The Importance of Baselining Division 1 Football Athlete Jumping Movements for Performance, Injury Mitigation, and Return to Play

Abstract

Data collection and analysis have become a critical component for decision-making and workout regimen design in athletic competition. The more data sports performance personnel have for individual athletes from a time in which the athlete was injury free, the more the coaching staff can utilize the movement data to baseline the athlete’s movement before an injury occurs and then train the athlete back to that baseline if an injury does occur. In this paper, we discuss the benefits and roadblocks of baselining. We present a case of baselining jumping performance for 22 division 1 football athletes, including a presentation of the methods used to measure jumping performance. Descriptive summaries of selected variables are presented, with a single participant highlighted to demonstrate a standard baselined jumping profile. Finally, ways in which an athlete’s jumping baseline can be used for future training and conditioning decisions are discussed.