Importance of Standardized Combine Testing

Combine season is fast approaching and there will be athletic testing popping up on every open stretch of grass in the major cities across the country.  With so many combines to choose from,  how do you determine which ones are a worthy endeavor and which ones are a waste of time and hamstring energy.  One major aspect that can separate the real from the unreal is the presence of standardized testing at the combine event.  By standardized I mean digital time of the 40 yard dash and other agility drills.  It’s the best way to legitimately gauge one athlete against another either at the local combine or another combine taking place at another location.  I see the implementation of standardized testing being the wave of the future on the high school level if no other reason other than the fact that so many athletes participate in these combines annually.   Zybek Sports out of Boulder, Colorado is taking a leadership role in bringing standardized athletic testing to the high school level.  Here is a recent article written by them on the importance of standardized testing at combine events.

IMPORTANCE OF STANDARDIZED COMBINE TESTING
By: Michael Weinstein – Zybek Sports
email: mike@zybeksports.com 

With fractions of an inch and two decimal places separating the top players on most teams, it is important to ensure an athlete’s data is uniform and accurate.   Colleges and Pro teams need to ensure that the athletes they are considering are being measured consistently and accurately.  The use of Fully Automated Timing (FAT) systems, where the time is started by the athlete and stopped by the athlete, are the first important step in ensuring that athletes are being compare fairly.  Other important steps include: ensuring the system is setup in exactly the distance specified; providing a certificate of timer equipment accuracy, and documentation of the test conditions, including running surface type, weather conditions, etc.  Not following these guidelines will always call into question the accuracy of the claimed time.

 

Zybek Sport’s timing system provides a traceable F.A.T platform.  Wires are used to connect the timer display unit to the remote sensors.  Although wires may seem old-fashion, marks on the wires are placed exactly at the 10 / 20 / 40 yard positions, thus ensuring exact placement of the timing points.  Also, the use of wires precludes any timing interferences / delays in wireless communications with the timing box.  Another issue that needs to be considered when setting up a verified, traceable timing system is ensuring the system is configured properly.  ZAP has designed the basic F.A.T. systems to be extremely simple.  Whereas some timing systems have software and remote communications links, ZAP’s system has two switches:  one on / off and one reset.  This makes operation easy and leaves little room for setup error.

 

Vertical Jump.  
To reduce testing time, many coaches have opted to use devices to measure “hang-time”.  The “hang time” is then used to calculate the vertical jump.  Although this method may be reasonable from a classic physics perspective and is fast, it often does not translate into an accurate actual vertical jump.  The classic vertical flag stack measurement is what the NFL uses and most colleges.  Vertec was the first to pioneer the vertical jump measurement system.  The flag system was and continues to be the most accurate means of measuring the vertical jump.  The use of a Vertec can often be time consuming, however.  For example, some coaches, often a use a piece of tape placed on the pole marking the athletes reach height.  After the athlete jumps, a tape measure is used to determine the distance between the tape mark and the bottom flag.  Accurate, but slow.

 

A new system by ZAP has made the testing very fast with no math.  The reach height is set by adjusting the mask to the height reach height.  The jump height is then simply read from the flag.  Although amazingly simple, this method of determining the vertical jump is very fast, easy and intuitive.  When maximal jump height is needed, the mask is set at a scribed mark and the height is simply read.  This is both fast and accurate.

Providing an accurate, standardized and documented method of physical combine testing is important to the athletes.  Athletes need to be very careful when selecting a testing institution for providing their numbers.  As mentioned, it is obvious that using a hang-time measurement is not an accurate method of reporting the vertical jump measurement.  The NFL uses a series of mechanical flags to measure vertical jump.  The testing company reporting the athlete’s score should use the same system.  The timing system differences, however, are a little more subtle and need to be investigated before accepting times from a combine company as real.  The most important requirement for any testing company is the use of a Fully Automated Timing system.  As seen in most programs, the difference in times between the top athletes is so minor, that any error introduced by a hand start makes the difference between the athletes statistically the same.   Even giving experience coaches the benefit of repeatable hand-eye coordination, it is nearly impossible for the eye to view the start; the brain to process; and the hand to mechanically ‘push the start button’ with 100% repeatability.  At the 2011 NFL combine, the best time in the 40 was 4.28 seconds.  The next nine times ranged from 4.34 to 4.40.  If you had the 4.31 second time, wouldn’t you be questioning the consistency of a hand started time?  Especially because some combine events span multiple days, the starter’s actual reaction time can be influenced by fatigue and ambient conditions that far exceed a few hundredths of a second.  So, ensuring the combine testing company has a repeatable, verifiable; F.A.T. system is of paramount importance to the numbers.  Also, it appears the laser-style start sensor system, is a reliable start method for a F.A.T. system.  Other systems, using a touch pad, can alter the preferred starting position of the athlete and be one additional mental distraction (e.g., am I pressing hard enough? Will I slip on the pad if my back foot contacts the pad, etc.)  that has nothing to do with running the fastest time possible.  Laser start systems measure and test the athlete’s performance.  Additional human errors are eliminated.

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