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AgilityinInvasionSports.
Authors:WarrenB.Young1,BrianDawson2,andGregJ.Henry2
1
SchoolofHealthSciences,FederationUniversityAustralia,Australia.
2
SchoolofSportScience,ExerciseandHealth,UniversityofWesternAustralia,Australia.
ABSTRACT
Thisreviewexploresthedifferencesbetweenagilityininvasionsports(definedasincludingreactive
decisionmaking)andchangeofdirectionspeed(CODS),andhighlightstheimplicationsfortraining.
CorrelationsbetweenagilitytestsandCODStestsindicatethattheyrepresentindependentskills.
AgilitytestsdiscriminatehigherfromlowerstandardathletesbetterthanCODStests,indicating
thatthecognitiveelementofagilityisimportanttoperformance.Trainingstudieshaveshownthat
thedevelopmentofstrengthqualitiescantransfertogainsinCODS,butthishasneverbeenshown
foragility.ThereissomeevidencethattheimportanceofphysicalqualitiesisgreaterforCODSthan
foragility.Itwasconcludedthatthereactiveelementshouldbeincludedinagilitytraining,testing
andresearch.Whilethereappearstobenoresearchevidenceforthebenefitsofstrengthand
powertraining,thereissomesupportfortheuseofsmallsidedgamesforimprovingagility.
Keywords:Decisionmaking,plyometrics,attacking,defending,football
INTRODUCTION
Agilityisimportantforcombatsportssuchasboxing,courtsportssuchastennisandteamsports
suchasvolleyballorbaseball.Howeverthisreviewwillbelimitedtoacategoryofsportsdescribed
asinvasionorterritorialsports,whichhavecommoncharacteristics.Thesesportsinvolve
opposingteamsattemptingtoinvadetheiropponentsterritorytoenhancescoringopportunities
[1].Gainingandmaintainingpossessionoftheballiscrucialforattack,anddefendingisimportantto
preventtheoppositionfromscoring[1].Invasionsportsincludeallfootballcodes,basketball,
netball,Europeanhandball,lacrosseandfieldhockey.Althoughsportsplayedinanaquatic
environmentsuchaswaterpoloorsportsplayedonicesuchasicehockeyarealsoexamplesof
invasionsports,onlyagilityrelatingtolandbasedsportsinvolvinglocomotionbywalkingorrunning
willbediscussedinthisreview.Ininvasionsports,agilityskillisbeneficialtoattackerstoevadetheir
opponentspressureortackles,andfordefenderstoreducespaceonthefieldorcourttolimit
attackingmovements,orpotentiallyachieveaturnover.
Unfortunatelythereisnouniversallyaccepteddefinitionofagility[2].Whileearlierdefinitions
referredexclusivelytoachangeofdirectionelement[3,4],agilityhasmorerecentlybeendefined
asarapidwholebodymovementwithchangeofvelocityordirectioninresponsetoastimulus[2],
andthisdefinitionhasbeenadoptedbyseveralauthors[5,6,7,8].Achangeofdirectiontaskthatis
preplannedhasbeendescribedaschangeofdirectionspeed[2],andthisphrasehasbecome
increasinglycommontodistinguishthisclosedskillfromagilityinvolvingareaction[9,10,11,12].
Apartfromthechangeofdirection,itisimportanttoacknowledgetwootherelementsintheabove
agilitydefinition.First,changeinvelocityindicatesthatanagilitygamescenariocouldinclude
decelerationonly,whereanattackingplayerdecidestosuddenlyreducespeedtocreatespace
betweenhimorherselfandtheopponent.Thesecondimportantelementofthisdefinitionisthata
changeinvelocityordirectionisinresponsetoanexternalstimulusprovidedbyanopponents
actions.Thisrecognisesthatplayersdonotrandomlychangevelocityordirection;ratherthey
typicallydosoinresponsetoexternalstimulitoeitherevadeadefenderorplacepressureonan
attacker.Therearealsosituationsinmanysportswhereplayersneedtochangevelocityordirection
togetintothedesiredpositiononthefieldorcourt,butiftheyarenotperformedatmaximum
effort,theyarenotusuallyconsideredasagilitymanoeuvres[13].Therefore,thestimulustochange
velocityordirectionistypicallytheactionsofopponents.However,oneratheruniqueinvasionsport
examplewhereachangeofdirectionmovementispreplannedratherthanaresponsetoastimulus
isinAmericanfootball,whereaneligiblereceiversprintsforwardandattemptstocutlaterallyafter
apredetermineddistance.Therearemanysituationsininvasionsportsthatinvolvesetplays,such
asafreekickjustoutsidethepenaltyboxinsoccer.Inthesecases,thepreplannedteamstrategy
maybetoadvancetheballtoaparticularlocation,buttypicallytheplayerinpossessionoftheballis
stillrequiredtoperformunpredictableevasiveagilitymanoeuvresinresponsetoadefenders
actions.Forexample,ifabasketballattackernoticesthatadefenderismovingtothelefttoblock
forwardprogression,theplayerwiththeballmightcuttotheright.Similarly,adefenderwillwatch
theattackersmovementscarefullyinordertoquicklyreacttoanyevasiveaction.
In2002,amodelwaspublished[14]indicatingthatagilitywascomprisedoftwomaincomponents;
perceptualanddecisionmakingfactorsandchangeofdirectionspeed(CODS).CODSwasinturn
determinedbytechnicalfactorssuchasstrideadjustments,physicalelementssuchasstraight
sprintingspeedandlegmusclequalities,whichincludestrength,powerandreactivestrength.CODS
activitiesareclosedskillsthatinvolvepreplannedmovements.AnexampleofaCODSactivityin
sportisbaserunninginbaseballorsoftball,wherethebatterrunsapredetermineddistancebefore
changingdirectionatananglegovernedbythediamond.Itisimportanttorecognisethatapartfrom
theAmericanfootballexamplementionedabove,CODSisveryrareininvasionsports[5].Forthe
purposesofthisreview,thetermagilitywillalwaysrefertochangesofvelocityordirectionin
responsetoastimulusprovidedbyanoppositionplayersactions.Thephrasereactiveagilityhas
previouslybeenusedintheliterature[11,15,16,17]toacknowledgethatagilityisreactiveinnature,
butthiswillnotbeusedherebecause,accordingtothedefinitionofagility,thewordreactiveis
redundant.ThepurposeofthisreviewistoexplorethefactorsthatdetermineCODSandagilityin
invasionsportsandprovidepracticalapplicationsfortrainingandtestingathletestoimprovesports
performance.Whilethereviewwillprovideinsightsintotheroleofstrengthandpowertrainingas
wellascognitivefactorsforCODSandagility,itisbeyondthescopeofthereviewtodiscussthe
technicalfactorsrelatingtoagility.
DIFFERENCEBETWEENAGILITYANDCODSANDTHEIMPORTANCEOFEACH
ThedifferentdefinitionsforCODSandagilityarenotjustsemantic,asthereisevidencetosupport
thedistinction.Thereislimitedresearchthathasusedtestsofagilityininvasionsports,andeven
lessthathascomparedbothagilityandCODStestswiththesameathletes.Totheauthors
knowledge,thereareonlyfivestudiesthathaveassessedathleteswithanagilitytestaswellasa
comparableplannedCODStestinvolvingthesamemovementpattern(6,15,16,18,19].Twoofthe
studieswereconductedwithmaleAustralianRulesfootballers[15,16],onewithrugbyleague[19],
onewithbasketball[6]andonewithfemalenetballers[18].Toprovidethenecessarystimuluswhen
assessingagility,threeofthesestudiesusedavideobaseddisplayofanattacker[15,18,19]andthe
othersusedalivetesterwhoperformedsidestepsasifevadingadefender[6,16].Inallofthese
studies,thecorrelationbetweentheagilityandCODStestyieldedPearsoncoefficientsofr=0.68
[15]r=0.321[16],r=0.434[6],r=0.70[18],andaSpearmancorrelationof0.08[19].Thecommon
variance(r2x100)fromthefirstfourstudiesvariedfrom1049%(mean=29%),andsincethisvalueis
clearlybelow50%,indicatesthatagilityandCODSareindependentskills[20].Inagreementwiththis
conclusion,theSpearmanscorrelationwasverylow[19].Therefore,sincethemaindifference
betweentheagilityandCODStestsinthesestudieswasthecognitivecomponentinvolvinga
reactiontoanopponent,thisappearstodramaticallychangethecharacteroftheagilitytests,a
conceptthatwillbediscussedinmoredetaillater.
HavingestablishedthatagilityandCODSarespecificskills,thecriticalquestionthatfollowsiswhich
oftheseskillsismoreimportantforperformance?Thisissuecanbeaddressedbycomparinghigher
andlowerstandardgroupsofathletes.Ifasuperiorskilledgroupisbetteronaparticulartest,the
qualityassessedbythattestcanbesaidtobeimportantforperformanceinthesport[21].
Conversely,ifahigherlevelgroupisnotbetteronatest,thequalityassessedbythattestwould
appeartohavelittlerelevancetosuperiorsportsperformance.Usingsucharesearchdesign,several
studieshaveshownthehigherskilledgrouptobesuperior(P<0.05)inanagilitytestbutnot(P>0.05)
inaCODStestinAustralianfootball[15,16,22]andrugbyleague[11,19].Theseresultsclearly
indicatethatagilityismorerelatedtoperformanceintheseinvasionsportsthanCODStests,and
providesevidencefortheimportanceoftheperceptualanddecisionmakingelementofagility.
PERCEPTUALANDDECISIONMAKINGINAGILITY
Whetherattackingordefending,agilityskillrequirestheabilitytoperceiverelevantinformation
aboutopponentsmovementsandreactquicklyandaccurately.Someagilitytestshavebeenableto
isolatethedecisionmakingtimefromthetotalagilityaction.Thisistypicallydonebyusinghigh
speedvideotodeterminethetimefromthestimulus(attackersinitialchangeofdirection
movement)tothetestedathletesfirstresponse[6,11,15,17,18,19,23].Inonestudy[17],the
decisiontimeonlyrepresented3.6%ofthetotalagilitytime,butthecorrelationbetweendecision
timeandtotalagilitytimewasr=0.77.Thecorrelationcoefficientbetweentheresponding
movementtimeandtotalagilitytimewasr=0.59,indicatingthatthedecisionmakingtimewaseven
moreinfluentialtoagilityperformancethanthemovementthatfollowed.Morerecently,Scanlonet
al.[6]reportedthatdecisiontimewassignificantlycorrelated(r=0.577,P<0.05)withanagilitytestin
basketballplayers,andconcludedthatcognitivequalitiesareimportanttodevelopagilityin
basketball.
Somestudiesthathavereporteddecisionmakingtimehavealsocomparedahigherandlower
standardgroupofathletes.Thehigherstandardgroupwastypicallyfoundtoproducefaster
decisions(P<0.05)thanthelowerstandardgroupinnetball[18]andrugbyleague[24,25],although
thedifferencebetweenthegroupsisnotalwaysstatisticallysignificant[11,15].Onestudymeasured
decisionmakingtimeonlybyrequiringparticipantstoreacttovideofootageofanattackerchanging
directionbypressingaswitchinthehandtoindicateasquicklyandaccuratelyaspossiblewhether
themovementwastotheleftorright[26].ItwasfoundthatprofessionalAustralianRulesfootball
playerswereslightlyfaster(P>0.05,effectsize=0.26)thanelitejuniorplayers,butweresignificantly
moreaccurate(P=0.034,effectsize=0.60)intheirdecisions,indicatingbetteroveralldecision
makingskill.Further,ithasbeenfoundthathigherstandardplayersarelesssusceptibletodeceptive
actionsofattackers,suchasafakepassinrugbyunion[27]andafakesidestepinAustralian
football[28].
Astudywithrugbyleague[29]requiredagroupofsubeliteplayerstoperformsixsessionsofagility
trainingbyviewingandreactingto10videoclipsofanattackerchangingdirectionineachsession.
Afterthebrieftrainingperiod,thetraininggroupreducedtheirdecisiontimefrom340to40ms
(P<0.05),whereasacontrolgroupfromthesamesquadshowednomeaningfulchange(P>0.05).In
addition,arecentstudyonelitejuniorAustralianfootballplayers[8]showedthatdecisionmaking
timeinanagilitytestimprovedby31%(P<0.001)following11sessionsofsmallsidedgames
designedtooverloadagilityskill.Accordingly,thesestudiesindicatethatcognitiveskillrelatingto
agilityishighlytrainable,eveninexperiencedathletes.
Researchoncognitiveskillinsoccerhasfocussedonthedefenderobservingvideofootageofan
attackerdribbling,oragoalkeeperreactingtoapenaltykick.Forexample,WilliamsandDavids[30]
comparedeliteandrecreationalsoccerplayersandfoundthemoreskilledplayerswerefasterand
moreaccurate(P<0.05)inanticipatingthepassdirectioninaoneononesituation.Basedoneye
trackinganalysis,thebetterplayerswereshowntofixatelongeronthehipregionoftheattacker,
indicatingthatthisprovidedanimportantcueaboutthepassdirection.Alaterstudy[31]showed
thatelitejuniorsoccerplayerswere6%moreaccurate(P>0.05)inanticipatingpassdirectionthana
subelitegroupinaoneononescenario,but12%moreaccurate(P<0.05)ina11v11situation,
indicatingtheanticipatoryskillwasmorepronouncedintheeliteplayerswhenthetaskwascomplex
withmorepossiblepassingoptions.Furthermore,studiesofgoalkeepersviewingapenaltyshot
haveshownthatmoreexperiencedorhigherstandardplayersaresuperiortolowerstandard
playersinpredictingthecorrectdirectionofthekick[32,33,34].Resultsfromoneofthesestudies
showedthatthemoresuccessfulgoalkeepersemployedadifferentvisualsearchstrategy[33],
indicatingthattheabilitytoextractandinterpretrelevantvisualinformationisimportantforfast
andaccurateresponses.
Theabovesoccerresearchshowsthatbetterperformerscanidentifyimportantposturalcueswhich
serveasthevisualstimulustomaketheirdecisionsaboutopponentsactions.Ithasalsobeen
shownthatelitesoccerplayerswerenotsuperior(P>0.05)toinexperiencedplayersinareaction
timetestusingaflashingcircleasastimulus[30].Thisfindinghighlightsthepointthatthecognitive
skillrequiredtoreactquicklyandaccuratelyisbasedonasportspecificstimulusratherthana
genericone.Thisconclusionissupportedbytwostudiesindicatingthatwhilehigherstandard
Australianfootballplayerswerebetter(P<0.05)thantheirlowerstandardcounterpartswhen
reactingtoavideodisplayofanattackerchangingdirection,theywerenotbetter(P>0.05)reacting
toagenericstimulusofaflashingarrow[22]orlight[15].
UseofstrengthandconditioningtotrainCODSandagility
DeterminingtherelativeimportanceofatrainablequalitytoeitherCODSoragilityisnecessaryfora
coachtoknowhowmuchtrainingtimeandefforttodevotetodevelopmentofthatquality.The
followingsectionwilldiscusstheimportanceofstrengthqualitiesandsprintingspeedforthe
developmentofCODSandagility.Thereisaplethoraofresearchthathasreportedthecorrelations
betweenphysicalqualitiesandCODS[9,10,14,35,36],andwhileastrongrelationshipbetweentwo
qualitiesindicatestheypossesscommoncharacteristics,itdoesnotproveacauseandeffect
relationship.Ultimately,theissuethatcoachesareinterestedinistheeffectivenessofaparticular
trainingapproachforenhancingperformance,andthereforemoreconvincingevidencecomesfrom
trainingstudies,whichwillbediscussedbelow.
CODSRESEARCH
WhenevaluatingtheevidencerelatingtotheimportanceofphysicalfactorsforCODS,amajor
difficultyisthehugevarietyofCODStestsusedtoassessthisquality.Thisisexpectedbecause
differentinvasionsportsrequirearangeofmovementpatternsandfootwork.Forexample,some
sportsinvolvelateralshufflingsuchasbasketball,whileothersportssuchasrugbyunionorleague
commonlyrequiresidesteppingorcuttingmovements.Oneelementthatiscommontoallofthese
testsisthattheathleteisrequiredtocompleteapreplannedcoursedefinedbyobstaclessuchas
conesintheshortestpossibletime,usuallyassessedwithanelectronictimingsystem.
CODStestsalsovarygreatlyduetodifferencesintheangleofdirectionalchangeandthenumberof
changesofdirection,whichmaybeaslittleasone[16]toasmanyas11[37].Onestudythat
comparedsixdifferentCODStestsusedforassessingsoccerplayersreportedlowtomoderateinter
correlationsrangingfrom0.028to0.554,indicatingacommonvarianceofnomorethan31%[38].
TheauthorsconcludedthattheCODStestswereallspecificduetotheircomplexityandthedifferent
agilitymovementpatterns.Therefore,thereisnogoldstandardgenericCODStestthatcanbe
usedforallinvasionsports.
STRENGTHTRAINING
Astudyinvolvingeightweeksofjumpsquattrainingwithaheavyload(80%1repetitionmaximum
RM)produceda10.2%gainin1RMsquatstrength(p<0.05),andthiswasaccompaniedbya2.4%
(P<0.05)improvementinTtestCODS[39].Incontrast,whenthreesetsofthreerepetitionsofheavy
squatswith90%1RMwereperformedfivetimesperweekfor3weeksinadditiontoCODStraining
byprofessionalsoccerplayers,nobenefitsinaCODStestwererealized[40].Theauthorsconcluded
thattheaddedstrengthtrainingdidnotofferagreateradvantageoverchangeofdirectionand
coordinationtraining.OneexplanationforthelackofbenefittoCODSinthisstudycouldbethe
shortthreeweektrainingperiod,whichmayhaveresultedinmodeststrengthgains(notreported).
Arecentstudy[41]investigatedtheeffectsoftwoyearsofstrengthtrainingwithparallelsquatsin
additiontonormalsoccertraininginelitejuniorsoccerplayers.Thesupplementarystrengthtraining
producedlargegainsinlegstrengthandthistransferredtosignificant(P<0.05)improvementsina
CODStest.However,twoyearsofstrengthtrainingindevelopingathletesislikelytoresultin
meaningfulgainsinanyphysicalqualityutilisingthelegmuscles[42],andthereforetherelevanceof
generalstrengthtrainingforenhancingCODSremainsunclear.
POWERANDREACTIVESTRENGTHTRAINING
Jumpsquattrainingforeightweekswithanadditionalloadof30%of1RMhasbeenfoundto
producea10%greaterpeakpower(P<0.05)inajumpsquatwiththatload[39]anda1.7%
improvement(P<0.05)intheTtestofCODS,indicatingthatpowerdevelopmentcantransferto
enhancedCODS.Whenadropjump(DJ)isperformedwiththeintentionofmaximisingrebound
heightandminimisinggroundcontacttime,itimposeshigheccentricloadsandcanbedescribedas
atestofreactivestrength[43].SincethecorrelationbetweenthistypeofDJanda
countermovementjump(CMJ)wasonlyr=0.37,representingonly14%commonvariance[44],
reactivestrengthisconsideredanindependentformofpower[43].Reactivestrengthmaybe
expectedtocorrelatehighlywithCODSbecausechangingdirection(suchasduringasidestep)
involvesarelativelysmallkneeflexionwithashortgroundcontacttime,andhigheccentricloads
duringthelegextensormusclestretchshorteningcycle[14].Thisideawassupportedbyan
investigationthatshowedthatpureconcentriclegpowerproducedrelativelylowcorrelationswith
CODS,butaDJtestofreactivestrengthcorrelatedmorehighly[14].Sinceplyometricexercisecan
specificallytargetreactivestrength,itisusefultodeterminethepotentialbenefitsoftrainingwith
thisexercisemodalityonCODS.
Twostudies[45,46]havedemonstratedthat6weeksofplyometrictrainingwaseffectivefor
improvingCODS.Forexample,trainingwiththedropjumpexerciseinducedsignificant
improvements(P<0.05)inthe505CODStest[46],andarangeofmultidirectionalplyometric
exercisesproducedimprovements(P<0.05)inboththeTtestandIllinoisCODStests[45].Another
study[37]requiredagroupof12physicaleducationstudentstoperformatrainingprogram
combininghalfsquats(4setsof6repetitions)withbilateralandunilateralplyometricexercisesfor
eightweeks.Incontrasttotheprevioustwostudies,whilethetraininginducedasignificantgain
(P<0.05)inbothstrength(1RMsquat)andpower(CMJ),nosignificantimprovement(P>0.05)ina
CODStestinvolvingthreesharpchangesofdirectionwasobserved.ItwasconcludedthattheCODS
taskwasrelativelycomplex,andmayhavebeenmoreinfluencedbymotorcontrolfactorsthan
strengthqualities.
SPRINTTRAINING
Althoughthereisalargebodyofworkcorrelatingstraightsprintperformanceovervariousdistances
withCODS,therearefewtrainingstudiesrelatingtothepossiblebenefitsofstraightsprinttraining
toCODSoragility.Inoneofthose,whenlinearsprinttrainingwasperformedoversixweeks,
significantmeanimprovementsinsprinttime(P<0.05)of2.9%werereported[47].Thiswas
accompaniedbyanimprovementof2.3%(P<0.05)inatestthatinvolvedtwoslightchangesof
direction.However,whentheCODtestsbecamemorecomplexbyincreasingtheangleandnumber
ofchangesofdirection,thetransferwasdiminished.Indeed,inthemostcomplextestinvolvingfive
relativelysharpchangesofdirection,thestraightspeedgainshadnotransferatall[47].These
findingsindicatethatthebenefitofstraightsprintingspeedtoCODSdecreasesastheCODStask
becomesmorecomplex.Therefore,sinceCODSactivitiesinvolvedecelerations,reaccelerationsand
constantadjustmentsofstepsandbodyposture,thepotentialtoimproveCODSspeedbylinear
sprinttrainingislimited[47].
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AGILITYRESEARCH
TheabovediscussionisbasedonconsiderableresearchusingvariousCODSteststomeasure
performance.Unfortunately,evidencefortheimportanceofphysicalqualitiesforagility
developmentisextremelyrare,withsomecorrelationalresearch[6,11,16].Thesestudiesreported
correlationsbetweensprinttestswithbothCODandagilitytests,andareshowninTable1.These
dataindicatethatwhilesprintspeedandCODScansharesomecommoncharacteristics(1955%
commonvariance),thesharedvariancedropsconsiderablyforagility(1117%).Thisislikely
explainedbytheinclusionofthecognitivecomponentofagility,whichhasbeenfoundtopossess
59%commonvariancewithagilityperformance[17].Therelativelylowcorrelationsbetweenspeed
andagilitysuggestsprinttrainingwouldbeunlikelytotransferwelltoagilityperformance.
Unfortunately,thereisminimalresearchindicatingtherelationshipsbetweenstrength,powerand
reactivestrengthtoagility.Onestudy[48]correlatedvertical,forwardandlateraljumptestswithan
agilitytaskrequiringAustralianfootballplayerstopursueavideoprojectedattackerfromarear
view.Thenegativecorrelationsrangedbetween0.12to0.28(P>0.05),andtheauthorssuggested
thatagilityperformancewasmorelikelytobeinfluencedbycognitiveratherthanstrengthfactors.
Likewise,thereisnoresearchevidenceforthespecificeffectsoftrainingsprint,strength,powerand
reactivestrengthonagilityperformance.
Table1abouthere
SMALLSIDEDGAMES
Smallsidedgames(SSG)havebecomeapopulartrainingmethodforinvasionsportsbecausethey
havethepotentialtodevelopmultiplefitnesscomponentstogetherwithsportspecificskillsand
tactics[49].TwostudieshavespecificallyexaminedthevalueofSSGinimprovingCODSandagility
performance.OneofthesecomparedsixweeksoftrainingwitheitherCODSdrillsorsoccerSSGin
untrainedmenandwomen[50].TheCODStrainingwaseffective(5.9%)forimprovingperformance
11
ontheCODSTtest,whereastheSSGhadlittleeffect(2.1%,P>0.05).Anotherrecentstudyonelite
juniorAustralianfootballplayersalsocomparedCODStrainingwithSSGdesignedtooverloadagility
skill[8].However,thisstudyalsoassessedplayersonbothaCODStest(PlannedAustralianFootball
Leagueagilitytest)andavideobasedagilitytest,whichwaspreviouslyvalidatedforAustralian
football[22].After11sessionsoftrainingoverasevenweekperiod,theCODSgroupexperiencedno
significantchanges(P>0.05)ineitherCODSoragility.TheSSGgroupalsoachievedatrivialchangein
CODS(P>0.05),butagilityperformanceimprovedbyapproximately4%(P=0.008).Thisgainwas
accompaniedbya31%improvement(P<0.001)inthetimetakentoreacttotheattackerschangeof
directionmovement(decisiontime),anda1%change(P>0.05)inmovementtime.Therefore,these
resultsindicatethatSSGdesignedtoencourageagilityskillmayprovideapowerfulagilitytraining
stimulusduetoimprovementsindecisionmakingspeed.
Acasestudyoffourrugbyunionplayers[51]involvedtestingagilitybeforeandafter18training
sessionswhichincludedSSGandotherreactivedrills.Eachplayerdemonstratedsomeimprovement
inagilityperformance,withameangainof3%.Althoughotherformsoftrainingwereperformed
suchasspeedandstrengthtrainingwhichmayhaveinfluencedagilityperformance,theauthors
recommendedtheuseofopenskilltrainingmodalitiessuchasSSGandreactivedrills.
CONCLUSIONSANDPRACTICALAPPLICATIONS
Invasionsportsoftenrequireoffensiveanddefensiveagility,butrarelyCODS.AgilityandCODSare
differenttasksduetotheunpredictabilityandcognitiveelementsofagility,whichareabsentin
CODStasks.Evidenceexiststhatagilitytestsarebetterabletodiscriminatehigherstandardfrom
lowerstandardathletesthanCODStests,andthereforetrainingandassessmentofathletesshould
focusonagility.However,themajorityofpastresearchthathasrecommendedphysicaltrainingand
testing,hasbeenrestrictedtoCODStasks,andthereforemayhavelimitedapplicationtoagilityin
invasionsports.Accordingly,coachesandsportscientistsareadvisedtodeveloptrainingprograms
andteststhattargetthemultidimensionalnatureofagilityasrequiredinsport,whichincludesa
12
reactiveelement.Inrelationtotesting,thechallengeistodevelopreliableteststhatusesport
specificagilityscenariosthatcapturethecomplexityofmovementanddecisionmakingaspectsof
onfieldagility.Thisrequirestheinclusionofaballorothersportspecificequipment,avarietyof
views(notjustfronton),multipleplayers,differentmovementsandsomedeceptiveactions.
Currentagilitytestshavebeenrestrictedtothedefensiverole,anditisnotknownwhether
offensiveagilityisunique.
Inrelationtotraining,thereisevidencethatacarefullydesignedstrengthandconditioningprogram
canenhanceCODS,butthereisnoevidencethatsuchprogramsarealsobeneficialforagility.
Plyometrictrainingusingmultidirectionalexercisescanpotentiallybespecifictothechangeof
directionmovementsusedinagilitytasks,butitisstillnotknownwhetherittransferstoagility
performance.Itispossiblethattheimportanceoftrainingvariousstrengthqualitiesforagilityis
diminishedduetotherelativeimportanceofthecognitivecomponentofagility.Accordingly,itcould
bespeculatedthatathletesarenotabletoexpresstheirathleticismonthefieldorcourtbecausethe
decisionmakingrequirementofagilitydominates,butthisneedstobeexaminedfurther.
Thereisgoodevidencethattheperceptualanddecisionmakingelementisimportanttoagility
performanceandassuch,trainingshouldbeprescribedtoincludethiscomponent.Oneoptionisto
useoneononeactivitieswhereoneplayerisdesignatedanattacker,andtheotherplayertakeson
thedefensiverole.Theattackershouldbeencouragedtouseevasiveskill(sometimesincluding
deception),whilethedefendershouldtrytopickupcuesfromtheattackersmovementstoreactas
quicklyandaccuratelyaspossible.Anothertrainingmethodthathassomeresearchsupport(8)is
theuseofsportspecificSSG,andcoachesareencouragedtobecreativewithgamedesign(eg.field
dimensions,rules,numberofplayers)tomaximiseagilityskilldemands.Ifthegamescanduplicate
theskillsofcompetitionandalsooverloadagility,changeofdirectiontechniqueandcognitive
demandsshouldbeenhanced.Sincetheperceptualanddecisionmakingcomponentofagilityis
highlytrainable[8,29],anotheroptionistoperformvideobasedcognitivetraininginvolving
13
decisionmakingalone,withoutthesubsequentsprint.Suchaprogramhasbeenshowntobe
effectivefordevelopinganticipationskillinsoftballfielders[52].Apotentialadvantageofthisisthe
possibilityofenhancingagilitywithoutapplyingaphysicalload,whichcouldbeespeciallyvaluable
forinjuredplayerswhoarenotabletoparticipateinintensephysicalactivity.
Basedonthediscussionabove,anewmodelofagilityofinvasionsportsisproposed(Fig1).Thisis
intendedtoshowthemainfactorsthatcontributetoagilityperformance.Asignificantdifference
betweenthismodelandapreviouslyreportedmodel[14]isthattheproposedversionexcludes
CODS,whichisnotacomponentofagility,butadifferentskill.Itisimportanttoacknowledgethat
therelativeimportanceorcontributiontoperformancefromthesefactorsisvariable,withsome
exertingalargeinfluence(eg.cognitivefactors),somehavingaminorinfluence(eg.straightspeed),
andmanyothersexertinganunknowninfluence.Therefore,toprescribeaholistictrainingprogram
forthedevelopmentofagility,thecoachcanusethemodeltocheckthatallthecontributing
elementsaretargeted.However,futureresearchisneededtoprovideevidencetocoachesabout
themostimportantfactorsandthetrainingmethodsthataremosteffectiveforenhancingagility
performance.
Fig1abouthere
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Table1.CorrelationsBetween10mSprintPerformancewithCODSandAgility.TheCommon
Variance(r2x100)isinBrackets.
LRuntest0.64(41)
20
Figure1.ModelofMainFactorsThatDetermineAgilityinInvasionSports,ModifiedfromYoung,
JamesandMontgomery(14).
Agilityininvasionsports