Grip strength and North American collegiate football performance indicators

Football athletes are often tested in their ability to display high levels of strength and power to determine their sporting prowess. One indicator of total body strength in the general population is handgrip strength (HGS) which has also been used to stratify level of success in a variety of sports. It is of interest to determine what relationship HGS has with other indicators of football performance. This study examined the correlation between HGS as it relates to indicators of football sport performance: vertical jump (VJ), 18.3 meter sprint (13.8MS), and one-repetition maximum back squat (1-RM BSQ) among North American collegiate football players. Sixteen (n=16) male participants from a NCAA Division II football program (age: 21.3±1.7 years, height: 183.6±9.1 cm, mass: 99.6±17.7 kg) were assessed for HGS, VJ, 18.3MS, and 1-RM BSQ. Athletes performed a dynamic warm-up followed by two trials of each assessment: HGS, VJ, and 18.3MS. A recent 1-RM BSQ as recorded by the college’s strength and conditioning staff was used as the measure of BSQ strength. Pearson correlation coefficients (r) were determined for HGS and football performance tests as well as HGS to body mass ratio and football performance tests. Moderate correlations were found between HGS and VJ, as well as HGS and 18.3MS (r=-0.41, and r=0.49; respectively). HGS to body mass (HGS/BM) ratio also demonstrated moderate correlations with VJ (r=0.50) and 18.3MS times (r=-0.41). No significant correlation was found between HGS and 1-RM BSQ (r=0.09) or HGS/BM with 1-RM BSQ/BM (r=-0.13). Within the parameters of this study, HGS as it relates to an athlete’s body mass has a moderate relationship with performance in the VJ and the 13.8MS.