HPD Perspectives Magazine Summer/Fall 2019

NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY | 35 NSU Scores Football Players to Help with Training BY G. MONIQUE MOKHA, PH.D., LAT, ATC, CSCS, AND LIA M. JIANNINE, PH.D., ACSM-CEP, CSCS, CHES More than 40 players preparing for the National Football League (NFL) Draft descended on NSU’s Exercise and Sport Science laboratories in January to score a complete physical assessment that could guide and monitor their training. Athlete monitoring and data tracking are paramount in elite sports, where minute changes can make big differences in a player’s draft prospect. The players were training at Bommarito Performance Systems in Davie, Florida, run by owner and head coach Pete Bommarito, M.S. Bommarito, who has a sport-science background, initiated the partnership with NSU so his players could benefit from high-tech analyses. Along with Jose Antonio, Ph.D., CSCS, FNSCA, FISSN, and a select group of students, faculty members tested body composition, as well as jumping and running biomechanics, using the labs’ sophisticated equipment. After six weeks, players returned to the labs for post-testing. For many, this was just days before they traveled to Indianapolis, Indiana, for the NFL Scouting Combine. NSU faculty members were able to document the changes in lean muscle mass, fat percentage, water content, reactive jump strength, and sprint-force magnitude and timing. This unique project culminated with the lead author attending the NFL Scouting Combine, as well as attending presentations at numerous international sport-science conferences by the project team. o G. Monique Mokha is a professor, and Lia M. Jiannine is an assistant professor, in the Department of Health and Human Performance Exercise and Sport Science B.S. Program—Fort Lauderdale. NFL STUDY DRAFT