(20) NCAA DIVISION-I ATHLETE ASSESSMENT OVER A 4-YEAR SPAN: PERFORMANCE, FUNCTION, AND ANTHROPMETRICS

Introduction: While NCAA Division I athletes undergo significant physical and physiological changes throughout their collegiate careers, these adaptations may be year specific, influencing their injury susceptibility and response to training programs. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the changes in performance, function and anthropometric characteristics across a 4-year window consisting of grouping by year. Methods: Ten thousand male athletes performed a functional movement screen, composed of 10 movements. Including unilateral squats, bilateral squat, unilateral lateral lunges, single leg balance, vertical jump (VJ), and unilateral VJs. A total of 100,000 movement files were analyzed. A three-dimensional markerless motion capture system (DARI Motion Inc, Overland Park, KS) was used to analyze the kinetic and kinematic variables of interest that were calculated and reported (squat depths, lunge distances, VJs heights, balance, weight, and kinetic variables). Statistical analyses were conducted using the descriptive variables x years (year 1-4) repeated measures ANOVA (p < 0.05). Results: The repeated measures ANOVA indicated that the 4 groups of male athletes compared did not show a significant difference for jumping task outputs (jump height). There were significant increases observed in force-time metrics such as impulse and power, as well as increase in athletes’ body mass (Table 01). Additionally, the data did show a significant decrease in functional task outputs such as lunge distances and squat depths, but only in the 4th year when compared to 1st year. Conclusions: The male athletes tend to demonstrate changes in physical and performance characteristics that promote adaptation related to mass and momentum management across the four-year span. Practical Applications: While training male athletes one may not see overtime phenotype changes related to performance (ie jump height). Thus, to monitor adaptations appropriately in male athletes one will need adequate measurement tools. Acknowledgements: None.