Validity and Reliability of the Medicine Ball Throw for Kindergarten Children

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to establish validity and reliability evidence for the medicine ball throw test for kindergarten students, an underrepresented group in the literature. The subjects were 105 students, 5-7 years old, BMI 17.44 +/- 3.17 kg x m(-2), 43% female and 57% male. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were used to examine reliability, and Pearson correlation coefficients and a paired t-test were used to examine validity. To accomplish this, the kindergarten students completed the medicine ball throw test on two different days and the modified pull-up test, the "criterion" measure, on another day. For the medicine ball throw, each student sat on the floor before throwing the medicine ball forward like a chest pass three times. The medicine ball throw was highly reliable both within 1 day (ICCs = 0.93 and 0.94 for day 1 and day 2, respectively) and across 2 days (ICC = 0.88), with all reliability estimates over the acceptable level of 0.80. The medicine ball throw scores were positively related with height (r = 0.34) and weight (r = 0.34), and there was a significant difference between the 5-year-old group (mean +/- SD; 111.78 +/- 34.93) and the 6-year-old group (135.60 +/- 39.77), t = -3.23, p = 0.002, which supports correlational and known-difference evidence of validity for the medicine ball throw test. Even though no correlation was found between the medicine ball throw test and the modified pull-up test, r = -0.04, other forms of validity evidence (i.e., known-difference and correlational) were apparent. In conclusion, the medicine ball throw test seems to be a valid and reliable measure of upper-body strength for kindergarten children.

Upper Quadrant Field Tests and Isokinetic Upper Limb Strength in Overhead Athletes

“…35 Unlike in our study, the seated throw was performed unilaterally on only the dominant limb. A number of investigators 22,27,28,32,35,39 have pointed out the moderate to strong relationship between upper body power and a seated throw, which is in line with our results. Whereas power and strength are different variables, power is a product of strength and velocity; therefore, greater strength results in greater power and might, in turn, lead to comparable correlations.…”

“…For the SMBT, participants sat on the ground with their lower limbs extended and their back, shoulders, and head against the wall. 22,23,32,33 They held a 2-kg medicine ball in both hands 23,34 with their upper limbs in 908 of abduction and elbows flexed (Figure 1). In this position, they were instructed to throw the medicine ball straight ahead as far as possible using a basketball chest pass without their head, shoulders, and back losing contact with the wall.…”

“…This finding indicates that a farther distance achieved in the SMBT reflects more strength in the shoulder ER and IR muscles and the elbow flexor and extensor muscles. Several researchers have also found relationships between a seated throw and measurements of upper body power 22,27,28,32,35,39 and strength. 22,35,39 Nevertheless, comparing our results with those of other investigators is difficult because of the different types of seated throws, different weights used, and different populations tested.…”

Effect of Core Strength on the Measure of Power in the Extremities

“…Several of the exercises are performed with very powerful throws of the medicine ball. Several authors have indicated that these exercises can be adapted into a very reliable and valid method of testing power and strength in both the lower and upper body 17,[22][23][24][25] . These exercises work well to test core strength due to the exercises requiring the core to act as an intermediary to transfer forces to the extremities.…”

Teste de força/resistência de membros superiores: análise metodológica e dados normativos

“…Essa nova versão de teste, puxada em suspensão na barra modificada, minimiza a sobrecarga imposta pela massa corporal, amenizando as exigências de força máxima impostas pelo teste (6)(7)29). Entretanto, não foram encontrados dados na literatura que referenciem valores em atletas, sendo a maioria dos estudos voltados para aptidão física de crianças e adolescentes (28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34). Guedes (7) salienta que a relação entre o número de repetições/peso corporal possa aumentar sua validade.…”