(49) THE QUANTIFICATION OF IN-SEASON EXTERNAL PRACTICE LOADS IN NCAA DIVISION-I AMERICAN FOOTBALL

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to quantify practice demands that occur throughout a regular competitive season in NCAA Division I American football. Methods: External load metrics were collected via global positioning system (GPS) units for a total of 96 NCAA Division-I American football players during two regular competitive seasons (2023 and 2024) that each spanned a total of 12 and 13 weeks respectively. Data was sampled at a rate of 10 Hz (Vector T7, Catapult, USA). The day of practice (i.e. day 1, 2, 3 or 4) was the independent variable of interest. The main dependent variables of interest were PlayerLoad, total distance (yd), high speed distance (yd), contact load and total accelerations and decelerations. Descriptive statistics, including the mean and standard deviation for external load metrics were calculated. A one-way analysis of variance was utilized to determine differences between external load metrics between the four practice sessions. Results: Total PlayerLoad (p < 0.001), total distance (p < 0.001), total accelerations and deceleration (p < 0.001) and contact load (p < 0.001) for day 1 and day 4 were significantly lower in comparison to day 2 and 3. Day 1 for high-speed distance was significantly lower than the three days after (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Findings from this study suggest that external load metrics differ between practices throughout a normal week in preparation for competition. Furthermore, athletes accumulate higher loads during days 2 and 3 of practice in comparison to the first and last day. Practical Applications: Identifying high load practices can aid in a sport practitioner's ability to make decisions around performance enhancement programs and recovery modalities, as well as allow for the potential to periodize training loads. Acknowledgements: This research investigation was funded by the Clara Wu and Joseph Tsai Foundation.