ORIGINAL ARTICLE   

Gazzetta Medica Italiana - Archivio per le Scienze Mediche 2021 April;180(4):114-20

DOI: 10.23736/S0393-3660.19.04190-1

Copyright © 2019 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

lingua: Inglese

Minimal intervention significantly improves agility in female collegiate volleyball players

Pierre-Marc FERLAND, Juan E. VELIZ GARCIA, Alain S. COMTOIS ✉

Department of Physical Activity Sciences, University of Quebec in Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to measure the impact of a minimal in-season intervention directed towards developing linear acceleration, vertical jump and agility on division II female collegiate volleyball players.
METHODS: The experimental design consisted of analyzing pre- and post-testing results obtained from a strength and conditioning coach conducting the intervention. Intervention consisted of 8 once a week 40-minute acceleration, plyometrics and agility sessions (commonly known as speed and agility) over the course of 9 weeks. Sessions included a 15 to 20 minutes warm up that consisted mostly of dynamic stretching and coordination drills. The strength and conditioning coach stated that a special attention was directed towards technical execution of the movements throughout all training sessions. The statistical analysis revealed no significant improvement in 20-yd sprint time (-1.78±3.12%, P=0.129; 95% CI: -0.021-0.137 s; ICC=0.725; d=0.44) and vertical jump height (+4.04±7.43%, P=0.128; 95% CI: -0.039-0.006 cm; ICC=0.810; d=0.40). However, a significant improvement was found in the pro agility test time (-3.64±1.26%, P=0.000; 95% CI: 0.153-0.258 s; ICC=0.825; d=0.64) after the intervention.
RESULTS: Thus, results of this study could serve strength and conditioning coaches intervening with teams that have a lot of time restrictions and only have the possibility to run minimal interventions to improve their athlete’s agility.
CONCLUSIONS: Further interventions and investigations should include a control group, higher frequency of skill practices and leave less space for detraining before competition and/or testing.

KEY WORDS: Athletes; Exercise; Sports