Date of Completion

Spring 5-6-2012

Thesis Advisor(s)

Craig R. Denegar; Courtenay Dunn-Lewis

Disciplines

Biology | Exercise Science | Sports Sciences

Abstract

The measuring of athletic performance via pre participation experiments has been the norm for a long time from high school sports, all the way to professional athletics. These tests help gauge an athlete's physical growth over the offseason, as well as aid in predicting their potential performance in the future. However, performance may diminish as multiple maximum effort assessments are completed due to fatigue. The purpose of this study was to examine targeted assessments for possible novel qualities as performance predictors. Baseline data was taken from a larger performance enhancement study for analysis. Twenty-six men (age: 25+4 yr; height 1.78+0.07m; body mass 83.3+11.4kg) and 24 women (age: 23+3 yr; height 1.65+0.08 m; body mass 62.6+7.8 kg) completed the baseline testing. Subjects were shown a video which helped familiarize them with the testing protocol, as well as the exercises to be completed. The order of the tests were as follows: sit-and-reach flexibility, single leg medial-lateral balance, QuickBoard visual reaction time, vertical jump, a 10 meter sprint, bench toss, and finally the Plyo Press Power Quotient (3PQ). A step-wise multiple regression was then ran on the data, focusing primarily on the QuickBoard and 3PQ assessments, with significance set at p < 0.05. Body mass was found to be a very strong predictor of power output on 3PQ, however this was not the case for QuickBoard. When the regression was performed without consideration of mass, bench toss and vertical jump accounted for a large percentage of the variance in 3PQ. This suggests that 3PQ could be very useful as a single assessment of athletic performance. In contrast, very little variance in QuickBoard performance was explained by the same predictor variables, suggesting that agility and reaction are a separate construct.

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