|
by Kristy Brown, F. C. Piper, and J. L. Mayhew Human Performance Laboratory, Truman State University, Kirksville, MO |
| Original Publication Information: IAHPERD Journal Volume 30. No.1 Fall, 1996 |
INTRODUCTION
Coaches and athletes are constantly searching for improved techniques for enhancing performance. In basketball the ability to move laterally may, to a large degree, determine success offensively in driving the lane or defensively in cutting off an attacking player. Drills that enhance lateral movement may be a vital part of a practice session.Recent technological developments offer a new avenue of training for coaches and players. The Reaction CoachTM is a directional display device which provides a random signal for lateral player movement. To date, however, there are no studies to determine the effectiveness of this type of training for lateral speed improvement. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of six weeks of agility training using an automated device on the total response time of college female basketball players.
METHODS
Nine varsity basketball players (7 righthanded; 2 lefthanded) were tested in the first week of pre- season conditioning and four weeks later before the start of the competitive season. Right and left directional slide response times
(lateral distance = 6 ft either side of a center line) were determined from the average of 10 trials in each direction using the Reaction CoachTM. In response to a randomly displayed directional arrow, the player had to slide the six feet and strike a plastic baton on the floor. The sound stopped the digital clock.The daily lateral slide training program was controlled by the Reaction CoachTMand consisted of sliding response, one-foot hop, two-foot hop, 180-deg jump turns, and directional sprinting.
RESULTS
Players moved significantly faster to their left than to their right at pretraining (Table 1), and the two movement patterns were moderately correlated (r = 0.65). Players made significant improvement in response time moving to their right following training (8.4%) but not moving to their left (4.2%). Players were not significantly different in lateral response times between right and left direction after training, and the changes were not uniformly consistent as evidenced by the correlation between the change score for each side (r = 0.33).DISCUSSION
Training with the Reaction CoachTM appears to enhance lateral response time to the nondominant side more than to the dominant side in female basketball players. Such changes may bring the player's ability to move laterally to either side more into balance. Addition research might determine if other change-of-direction movements besides lateral response can be improved. Furthermore, the amount of change produced by the device needs to be compared to coach-directed training to assess the feasibility of such a device.*t = 2.31 significant at p<0.01.
TABLE 1. Changes in Lateral Response: Time with the Reaction CoachTM. Pretraining Posttraining Direction Mean + & - SD MEAN + & - SD t Left (ms) 815 + or - 60 781 + or - 41 2.05 Right (ms) 880 + or - 65 806 + or - 53 3.34*