Measuring reaction time and force exerted by football players

Abstract

In the field of reaction time there have been many attempts to differentiate between the responses of athletes and non-athletes and to classify individuals by various measures of response to stimuli. Many studies have been done on the variables which might be considered as acting upon one's reaction time. Some of these studies attempted to: (1) determine the effect of strenuous exercise upon reaction time; (2) the effect of a heavy meal upon reaction time; (3) comparison of reaction time taken at different times through­ out the day; (1|) the effect of fatigue upon reaction time. Over a period of years apparently only a few devices have been constructed for measuring response of football players to stimuli. The purpose of this study was to determine the speed of response as measured by the movement of the body and to measure the force exerted by football players in charging against an especially constructed "blocking dummy"; and to construct T-scores for speed of response and for the force exerted during the charge. The importance of bodily weight relative to these two factors was also considered as a part of the problem.