Comparison of Change of Direction Speed Performance and Asymmetries between Team-Sport Athletes: Application of Change of Direction Deficit

Abstract

The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) to examine differences in change of direction (COD) performance and asymmetries between team-sports while considering the effects of sex and sport; (2) to evaluate the relationship between linear speed, COD completion time, and COD deficit. A total of 115 (56 males, 59 females) athletes active in cricket, soccer, netball, and basketball performed the 505 for both left and right limbs and a 10-m sprint test. All team-sports displayed directional dominance (i.e., faster turning performance/shorter COD deficits towards a direction) (p ≤ 0.001, g = −0.62 to −0.96, −11.0% to −28.4%) with, male cricketers tending to demonstrate the greatest COD deficit asymmetries between directions compared to other team-sports (28.4 ± 26.5%, g = 0.19–0.85), while female netballers displayed the lowest asymmetries (11.0 ± 10.1%, g = 0.14–0.86). Differences in sprint and COD performance were observed between sexes and sports, with males demonstrating faster 10-m sprint times, and 505 times compared to females of the same sport. Male soccer and male cricketers displayed shorter COD deficits compared to females of the same sport; however, female court athletes demonstrated shorter COD deficits compared to male court athletes. Large significant associations (ρ = 0.631–0.643, p < 0.001) between 505 time and COD deficit were revealed, while trivial, non-significant associations (ρ ≤ −0.094, p ≥ 0.320) between COD deficit and 10-m sprint times were observed. In conclusion, male and female team-sport athletes display significant asymmetries and directional dominance during a high approach velocity 180° turning task. Coaches and practitioners are advised to apply the COD deficit for a more isolated measure of COD ability (i.e., not biased towards athletes with superior acceleration and linear speed) and perform COD speed assessments from both directions to establish directional dominance and create a COD symmetry profile.

Physical Qualities Pertaining to Shorter and Longer Change-of-Direction Speed Test Performance in Men and Women

“…COD deficit for each leg was calculated via the formula: 505 time–10 m time [29]. The 10 m time was taken from the 0–10 m split from the linear sprint test, which follows standard procedures [7,10,29,30,31,32,54].…”

“…This measure calculates the impact that implementing a 180° turn has on the ability to cover a 10 m distance. Previous research has documented non-significant relationships between the COD deficit and linear speed in athletic populations [10,29,30]. In contrast, Lockie et al [7] found that for both Division I and II collegiate female soccer players, there was a negative relationship between COD deficit and a 10 m sprint ( r = −0.77 to −0.87).…”

“…Therefore, this study investigated the relationships between linear speed, lower-body power, and absolute and relative strength on shorter (505, COD deficit) and longer (IAT) COD speed tests in college-aged men and women. The 505 was used as it can isolate COD speed for each leg [6,7,8,9,49,50,51,52,53,54], and can also be used to produce the COD deficit as an alternate measure of COD ability [7,10,29,30,31,32,54]. The IAT was adopted as a longer COD speed test due to its widespread use in athletic [33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40] and tactical [41,42,43,44,45,46] populations.…”

Strength, Jumping and Change of Direction Speed Asymmetries in Soccer, Basketball and Tennis Players

“…However, cricket athletes showed significantly greater ILAs in jump height (11.5 vs. 6.5%) and reactive strength (10.4 vs. 5.9%) for the drop jump. Dos Santos et al [19] compared ILAs for total time and CoD deficit metrics (from the "505" test) between basketball, soccer, and cricket athletes. Total time exhibited ILAs of 3.3-4.8% across sports.…”

“…All the aforementioned studies used healthy populations with relatively small sample sizes (less than 50 participants, with the exception of Dos'Santos et al [19] who evaluated 115 participants of both sexes from four different sports). Evaluating larger groups of athletes may provide a more meaningful picture of both the magnitude and direction of ILAs for sport-related comparisons.…”