So in a number of sports a straight line sprint features in many assessments for talent identification, fitness and general baseline measurements. It is standard in the LTA and used in many football clubs. But here’s some conundrums for you :

1. Is it relevant to the sport / game play?

2. Does it have positive predictive value for athletic success in that sport?

3. Is there a better test that might address points 1 & 2?

Firstly we need to look at point 1. The straight line sprint is used as we have mentioned in both tennis and football in a talent identification setting. But I wonder how often in these games do athletes ever run a long distance in one go? Very seldom I would suggest. Both sports actually have much shorter sprints within the game and the movement is rarely isolated to one direction.

In terms of predicting success then clearly the test needs to replicate some kind of functional movement within the game. What straight line sprint shows is how quick an athlete is over a certain distance. No-one can dispute that and the ease and simplicity of the test. But what we are testing is acceleration but missing the very crucial element of deceleration – what use is it if in running so fast the athlete cannot then decelerate and change direction? He may be quick across the tennis baseline but if the point isn’t won on that shot then without good deceleration skills he will be hopelessly out of position for the next shot. In football that sprint back to regain position as a defender is pointless if as a result he cannot slow and change direction, the attacking forward merely has to cut inside and the defender is now beaten and too far out of position to regain the ball.

So how might we better assess movement skills that are game specific?

I decided when I started coaching my Under 10s in July 2010 I would look at 4 areas of fitness, agility and movement skills in the players and see which (if any!) could address the points above. The four tests were :

1. 80m straight line sprint

2. Illinois Agility Test

3. HotSpot 4 square agility test ©

4. Bleep test

The HotSpot 4 square agility test is a simple figure of eight with 8 changes of direction around a 2.5m square testing precision, acceleration and deceleration movement skills. The points are marked by HotSpot discs so there is drill precision and every test is identical with reliable timing by the system.

I benchmarked each player and collated the data with a view to regular interval tests to see any changes – hopefully for the better! The training sessions each week have a heavy emphasis on movement training, agility and fitness with this comprises around 50% of the time.

I have summarised the data below comparing the 80m sprint with HS 4 Square Agility Test. The athletes are scored according to their position in the group for each of the tests and the difference shown in the far column. An improvement in rank from 80m to HotSpot Agility is showed as a + with rank position change and a – for a drop in their rank :

So what does all this data mean?! Look at the end column and see the change in rank between the two tests. If we take that moving in an agile fashion and moving quickly are not only equally important but comparable then there would be very little discrepancy between the two activities ie if you were fast in a straight line then you will also be fast round an agility circuit. This would be reflected in a small change if any in the rank difference.

Well this is clearly not the case. Only 1 athlete of the top 4 in the 80m sprint is in the top 4 for the 4 square HotSpot agility test. And only 2 of the bottom 4 ranked in the sprint are in the bottom 4 in the agility test.

If as we have suggested then the ability to move with agility and to be able to change direction is actually more relevant to the sport, then this data suggests the 80m sprint test  has poor positive predictive value for the attributes necessary for the sport.

By using an automated (and affordable) system such as the HotSpot I know my times are accurate, the drills identical each time and my data is robust and is therefore useful and meaningful and can be safely interpreted.

In summary if we are designing tests then these need to be reflect the qualities we want to see in our athletes. In this experiment the HotSpot 4 square I feel proved more useful in predicting the better athlete at both extremes – quicker runners are not necessarily more agile nor are slower runners necessarily less agile.

So here’s the message – look at the attributes that you see best reflect the qualities and requirements of your sport and design a test based on that!

TIME MODE – Hotspot club / XL / PRO

In Time mode we firstly set the amount of time that we will be working for.  For example we may have a drill that requires an athlete to work for 20 seconds.  During this time the Hotspot is open to triggers from the spots and will record a “hit” every time a spot is activated.  In time mode the score at the end is simply the number of spots hit during the pre set time frame.

Time mode has a number of real world applications.  If you can imagine a “Zig Zag” pattern consisting of 4 spots.  The athlete has to move in this pattern touching each of the spots with his/her foot forwards and then backwards.  This pattern is then repeated for the set time.  The use of Time mode will increase the intensity and effort level of the athlete whilst forcing good body control, precise footwork and a rhythmic, fluid movement ability.   The score at the end of the activity will reflect the athlete’s ability in these areas.  Time mode allows up to 95 seconds, in increments of 5 and can really pressure all energy systems.

COUNT MODE – All Hotspot Systems

Count mode is essentially the opposite to Time mode where the system is configured to accurately time a set number of triggers.  In Count mode we set the number of spots required to be hit in the activity.  In the above example we could use a count of 4 (just the forward pattern) or 8 to include the backward pattern also.  We could set it to 16 for two repetitions of the forward and backward patterns, get the idea?  The result is a Time value, accurate to 100th of a second.  Obviously in this mode it is more discriminatory and can provide indications of marginal improvement (key for elite athletes) and also between groups i.e. in talent detection.  For athletes to achieve the fastest time’s certain movement techniques, fatigue levels etc will impact the time.  There are a variety of uses for this mode.

Split Time Mode – XL and PRO only

Split time mode is an extension of Count mode where each received trigger splits the running time.  To explain further if the count is set to 2 then there will be two time’s in the display cycle post activity.  The first time will be from the start of timing to the 1st received trigger and the 2nd time will be the total time for the activity.

Split timing can be used to look at movement to the left and the right, fluidity of movement i.e. if the splits are equal in difference then there is a a rhythmic component to the athletes movement.   Another use of split timing is to run a repeat of an activity touch a spot after each set.  Let’s say we are doing set’s of 5 medicine ball squat jumps.  After each set the athlete touches a trigger point.  After say 3 sets of this the hotspot will have 3 times.  With a bit of simple mathematics we can determine how much the athlete has fatigued over the course of the drill.  This would be useful in telling us whether the athlete starts strongly and finishes poorly or is pretty consistent throughout.

SUMMARY

So there are 3 timing modes on the hotspot system’s that can be used in a variety of ways.  In all cases the athletes get immediate performance feedback and are externally motivated to give 110% to the activity.  Like anything where there is improvement to be made and one can see that it is possible an athlete will strive to beat times/scores and may even be inclined to practice outside of formal training.  Athletes will begin to own their training, effort and performance becoming more aware of themselves.   This is essential to reaching potential and fulfilling dreams!

Remember…MAKE IT COUNT!

Mike