Sanford SCORE is a testing system that serves multiple purposes in the continued development of athletes at Sanford Sports Performance.
For more than a decade, it has remained a cornerstone of Sanford strength and conditioning programs based on its effectiveness as a training companion.
It is a means of tracking progress for athletes while also providing a source of motivation. It can be part of a valuable “next goal” throughout an athlete’s competitive career.
“Kids like to see numbers,” said Jason Dorman, lead sports science specialist for Sanford Sports. “No matter what sports they’re in, they want to see the numbers that are representative of how well they’re doing. Points, rebounds, rushing yards, number of goals you score – whatever it is, they like to see those numbers pop up.”
How SCORE works
Sanford SCORE is a proprietary formula that measures an athlete’s power, speed, agility and movement. It combines an athlete’s overall strengths and weaknesses into a single, comprehensive number and is based on four physical tests:
- 20-yard sprint
- Pro agility (shuttle)
- Vertical jump
- Broad jump
Sanford Sports has administered the test more than 24,000 times since offering it as part of its programs. It now includes more than 10,000 athletes over the decade-plus time it has been available.
“It doesn’t always predict how well you’re going to do on the field or court, but it does show you how you rank from an athleticism standpoint,” Dorman said.
The scores are recorded and put into a central database that allows athletes to compare themselves to others and, if they remain in the Sanford programs, to see their improvement as they get older.
“You can see your progression from a maturation and strength and conditioning standpoint,” Dorman said. “It helps our strength coaches understand what our athletes are doing in the weight room and out on the court. We get insight into whether their program is actually doing what we hope it will do.”
Dialing in progress
By administering the test for more than a decade to thousands of athletes, Sanford Sports can draw from expansive data in measuring where athletes are in their level of athleticism. These certified strength and conditioning coaches can also narrow the scope of the comparison. Are you a 5-foot-10 wide receiver or a 240-pound lineman? Are you 15 years old or are you 18?
“A lot of times moms and dads will ask, ‘Well, how did Johnny do?’” Dorman said. “And maybe he didn’t score really high overall, but how did he do in comparison to his age? I can say, ‘Johnny scored in the 75th percentile from this category. He’s really good at speed but he needs to improve his vertical power or his power development.’ With that many test scores to draw from, we can break down the test scores even deeper.”
As an example, Dorman mentioned Sanford SCORE test-taker Mason McCormick. McCormick was an FCS All-American offensive lineman at South Dakota State who was taken in the fourth round of the NFL draft in 2024 by Pittsburgh. He has since become a starting guard for the Steelers.
“He did really well, maybe not in comparison to a wide receiver, but for his age and weight category you could tell he was a great athlete,” Dorman said. “Our wealth of data really helps us assess how an athlete does from an individual standpoint.”
Results can be grouped by schools in addition to age and weight. All-time top 10 lists provide another way of measuring progress. Do you want to know how your score compares to recently retired 10-year NFL veteran C.J. Ham? The SCORE database will let you do that.
In addition, new scores are recognized in score clubs. Get your score over 600 and you become a member of the 600 Club with an accompanying T-shirt. Keep the milestone scores coming – 650, 700, 750, etc. – and you gain membership into increasingly elite clubs.
Focusing on becoming a better athlete
The ultimate goal for Sanford Sports athletes is never going to be expressed only as a number recorded in a series of physical tests. More accurately, Sanford Sports Performance aims to help athletes become better at the sports they play. One of the ways of doing that is by getting faster, stronger, more agile, and becoming a better overall athlete.
It is where Sanford SCORE can become a valuable tool.
“When an NFL player is working for his pro day, they focus on the tests. The tests themselves don’t have any determination of how a good a football player you are, but they’re stuck doing the tests,” said Jesse Haines, manager of Sanford Sports Performance. “We could do the same thing here, but we’re trying to do what is best for the athlete. Improving the score is just something that happens while trying to become better athletes.”
When tests are completed, the results are emailed to participants and parents. The athletes can then review the overall score in context with whatever else was going on when they participated in the testing.
“It might reflect the commitment and focus the athletes have,” Haines said. “It can be a way to see how they’re doing. Were they expecting good results? If they didn’t get those results, was it because of a lack of commitment, or not showing up as often as they did in the past? Those are the kinds of things we study and try to help the athlete figure out.”
Where to look
Sanford Sports offers the test at more than 35 locations this summer and throughout the school year to more than 6,500 athletes.
This includes Sanford facilities in Sioux Falls and Fargo. There are also school-based program locations in communities in South Dakota, North Dakota and Minnesota where a Sanford Sports Performance facility isn’t physically present. Certified performance coaches deliver programming throughout the school year and summer in partnership with school systems in these communities.
If you have questions about Sanford Sports programs and SCORE testing, you can visit sanfordsports.com.
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Posted In Sanford Sports, Sports Medicine
