Relationships between unilateral horizontal and vertical drop jumps and 20 metre sprint performance

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to compare the relationships between horizontal (HDJ) and vertical drop jumps (VDJ) to sprint performance. Design: Exploratory Study. Setting: Laboratory. Participants: Nineteen male collegiate participants (22.5 ± 3.2 years, 181.1 ± 6.7 cm, 80.3 ± 9.6 kg). Main outcome measures: All participants performed VDJ and HDJ from a 20 cm height onto an AMTI force platform sampling at 1200 Hz before performing three 20 m sprints.Sprint times (5, 10, 15, 20, 5-10, 10-15, 15-20 m) were measured using a LAVEG speed gun. Results: All jump and sprint measures showed excellent within sessionreliability (ICC: 0.954 to 0.99). Pearson's and Spearman's correlations revealed significant (p < 0.01) moderate to high correlations between jump measures and sprint times (R: -0.665 to -0.769). Stepwise multiple regression revealed jump distance normalised by body height (HDJ) was the best predictor for 10, 20, 5-10, 10-15 and 15-20 m sprint times (R2 = 41% to 48%). Conclusions: HDJ performancemeasures provide stronger relationships to sprint performance than VDJ's. Thus,HDJ's should be considered in test batteries to monitor training and rehabilitation forathletes in sprint related sports