng. Assc.

Shoe companies now focusing on trac<on

Spring 2012 Pure Seed Tes<ng Overseed Study

Study Descrip<on

•  To determine the effects of different perennial ryegrass varie<es, seeding rates, mowing heights, and surface moisture on athle<c field playing condi<ons when used to overseed bermudagrass athle<c fields

Peak Horizontal & Ver<cal Forces Tennessee Athle<c Field Tester (TAFT)

Nike Alpha Vapor One Football Cleats

500.2

573.3

483.8 490.3

400

450

500

550

600

12 24

Dry

Wet

Seeding Rate (lbs/1000 W2)

New

ton's

Peak horizontal force for seeding rate by moisture interac0on

LSD(0.05) = 43.1

585.2

550.6

504.6 506.6

484.2

436.8

528.2

499

400

450

500

550

600

BSG SDollar GFox G22

Dry

Wet

Variety

New

ton's

Peak horizontal force for variety by moisture interac0on

LSD(0.05) = 63.3

Cleat development for athlete safety and optimal traction –  Computer model of expected cleat Dynamics –  Human subject testing

Cleat Type

Introducing the Advanced Dynamic Design of the Black Widow Field Cleat: 8.5mm

Years of development and extensive testing at the Softspikes Advanced Research Center, Boise State University - Center for Orthopaedic & Biomechanics Research, University of Tennessee - Turfgrass

Science & Management, Wayne State University - Advanced Human Modeling Lab/Department of

Biomedical Engineering and High School football programs across the USA have all led to the same conclusion…..

Black Widow Field Cleats provide the ultimate in performance, safety and comfort

Report Introduction:

In the following report we will walk you through the extensive testing performed at these leading Universities using computer monitored traction testing equipment, advanced finite element simulations to determine the effects of shear force reductions and old fashioned athlete performance testing with electronic timing devices to help assess performance improvements……Athlete performance on the field, the ultimate proving ground.

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•  12 current (2011) football players comple<ng three sets of <med agility tests

•  Three NFL combine performance tests –  40 yard dash –  5-‐10-‐5 shuile run –  Three cone drill

•  Three cleat types –  Dyna-‐Claw Performance Cleat with 8.5 mm cleat –  Dyna-‐Claw Performance Cleat with 5.0 mm cleat –  OEM 13 mm stud

•  Athletes did not know which cleat treatment was randomly chosen for each test event

Dyna-Claw Performance Cleat Testing

Testing Tasks and Testing Procedures:

• 40 Yard Dash

The 40-yard dash is the marquee event at the NFL combine. It's all about explosion out of the blocks, speed and the ability to carry the speed for an extended distance. Athletes are timed at 10, 20 and 40-yard intervals.

• Shuttle Run (5-10-5)

It is known as the 5-10-5. What it tests is the athlete's lateral quickness and explosion in short areas. The athlete starts in the three-point stance, explodes out 5 yards to his right, touches the line, goes back 10 yards to his left, left hand touches the line, pivot, and run 5 more yards back to the starting point to finish.

• 3 Cone Drill

The 3 cone drill tests an athlete's ability to change directions at a high speed. Three cones placed in an L-shape. The athlete starts from the starting line (first cone), progresses 5 yards to the second cone (base of L) and back. Then, he turns, runs around the second cone, runs a weave around the third cone, which is the high point of the L, changes directions, comes back around the second cone (90 degree turn) and finishes back at the first cone.

Athlete Test Results:

The athlete test results provided below, and the following pages, represents the Fastest Recorded Times each athlete posted in each of the tests. Keep in mind that the tests were random and the rotation of cleats/studs was also random.

92% of the Athletes tested recorded their fastest time using Black Widow Field Cleats

8%

Black WidowField Cleat

OEM Stud




42% Black Widow FieldCleat

OEM Stud


OEM Stud





OEM Stud


OEM Stud


Weight Class Comparisons

Data was then organized into weight classes to determine if the Black Widow Field Cleats provided more or less benefits based upon weight of the Athletes. In the charts provided you will note that all weight classes benefited from the use of Black Widow Field Cleats and the majority of athletes in each class recorded their fastest time wearing Black Widow Field Cleats.


OEM Stud


OEM Stud


Weight Class Comparisons

Data was then organized into weight classes to determine if the Black Widow Field Cleats provided more or less benefits based upon weight of the Athletes. In the charts provided you will note that all weight classes benefited from the use of Black Widow Field Cleats and the majority of athletes in each class recorded their fastest time wearing Black Widow Field Cleats.


OEM Stud


OEM Stud


If the athlete is a Running Back or Receiver, Defensive Back or Linebacker, Offensive or Defensive Linemen testing results from Boise State University and the University of Tennessee confirm athletes improve their performance in Black Widow Field Cleats.


OEM Stud

Dyna-Claw Performance Cleat Testing Human Test Subjects for Performance and Safety

Human Test Subjects for Performance and Safety

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Protec0ng Athletes with Focusing on Safe Equipment

Sports Turf Research focusing on Improving Player Performance &

Safety J.C. Sorochan, Ph.D. & J.T. Brosnan, Ph.D.

Directors for the Center for Athle0c Field Safety (CAFS)

Grounds Managers

Other shoe companies

http://www.turf.tennessee.edu

Thank You

Documents

STC CAFS Presentation compressed