Abstract
Change of direction (COD) is a performance-limiting factor in team sports. However, there are no exact definitions describing which physical abilities limit COD performance in soccer. Nevertheless, different COD tests are used or have been recommended as being equally effective in the professional practice of measuring COD performance. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between different COD tests, and to test the independence and generalizability of these COD tests in soccer. As such, 27 elite youth soccer players were randomly recruited and were tested in different COD tests (i.e., Illinois agility test (IAT), T agility test (TT), 505 agility test (505), Gewandtheitslauf (GewT), triangle test (Tri-t), and square test (SQT)). Bivariate Pearson correlation analysis was used to assess the relationships between the COD tests. The Benjamini–Hochberg method was used to control for the false discovery rate of the study at 0.05. This investigation calculated explained variances of 10% to 55% between performances in the different COD tests. This suggested that the tests covered different aspects or task-specific characteristics of the COD. Therefore, coaches and sport scientists should review and select different tests with a logical validity, based on the requirement profiles of the corresponding sport.
Highlights
Change of direction (COD) is a performance-limiting factor, especially in team sports, and it has been identified in several test batteries related to elite sports [1]
COD tests that are designed like the triangle test (Tri-t), or COD tests that are based on the Tri-t designed like the square test (SQT), are commonly used in team sport assessments [8]
If the results indicate a generalizability of the COD tests, and deny a task specificity, COD tests could be used in soccer without knowledge of the specific requirements of the soccer game for direction changes and vice versa
Summary
Change of direction (COD) is a performance-limiting factor, especially in team sports, and it has been identified in several test batteries related to elite sports [1]. Other authors recommend the T agility test (TT) as the most suitable method for testing COD performance [4], whereas others [5,6,7] recommend the IAT, the TT, and the 505 agility test (505) for evaluating COD performance in team sport athletes. COD tests that are designed like the triangle test (Tri-t), or COD tests that are based on the Tri-t designed like the square test (SQT), are commonly used in team sport assessments [8]. The German Soccer Association (DFB) recommends the Gewandtheitslauf (GewT) test to evaluate the COD performance of soccer players [9]. It is important to note that the Tri-t, SQT, and GewT have yet to be compared to other
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