Reliability, factorial validity, and interrelationships of five commonly used change of direction speed tests

Abstract

Change of direction speed (CODS) is often considered a main determinant of successful performance in many team sports and is routinely measured using field-based tests. However, controversy regarding test selection still exists based upon the reliability and specificity of the tests. The purpose of this study was to determine and compare the reliability, factorial validity, and interrelationships of five frequently used CODS tests (Illinois, L-Run, Pro-Agility, T-test, and 505). Forty-four physical education students (male n = 24; female n = 20; age; 16.7 ± 0.6), who compete within team sports, to varying levels of competition, participated in this study. Three trials for each of the five tests were recorded. All tests had high (intraclass correlation coefficient) test-retest reliability (r = 0.88-0.95) and low typical percentage error (1.95-2.40%). The principle component factor analysis resulted in the extraction of one significant component which explained 89.52% of the total variance. All selected tests were positively and strongly correlated (r = 0.84-0.89). Based upon the results of this study, it was concluded that all tests are highly reliable and valid measures of CODS, with all tests assessing a general athletic ability to change direction. Future research should investigate the factorial validity of the CODS test within homogenous samples.

Within - and between - Session Reliability of the Spider Drill Test to Assess Change of Direction Speed in Youth Tennis Athletes

“…To the authors' knowledge, a small sample of literature to date has assessed the reliability and validity of both the modified t-test [23] and pro-agility [15,22] CODS tests, which are theorised to be applicable CODS assessments for youth tennis athletes [11]. However, this is the first study to evaluate the reliability (both within-and between-testing sessions) of the spider drill CODS assessment in comparison to other CODS assessments specifically within elite youth tennis athletes.…”

“…Total time was recorded using electronic timing gates (Brower Timing System, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA), and was recorded to the nearest hundredth of a second. In line with previous CODS research [15], athletes were given a minimum rest period of three minutes between each trial, and three minutes between each test. If/when athletes breached the methodological guidelines for each test (e.g.…”

“…Equally, both assessments cover a total distance of 20 m, which may be pertinent to tennis as distances covered tend not to exceed 12 m [23]. However, though these two CODS assessments are heavily documented within the literature to produce reliable and sufficient results [15,22,23], to the authors' knowledge, they have not been examined specifically amongst the tennis population. Additionally, a less wellknown CODS assessment is gaining popularity among the United States Tennis Association (USTA); the spider drill [8,12,24,25].…”

“…A review by Kovacs [7] highlights how every point in tennis is vastly different in nature, rendering the cognitive and perceptual demands as inconsistent. As a result of this, Change of Direction Speed (CODS) tests are considered favourable [15].…”

“…Despite its importance towards the tennis population, the definition of agility is often the subject of debate amongst the sport science community [13][14][15][16]. Within the literature, agility has been referred to by several definitions [13,14,[16][17][18][19][20].…”