Resumen de Power-Related Determinants of Modified Agility T-test Performance in Male Adolescent Basketball Players
Aaron T. Scanlan, Neal Wen, David B. Pyne, Emilija Stojanovic, Zoran Milanovic, Daniele Conte, Alejandro Vaquera Jiménez, Vincent J. Dalbo
Although the Modified Agility T-test (MAT) has been advocated for assessing change-of-direction performance in basketball, the power-related attributes emphasized during the test are unknown. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify the power-related determinants of the MAT in basketball players. A cross-sectional, descriptive research design was used whereby national- and state-level male adolescent basketball players (n = 24; 17.3 +/- 0.5 years) completed a battery of power-related performance tests. The tests administered included the MAT, isometric midthigh pull, 10-m sprint, countermovement jump, 1-step vertical jump, standing long jump, and repeated lateral bound. Associations between performance during the MAT and other tests were quantified, and performance in each test was compared between faster (>50th percentile) and slower (<50th percentile) players in the MAT. The MAT exhibited large correlations (p < 0.05) with standing long jump distance (r = -0.67, R2 = 45%), countermovement jump relative peak force (r = -0.63, R2 = 39%), isometric midthigh pull relative peak force (r = -0.55, R2 = 30%), and 10-m sprint time (r = 0.53, R2 = 28%). The faster group performed better (p < 0.05) during the standing long jump (mean difference; +/-90% confidence limits: 0.16; +/-0.12 m) and produced greater (p < 0.05) relative peak force during the isometric midthigh pull (2.5; +/-2.3 N[middle dot]kg-1) and countermovement jump (2.1; +/-1.8 N[middle dot]kg-1) than the slower group. The MAT complements other power-related tests used in basketball and stresses basketball-specific, power-related attributes in various movement planes. These data can inform training and testing approaches to optimize change-of-direction performance in basketball.
