Abstract
Agility is the player's capability to perform rapid whole-body movement with change of velocity or direction in response to a stimulus. The aims of this study were as follows: 1) to assess the reliability of a reactive visual stimuli agility field test (RVS-T); and 2) to evaluate differences in RVS-T and planned (PVS-T) agility performances between female soccer and futsal players. Sixty-six female players belonging to Italian teams of regional level were recruited to the study. The experimental apparatus consisted of four lighted spherical visual stimuli connected to a computer able to randomly generate three different sequences. Differences between RVS-T and PVS-T performances were calculated to evaluate the decision-making time (DMT) of players. The intraclass reliability coefficient for RVS-T was 0.80. Significant (P<0.05) differences emerged only for RVS-T (futsal, 17.3±0.5 s; soccer, 18.8±1.1 s) and DMT (futsal, 2.6±0.6 s; soccer, 4.1±1.2 s), whereas similar performances between groups resulted for PVS-T (futsal, 14.7±0.6 s; soccer, 14.6±0.6 s). The RVS-T proved to be a reliable tool to evaluate agility in field conditions. Futsal players showed better RVS-T and DMT performances with respect to soccer counterparts, probably due to the higher velocity of actions and faster decision-making of their sport. The lack of difference in PVS-T performances confirms the importance to evaluate agility capabilities of players in both planned and reactive conditions.
Highlights
In the last two decades, futsal has increased its popularity and evolved into a spectacular sport, involving a massive TV audience [1]
Significant (P
The aims of the present study were as follows: 1) to verify whether a new field reactive visual stimuli agility test (RVS-T) based on the successive sprints reacting to unexpected visual stimuli protocol is a reliable tool to evaluate this capability of players (i.e., Study 1); and 2) to evaluate differences, if any, in RVS-T and planned (PVS-T) agility performances in futsal and soccer players (i.e., Study 2)
Summary
In the last two decades, futsal has increased its popularity and evolved into a spectacular sport, involving a massive TV audience [1]. While in the past futsal players were involved in soccer competitions too, at present, they are specialized in this sport, and high-level clubs engage professional players. Because futsal requires fast movements with and without the ball and no predetermined positions, in some countries (i.e., Brazil and Spain) soccer coaches utilize this sport to enhance technical and tactical skills in their players [2]. The reduced pitch dimensions and the frequent turnovers during futsal match-play require players fast decision-making and high sprint capabilities under pressure during attacking and defending phases [5]
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