Physical and performance correlates of agility in tennis players (original) (raw)

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationships of body mass index (BMI), years of sport-specific training, power, and reaction time with simple agility measured in tennis players. Methods: Thirty participants were recruited from local tennis teams and clubs in Ithaca, NY. Participant age ranged from 18 to 39 years (M = 22.7, SD = 5.8). Participants performed an Agility T-Test, a 505 Agility Test, a Vertical Jump Test and a Reaction Time Test in the Biomechanics Lab at Ithaca College. Participant data including age, height, mass, gender, years of sport-specific training and BMI were recorded for each individual prior to testing. Pearson correlations were used to evaluate bivariate relationships between BMI, years of sport-specific training, power, reaction time, and Agility T-Test and 505 Agility Test. Also multiple regressions were completed to determine the prediction strength of selected variables for agility performance and also prediction strength for all the variables combined together. Results: A negative and significant correlation existed between power and Agility T-Test (r =-0.58, p < .01) and power and years of training (r =-0.40, p < .05). The correlation between power and 505 Agility Test approached significance (r =-0.30, p = .057). Also, a positive and significant but weak correlation existed between BMI and 505 Agility Test (r = 0.39, p < .05). Surprisingly, no relationship existed between other variables. Multiple regression analysis revealed that BMI, years of training, PPO and reaction time best predicted agility time for both the 505 Agility Test (R 2 = 0.48) and Agility T-Test (R 2 = 0.64) iv Conclusion: Under the present experimental condition, Agility T-Test and 505 Agility Test scores were best predicted by all variables together. Since agility is related to successful performance, this information may be helpful to coaches, athletes and recreational populations. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I sincerely thank and express my gratitude to the following individuals for their assistance, guidance and insight throughout this thesis. Specially, I would like to thank Dr. D. King and Dr. B. Keller for their patience, dedication and valuable advice. I thank members of tennis teams at Ithaca College, Cornell University and Ithaca High School for their participation. Also, thanks to the students of Ithaca College Department of Exercise and Sports Sciences for their continued support and participation. To end, thanks to all my family and friends for the continued support, understanding, and encouragement. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS