Discriminative Ability of Lower limb Strength and Power Measures in Lacrosse Athletes

Abstract

The objective of this investigation was to compare isokinetic strength, countermovement jump and drop jump variables between high-contributors and low-contributors within NCAA Division I Men's and Women's lacrosse athletes. Men's (N=36) and Women's (N=30) NCAA Division I lacrosse athletes completed strength testing of the quadriceps and hamstring across three speeds (60°·s -1, 180°·s -1, 300°·s -1), countermovement and drop jumps. To determine the discriminative ability of select lower-limb strength and power characteristics participants were categorized as high-contributors (Males N=18, age=20.3±0.4 yrs, height=183.9±5.5 cm, mass=90.8±5.8 kg; Females N=15, age=20.8±0.8 yrs, height=169.3±6.7 cm, mass=64.1±7.2 kg) or low-contributors (Males N=18, age=19.5±0.2 yrs, height=184.1±5.6 cm; mass=87.9±8.1 kg; Females N=15, age=19.7±0.2 yrs, height=169.8±7.0 cm, mass=62.9±7.7 kg) based upon the number of games the participants competed in during the regular season. Within the male cohort, moderate significant (p<0.05) differences were observed between high-contributors and low-contributors in isokinetic hamstring strength of the left leg at 300°·s -1(d=0.69) and peak power in countermovement jump (d= 0.68). Within the women's cohort a large (d= 0.87) significant difference (p<0.05) in isokinetic strength of the left hamstring was observed between high-contributors and low-contributors at 60°·s -1. Hamstring strength and lower-limb power are important strength measures for lacrosse performance and should be prioritized in training prescription for lacrosse athletes.