We are going to add either the vertical or broad jump for an indicator exercise for our football players t his off season. It seems that the broad jump would be easier to measure since we don’t have the equipment to measure vertical. Is this ok? Is broad jump as good of an indicator of explosiveness and sprinting speed / acceleration?
Yes that sounds fine. Standing long jump has a higher precision (more inches than a vertical jump) and it’s harder to cheat.
Standing Long and Triple Jump are excellent indicators of explosive and starting abilities. I agree with mortac about the ease of use and inability to cheat with standing long jumps. Most great vertical jumps are fabricated.
With that said, I would make sure that vertical jumps are a part of your training regimen. The vertical component of force production cant be ignored. So yes, use the long jumps for tests, and both long and vertical jumps for your training.
I’m with you guys. Thanks for the replies. What are the best manuals / DVDs for designing workouts for football players, particularly the speed, explosiveness, and agility components. Recently ordered a couple from Joe Defranco, but am looking for some others. Thanks again.
I have Defrancos combine VHS. It’s ok, especially if you are new to designing programs for the combine. Honestly, for football players requiring speed (WR, RB, DB) I would go with one of Charlie’s Programs and make the lifts specific to the combine.
Football also requires more agility than straight sprints, so you may mix in agility with top speed sessions. Basically, the model would be the same, yet the methods would be tailored to both the combines and more agility work. It is rare that a football player will reach top speed during a play, but it still happens if they have great blockers and agility:)
The results of the study below may be of interest in relation to horizontal versus vertical jump tests.
Title: Horizontal and vertical jump assessment: reliability, symmetry, discriminative and predictive ability
Author(s): Maulder P, Cronin J
Source: PHYSICAL THERAPY IN SPORT 6 (2): 74-82 MAY 2005
Abstract: Objectives: The purpose of this study was to: (1) establish the reliability of a new unilateral concentric only horizontal jump assessment (HSJ) then compare the reliability of this test to other types of unilateral vertical and horizontal jumps; (2) compare the tests to whether they differ in their ability to determine limb asymmetries; and (3) investigate the relationship between these jumps and sprint running.
Methods: Eighteen sportsmen performed unilateral jump assessments involving the horizontal squat jump, horizontal countermovement jump, horizontal repetitive jump, vertical squat jump, vertical countermovement jump, and vertical repetitive jump.
Results: Reliability for the new test was found to be the equal if not better than the other more established tests of leg power, with the within trial variation (CV = 1.1-1.9%) and test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.89-0.90). None of the tests were found to have greater discriminative ability in determining limb asymmetries. Stretch shorten cycle enhancement was greater in the vertical tests (12.1%) compared to the horizontal tests (1.3%). Horizontal jump assessments (r = -0.73 to -0.86) were found better predictors of 20-m sprint performance than the vertical assessments (r = -0.52 to -0.73), with the horizontal cyclic assessment being the best predictor (r = -0.86).
Conclusion: Horizontal leg power assessment appears an inexpensive, easy to administer, reliable and valid method to assess unilateral leg power.
the slj is a good test bc the athlete actually has to train to see improvment as with the vj they can just go out and play basketball 3 days per week and see some improvement.