7.4: Part D- Agility Tests
- Page ID
- 100749
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)Part D- Agility Tests
Technically, agility would not be labelled as a functional test for muscle. The reason being that agility requires several skills simultaneously. As we saw in the previous section, to be agile you must have good balance and coordination, as well as reaction speed, and muscular power. Interestingly, power can be in a positive or negative fashion. The ability to brake (stop motion or momentum) quickly is a key to agility. As mentioned, the ability to accelerate is a function of power, thus someone with high power is often quite agile.
There are many types of agility tests and many of them are designed for a particular sport. The property of being agile is to be able to start, stop, and change direction quickly. Thus, most field and court sports will require this. Some sports require more side-to-side movement such as soccer, volleyball, and tennis, and some require more back and forth- football and baseball but most sports require all of these. Three different agility tests will be presented here. Students can try on or all three. Each varies slightly from the others.
There are a few items needed for this. First a nice flat, high friction surface that is relatively large. Second is a tape measure or phone with measuring capacity. Third is some chalk or cones, and lastly a stopwatch or phone with this capacity. The first one (Three Cone Test) is used in the NFL combine and it has replaced the 4 cone or box drill.
Three marker cones are placed to form an "L." with cones at the corner and at each end, 5 yards (457 cm- 4.57 m) apart.
· 
The subject starts by getting down in a three-point stance just left of Cone 1. If you are timing yourself, have your finger ready on the start button and be in a semi-squat.
· Run to Cone 2, bend down and touch a line or base of the cone with your right hand.
· Run back to Cone 1, bends down and touches a line or the base of the cone with your right hand.
· Run back to Cone 2 and around the outside of it, then inside Cone 3, then around the outside of Cones 3 and 2 before finishing at Cone 1 and hitting “stop” as you pass the cone 1 as fast as possible.
· The player must run forward while altering his running direction, as opposed to strictly stopping and starting in opposite directions.
· Perform the 3-cone drill on both sides (e.g. first left, second time then right). You only need to switch cone 3.
The time to finish (TTF) in seconds is recorded. The score is the best TTF of two trials.
The second test- The Agility T-test- varies from the first in that the subject is facing forward the entire time as their body moves in all four directions. This test demonstrates someone’s shuffling and running backwards skills. Shuffling is moving the body sideways without crossing the feet. The backwards run is often called back pedaling because of how it mimics the pedaling motion when done correctly.
The setup is similar to the L test but this time you will from a T with the middle line being 10 yards (9.14m) and the two lateral cones 5 yards or 4.57 meters from the center cone.
The subject starts at cone A. On the ‘go” command, or hit the start button as you leave (self administered). the subject sprints to cone B and touches the base of the cone with their right hand. They then turn left and shuffle sideways to cone C, and also touches its base, this time with their left hand. Then shuffling sideways to the right to cone D and touching the base with the right hand. They then shuffle back to cone B touching with the left hand, and run backwards to cone A. The stopwatch is stopped as they pass cone A.
The trial will not be counted if the subject crosses one foot in front of the other while shuffling, fails to touch the base of the cones, or fails to face forward throughout the test. Take the best time of three successful trials to the nearest 0.1 seconds. The table below shows some scores for adult team sport athletes.
|
Males (seconds) |
Females (seconds) |
|
|
Excellent |
< 9.5 |
< 10.5 |
|
Good |
9.5 to 10.5 |
10.5 to 11.5 |
|
Average |
10.5 to 11.5 |
11.5 to 12.5 |
|
Poor |
> 11.5 |
> 12.5 |
Ensure that the subjects face forwards when shuffling and do not cross the feet over one another. For safety, a spotter should be positioned a few meters behind cone A to catch players in case they fall while running backward through the finish.
The last (3rd) test-The 20 yard shuttle agility test- also called the Pro Shuttle test or more accurately the 5-10-5 Shuttle. It is the simplest and shortest agility test and it is also used in the NFL combines. Three cones are set up in a line, with cone A in the middle and cone B 5 yards to the subjects right, and cone C 5 yards from cone A on the subjects left. Upon starting the subject is straddling cone A just in front of it, he runs to cone B and the foot needs to touch a line even with the cone, turn around and run 10 yards to the C cone, with his foot again touching the line even with the cone and run back to the A cone and past it. This is testing a person’s ability to stop, start and accelerate, not move side to side or backwards. Timing stops as the athlete passes cone A.
Thought Questions
1. What sports can you think of (not mentioned) where agility is quite important to the performance? What type of agility (side to side or back and forth or both) is important?
2. What components of fitness go into agility?
3. Do you think agility is hard on the joints? Could it be source of injury in sport?
4. What drill have you done or can you think of that would improve agility?