Speed Training ; Testing Agility

Testing agility and quickness comprises more than lining up a small number of cones and seizing a stopwatch. A suitable assessment for the precise demands, distances, and actions involved in a sport should deliver valuable information for everyone. Therefore, overseers should sensibly select tests for athlete assessment. Individuals can use the tests and evaluation drills in several ways:

Predicting athletic potential

Fields tests linked to a given sport are frequently used to predict an individual’s future aptitude to fruitfully perform a specific activity or sport. Thus, the tests designated to assess athletic potential should mimic the exact movement patterns, energy systems, and muscle groups essential for a particular sport in order to provide significant information and feedback.

Pinpointing strengths and weaknesses

By determining which change-of-direction dynamics and perceptual and decision-making skills need enhancement, the individual can make better selections about which drills should take precedence in an individual’s training programme. Moreover, sporadic testing may give everyone valuable material as to how effective an applied training regimen has been.
Comparing performance levels

Amassing testing data can help individuals gain an improved understanding of how their performance levels equate with those of others. Trainers often use collected data to compare athletic performance, appraise their programmes, and track development from one testing period to another and from season to season.
Refining motivation and goal setting

Testing can help the individual set precise, quantifiable, and realistic goals to progress performance. Testing athletes frequently offers the trainer and player valuable information required to create and adjust the training programme to meet particular goals.

Bibliography

• Dawes, Jay. Developing agility and quickness. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2012

• Kurz, Thomas. Science of sports training: how to plan and control training for peak performance. Island Pond, VT, U.S.A.: Stadion, 1991.