Force Plate Analysis of Collegiate Athletes: Sport, Class Year, and Weekly Trends in Neuromuscular Performance

Force plate testing is increasingly used in collegiate athletics to monitor neuromuscular performance, yet it remains unclear which outcomes are most sensitive to longitudinal change and how those outcomes vary across athlete groups. The purpose of this study was to examine differences in force plate outcomes across class year, sport, and week of testing in collegiate athletes using a repeated-measures design. The dataset included 2,478 athlete-week observations from 250 athletes representing multiple sports. Separate linear mixed-effects models were estimated for jump height, RSI-modified, peak power relative to body mass, concentric peak force, eccentric braking rate of force development, peak landing force, and landing rate of force development. Fixed effects included centered week, class year, sport, and week-by-year interactions, while athlete was included as a random effect. Results indicated that sport was the most consistent predictor across models, with significant between-sport differences observed for nearly all outcomes. Class year main effects were generally limited, though several force-based outcomes showed significant week-by-year interactions. Jump height, RSI-modified, and peak power relative to body mass did not show meaningful linear change across weeks, whereas concentric peak force, eccentric braking rate of force development, peak landing force, and landing rate of force development demonstrated significant weekly trends. These findings suggest that force-based and landing-related variables may be more sensitive indicators of longitudinal change than jump-height-based outcomes alone. Overall, the results support the use of force plate testing as a sport-sensitive athlete monitoring tool and highlight the importance of interpreting weekly trends within both sport and developmental context.