94% of researchers rate our articles as excellent or good
Learn more about the work of our research integrity team to safeguard the quality of each article we publish.
Find out more
ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Sports Act. Living
Sec. Elite Sports and Performance Enhancement
Volume 7 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fspor.2025.1554055
This article is part of the Research Topic Environmental Determinants of Athletes’ Development and Performance View all articles
Effect of two training modalities on sprint performance in young American Football players
Provisionally accepted- 1 UFR-STAPS, Laboratoire CETAPS, Université de Rouen, Rouen, France
- 2 Institut national du sport, de l'expertise et de la performance (INSEP), Paris, Île-de-France, France
- 3 fédération française de Football Américain, Paris, France
- 4 Laboratoire de Biologie de l'Exercice pour la Performance et la Santé(LBEPS), University of Évry Val d'Essonne, Évry, France
Background: Time to perform 40-yard dash (40-yd) is a performance criterion in American football. Sprinting ability is strongly correlated with maximal values of horizontal power (PHmax), Force (FH0) and Velocity (VH0). While numerous methods for developing sprint speed exist, few studies have focused on the effects of periodizations on the sprinting mechanical variables in young talented American football players. Objective: this study aimed to compare the effects of block (BP) and undulating (UP) training periodization modalities on 40-yard dash performance. Method: 27 players from the Young French League of American football (17.1 ± 0.9 y, 179.9 ± 5.5 cm, 81.1 ± 14.9 kg) were randomly assigned in either the BP (n=15) or UP (n=12) group. Anthropometric characteristics, 40-yd performance, maximal velocity (Vmax), PHmax, FH0 and VH0 were assessed before and after 10-wk intervention period. Results: Training resulted in the 40-yd performance increase of 3.72% (p<0.001) and significant changes in Vmax (+ =6.13 ± 5.62%, p <0.001) and VH0 values (+2.68 ± 4.14%, p=0.004). BP intervention leaded higher improvements in time to perform 40-yd (4.45 ± 2.06 vs. 3.02 ± 1.93%, p<0.001) and Vmax (7.30 ± 6.63% vs. 4.54 ± 4.10%, p=0.002,) compared to UP. No periodization effect was found in changes of VH0 (BP: 3.42 ± 4.31% vs. UP: 1.48 ± 3.88, p=0.214). Conclusion: Our results showed that BP and UP were effective to increase sprint performance. Despite a similar training load, the block periodization of training had better effects on 40-yd performance compared to undulating training periodization in this population of talented young American football players.
Keywords: Sprint acceleration, Mechanical variables, undalating periodization, Block training, team players, Young Talent Evaluation, American football, performance
Received: 31 Dec 2024; Accepted: 28 Feb 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Prioul, Slawinski, Guersent, Lopes and Leprêtre. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Pierre-Marie Leprêtre, UFR-STAPS, Laboratoire CETAPS, Université de Rouen, Rouen, 80025, France
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.