Čoh, M, Vodičar, J, Žvan, M, Šimenko, J, Stodolka, J, Rauter, S, and Maćkala, K. Are change-of-direction speed and reactive agility independent skills even when using the same movement pattern? J Strength Cond Res 32(7): 1929-1936, 2018-The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether there are differences between the 2 approaches to quantifying agility (preplanned vs. unplanned response) when reacting to a stimulus in an identical spatial scenarios. The study involved 45 male and 31 female trained athletes (age 21.2 ± 1.78 and 20.6 ± 1.27 years, body height 181.6 ± 8.31 and 167.7 ± 5.03 cm, and body mass 78.9 ± 11.33 and 63.3 ± 8.65 kg, respectively). A light-based reactive training system was used to measure the time to completion in a task that assessed agility by change-of-direction speed (CODS) in a preplanned condition and reactive agility (RA) in an unplanned condition across 4 spatial configurations. Sprint performance in a 30-m sprint and lower limb reactive power in a 10-m single leg jump test was also measured. Significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) were found between men and women in all tests and between performance in the CODS and RA condition for each spatial configuration. Significant correlations were observed between 30-m starting sprint speed and CODS and RA performance measured in a semicircle (r = 0.62, r = 0.60) and lateral (r = 0.54, r = 0.58) configuration in male athletes. The present findings suggest that CODS and RA are 2 different and independent skill domains that define agility. These qualities should be diagnosed by discrete assessments and enhanced by different training methodologies.

This study assessed differences in agility performance between athletes of team and individual sports by assessing change-of-direction speed (CODS) as pre-planned agility and reactive agility (RA) as non-planed in different spatial configurations. The study involved 36 individual (sprint, hurdles, jumping, tennis, and judo) and 34 team (soccer, basketball, and handball) athletes. CODS and RA were measured with a light-based reactive training system in a frontal (FR), universal (UN), semicircular (SC), and lateral (LA) design. Lower limb power and sprint performance were also measured in a 10 m single leg jump test and 15 m sprint. Individual athletes showed significantly better performance in three of the eight agility tests: LA-RA, UN-RA, and SC-CODS (p < 0.008, p < 0.036, and p < 0.027, respectively) and were found to present stronger correlations (p < 0.01) between jump test performance and the CODS condition. Team athletes showed stronger associations between sprint performance and the CODS condition. In the RA condition both jump and sprint performance showed stronger correlations in the group of individual athletes. Agility performance as measured by CODS and RA should improve with enhanced of motor proficiency. Finally, the tests applied in this experiment seem to be multidimensional, but require spatio-temporal adjustment for their implementation, so that they meet the requirements of the particular sport.

Religiousness is known to be specifically associated with substance abuse, but there is an evident lack of studies investigating the association between religiousness and doping behavior as a specific type of substance abuse in athletes. This study aimed to provide evidence for possible gender- and sport-specific associations between religiousness and doping behavior among team-sport athletes of both genders. The participants were 886 athletes (21.9 ± 3.8 years of age; 352 females) involved in four sports: volleyball (n = 154; 78 females), handball (n = 206; 68 females), soccer (n = 316; 110 females) and basketball (n = 230; 96 females) from Croatia and Slovenia (all traditionally Roman Catholics). The data were collected using a previously validated structured questionnaire that examined sociodemographic, sport- and doping-related factors. In addition, religiousness was captured by the Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith questionnaire (SCSRF). Gender-stratified simple logistic regressions were applied to determine associations between covariates and doping behavior (criterion). There was no significant difference in potential doping behavior between males and females (OR 1.06, 95 % CI 0.76-1.46), while females reported higher religiousness (SCSRF: 23.11 ± 3.23 and 25.46 ± 7.2 for males and females, respectively; t test = 1.82, p < 0.05). Younger female athletes and those with higher SCSRF score are found to be less prone to doping behavior. When models were adjusted for personal opinion about doping presence in sport and age, the SCSRF remained a significant predictor of potential doping behavior (OR 0.95, 95 % CI 0.91-0.99). For males, the belief that doping was present in sport was strongly associated with a higher likelihood of doping. Our results suggest that highly religious females involved in three of the studies sports (i.e., volleyball, handball and basketball) show a weaker tendency toward doping. Meanwhile, there is no evidence that religiousness influences doping behavior among male team-sport athletes. Therefore, sport-specific and gender-specific approach in studying possible relationships that exist between religiousness and different types of misusing substances in sport is warranted.

Purpose. The main goal of the experiment was to examine the differences between reactive agility (rA) as non-planned (randomly selected stimuli) movement and change-of-direction speed (cODS) as pre-planned movement among different levels of sports performance -young soccer players and physical education students. Methods. The two groups in the study included 36 young male and female soccer players and 58 male and female physical education students. Timing for universal agility was defined by two different specification: pre-planned agility as a change of direction speed and non-planned (randomly selected stimuli) agility as reactive agility. The study used FitLight Trainer, a wireless system of interconnected light powered sensors. Results. Soccer players were significantly faster in selected test of cODS (-1.73s; 13.1%) and rA (-2.34s; 14.3%). The greatest difference between male and female subjects was observed in the non-planned universal reactive agility UA-rA (-2.84s; 17.9%). A t-test indicated statistically significant gender differences in the selected test of pre-planned (non-reactive) and non-planned (reactive) agility among soccer players and students. Conclusions. The practical message for coaches and related professionals is that agility in team sports (including soccer) as motor skills represent various physical qualities. Therefore, it should be diagnosed and developed via separate assessments and training.Citation: rauter S, coh M, Vodicar J, Zvan M, Krizaj J, Simenko J, Szmajda L, Mackala K. Analysis of reactive agility and change-of-direction speed between soccer players and physical education students. Hum Mov. 2018;19(2):68-74; doi: https://doi.org/10.5114/hm.2018.74061.

Specific-conditioning capacities (SCC) are known to be generally important in water polo (WP), yet the independent associations to offensive and defensive performance is unknown. This study aimed to determine whether offense and defense abilities in WP were independently associated with SCC and anthropometrics. The participants were 82 high-level male youth WP players (all 17-19 years of age; body height, 186.3 ± 6.07 cm; body mass, 84.8 ± 9.6 kg). The independent variables were body height and body mass, and 5 sport-specific fitness tests: sprint swimming over 15 meters; 4 × 50-meter anaerobic-endurance test; vertical in-water-jump; maximum intensity isometric force in upright swimming using an eggbeater kick; and test of throwing velocity. The 6 dependent variables comprised parameters of defensive and offensive performance, such as polyvalence, i.e., ability to play on different positions in defensive tasks (PD) and offensive tasks (PO), efficacy in primary playing position in defensive (ED) and offensive (EO) tasks, and agility in defensive (AD) and offensive (AO) tasks. Analyses showed appropriate reliability for independent (intraclass coefficient of 0.82-0.91) and dependent variables (Cronbach alpha of 0.81-0.95). Multiple regressions were significant for ED (R = 0.25; p < 0.01), EO (R = 0.21; p < 0.01), AD (R = 0.40; p < 0.01), and AO (R = 0.35; p < 0.01). Anaerobic-swimming performance was positively related to AD (β = -0.26; p ≤ 0.05), whereas advanced sprint swimming was related to better AO (β = -0.38; p ≤ 0.05). In-water-jumping performance held the significant positive relationship to EO (β = 0.31; p ≤ 0.05), ED (β = 0.33; p ≤ 0.05), and AD (β = 0.37; p ≤ 0.05). Strength and conditioning professionals working in WP should be aware of established importance of SCC in performing unique duties in WP. The SCC should be specifically developed to meet the needs of offensive and defensive performance in young WP athletes.