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 3.5 million children under 14 receive medical treatment for sports injuries 50% of these injuries are preventable (NIH, 2009) (Safe Kids, 2007) (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) Average number of accrued seasons for all players on an ac<ve roster on opening day of the 2010 season Accrued Number of Total % AS x NoP Seasons Players of Players 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 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 Number of Total % AS x NoP Seasons Players of Players 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 Why are careers so short? Concussions? Orthopedic injuries? (Jason Lisk, 2011) 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 1
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) (Rogers III, 1988) Clegg & F355 Impact Soil Tester Tes<ng Evalua<on Assessing Surface Hardness 2
Consistency 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 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 Tennessee Athle<c Field Tester Simulates footstrike Measures the ver<cal and horizontal forces (Middour, 1992; Nigg and Yeadon, 1987; Wannop et al., 2010) Assessing Trac<on 3
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 (Cockerham et al., 1993) Surface Hardness Consistency Image @ espn.com 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 Cool/ Humid The image cannot be displayed. Your computer may not have Cool/Humid enough memory to open the image, or the image may have been corrupted. Restart your computer, and then Cool/Arid open the file again. If the red x still appears, you may have to delete the image and then insert it again. Warm/Arid Transition Zone 37 latitude: 200 miles wide Tall fescue Arid/Humid (cool and warm) * Warm/Humid 4
9/28/12 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 University of Tennessee Center for Athletic Field Safety - CAFS Liners and Drainage Center for Athletic Field Safety (CAFS) 5
Comparing Sports Turf Surfaces 72 Plots (150 W 2 ) 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 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 60 Mean Temperature ( F) 55 175 150 45 125 40 100 A D A ABC AB 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Surface CONCLUSION Atmospheric data can be used to model differences in synthe<c turf surface temperature D A A BCD CD Athlete Safety & Performance Testing 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 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 1" 7/8" 1/2" 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 Tifway 6
Variety Tes<ng Overseeding Rates Percent turf cover for four bermudagrass varieties after 20 games Riviera MS Choice Variety Patriot Tifway 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 % Cover w/ P. Rye w/o P. Rye Number of football games until 70% cover occurs bermudagrass varieties Leaf angle for cultivar in 2008 and 2009. Knoxville, TN 2.5 PGR and Traffic Riviera 2 MS Choice Variety Patriot Tifway Leaf Angle 1.5 1 0.5 Tifway Riviera Patriot Celebra<on 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 Games w/ P. w/o P. 0 2008 2009 Sports Turfs Species and Crumb Rubber Comparisons Crumb Rubber Topdressing 7
Crumb Rubber Anaylsis 0.75 Crumb Rubber No Crumb Rubber Vanini et al A Comparison of a Control Plot Start End A Comparison of 1/4in Rubber Plots Start End A Comparison of 1/2in Rubber Plots Start End A Comparison of 3/4in 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 8
9/28/12 TAFT Tennessee Athle0c Field Tester Type Shoe companies now focusing on trac<on vs Kirk et al. (2006) Proc of Int. Sports Eng. Assc. Peak Horizontal & Ver<cal Forces Study Descrip<on Peak horizontal force for seeding rate by moisture interac0on Peak horizontal force for variety by moisture interac0on development for athlete safety and optimal traction 500.2 490.3 483.8 450 Computer model of expected cleat Dynamics Human subject testing Wet 528.2 504.6 500 Dry LSD(0.05) = 63.3 550.6 550 Wet Type 585.2 Dry 573.3 550 500 600 Newton's Newton's LSD(0.05) = 43.1 Nike Alpha Vapor One Football s 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 Spring 2012 Pure Seed Tes<ng Overseed Study 600 Tennessee Athle<c Field Tester (TAFT) 506.6 Introducing the Advanced Dynamic Design of the : 8.5mm 499 484.2 450 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 436.8 conclusion.. s 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. 400 12 24 Seeding Rate (lbs/1000 W2) 400 BSG SDollar GFox G22 Variety 9
9/28/12 Dyna-Claw Performance Testing 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 Dyna-Claw Performance Testing Dyna-Claw Performance 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) 42% 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. 58% of the Athletes tested recorded their fastest time using s 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. Three cleat types Dyna- Claw Performance with 8.5 mm cleat Dyna- Claw Performance 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 Testing 8% Black Widow Field 33% Dyna-Claw Performance Testing 92% of the Athletes tested recorded their fastest time using s 67% of the Athletes tested recorded their fastest time using s Dyna-Claw Performance Testing Weight Class Comparisons Weight Class Comparisons Data was then organized into weight classes to determine if the s 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 s and the majority of athletes in each class recorded their fastest time wearing s. 42% Data was then organized into weight classes to determine if the s 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 s and the majority of athletes in each class recorded their fastest time wearing s. 32% 32% 58% of the Athletes tested recorded their fastest time using s 33% 36% 36% 67% of the Athletes tested recorded their fastest time using s Dyna-Claw Performance Testing Human Test Subjects for Performance and Safety Human Test Subjects for Performance and Safety 25% 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 s. 10
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) Other shoe companies Grounds Managers Thank You http://www.turf.tennessee.edu 11