☕️ S&C Daily — Logged the Minutes, Not the Load

November 5, 2026

A new review in Sports Medicine pulls together the applied sport science of pro men’s basketball, from load monitoring and testing to travel, sleep and nutrition. One finding stands out. In an earlier study of one NBA team across a season (14 players), about 84% of on-court time came outside of games, and weekly court time was similar for starters (329 minutes), rotation players (356) and bench players (324).

But even though bench players spent the most time in simulated play meant to replicate games, their weekly load reached only about 65% of the starters’. The authors’ conclusion: court work alone may fall short for under-exposed players, and “supplementary individualised work is likely warranted.”

Another interesting finding: among 112 NBA players, more social media activity between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. was linked to fewer points and rebounds, less playing time and a lower field-goal percentage.

NFL officials have to pass preseason fitness tests covering weight, speed and agility, with benchmarks set by age, according to Bill Topp, president of the National Association of Sports Officials. In a new Sport & State story, former college strength coach Austin Ardrey, who founded the officials’ training program Runnin’ Ref, lays out how he preps officials across an offseason, preseason and regular season.

For officials working Sundays, Ardrey programs an active recovery day Monday and a harder strength session Tuesday, then lighter conditioning, mobility and activation work the rest of the week. He leans on single-leg squats, lateral squats, ankle isometrics and heel drops to target what he sees most: Achilles and patellar tendinitis, hamstring and calf strains and plantar fasciitis. Rick Patterson, who recently retired after 30 NFL seasons, put his average game at about six miles. “It’s stop, start, stop, start,” Patterson said.

A new study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research had 58 recreationally active men and women run 6 x 25-meter sprints twice a week for 8 weeks, paired with heavy squats (4 x 4 at 85% of 1RM or more), hypertrophy squats (3 x 8-12), bodyweight squat jumps or no lifting. The heavy and hypertrophy groups pulled ahead, gaining more strength and cutting about a tenth of a second off their 25-meter sprint, more than sprints alone. Squat jumps didn’t beat sprint-only training. The authors’ conclusion: pairing sprints with high-load strength training beats sprinting alone.

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