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Title:AgilityandChangeofDirectionSpeedareIndependentSkills:ImplicationsforTrainingfor

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

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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

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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

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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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3. Brown,L.E.andFerrigno,V.A.,TrainingforSpeed,Agility,andQuickness,HumanKinetics,

Champaign,2005.

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Table1.CorrelationsBetween10mSprintPerformancewithCODSandAgility.TheCommon

Variance(r2x100)isinBrackets.

Authors CODS Agility

Gabbettetal[11] 505test0.57(32) 0.41(17)

LRuntest0.64(41)

Sheppardetal[16] 0.74(55) 0.33(11)

Scanlonetal[6] 0.439(19) 0.406(16)

20

Figure1.ModelofMainFactorsThatDetermineAgilityinInvasionSports,ModifiedfromYoung,

JamesandMontgomery(14).

Agilityininvasionsports

Cognitive Physical Technical

Decisionmakingspeed&accuracy Leg Core Straight Feet Adjustment Body


muscle strength speed placement ofstepsto lean&
qualities accelerate& posture
decelerate

Visual Anticipation Pattern Knowledge


recognition of
scanning situations

Strength Power Reactive


strength

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