Sawczuk, T, Jones, B, Scantlebury, S, Read, D ORCID logoORCID:
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6367-0261, Costello, N, Darrall-Jones, J, Stokes,
K, Till, K and Weakley, J (2017) Between-Day Reliability and Usefulness of
a Fitness Testing Battery in Youth Sport Athletes: Reference Data for Practi-
tioners. Measurement in Physical Education and Exercise Science, 22. pp.
11-18. ISSN 1091-367X
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Version: Accepted Version
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1091367X.2017.1360304
Please cite the published version
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1
Between-day reliability and usefulness of a fitness testing battery in youth sport 1
athletes: Reference data for practitioners 2
Running Head: Reliability of a fitness testing battery in youth sport athletes 3
4
Thomas Sawczuk
1,2
, Ben Jones
1,2,3,4,5
, Sean Scantlebury
1,2
, Jonathon Weakley
1,2,3
, Dale 5
Read
1,3
, Nessan Costello
1,2,4
, Joshua David Darrall-Jones
1,3
, Keith Stokes
6
and Kevin Till
1,3,4
6
7
1
Institute for Sport, Physical Activity and Leisure, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, United 8
Kingdom 9
2
Queen Ethelburga's Collegiate, Thorpe Underwood, York, United Kingdom 10
3
Yorkshire Carnegie Rugby Club, Headingley Carnegie Stadium, Leeds, United Kingdom 11
4
Leeds Rhinos Rugby Club, Headingley Carnegie Stadium, Leeds, United Kingdom 12
5
The Rugby Football League, Red Hall, Leeds, United Kingdom 13
6
University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath, United Kingdom 14
15
Corresponding Author: 16
Thomas Sawczuk 17
Room G03, Macaulay Hall 18
Institute for Sport, Physical Activity and Leisure 19
Centre for Sports Performance 20
Leeds Beckett University, Headingley Campus 21
West Yorkshire 22
LS6 3QS 23
Phone: (0044) 7530945555 24
Email: t.sawczuk@leedsbeckett.ac.uk 25
2
Abstract 26
This study aimed to evaluate the between-day reliability and usefulness of a fitness testing 27
battery in a group of youth sport athletes. Fifty-nine youth sport athletes (age = 17.3 ± 0.7 28
years) undertook a fitness testing battery including the isometric mid-thigh pull (IMTP), 29
countermovement jump (CMJ), 5-40 m sprint splits, and the 5-0-5 change of direction test on 30
two occasions separated by 7 days. Usefulness was assessed by comparing the reliability 31
(typical error; TE) to the smallest worthwhile change (SWC). The TE was 5.5% for IMTP 32
and 3.8% for CMJ. The TE values were 2.7%, 2.5%, 2.2%, 2.2% and 1.8% for the 5, 10, 20, 33
30 and 40 m sprint splits, and 4.1% (left) and 5.4% (right) for the 5-0-5 tests. SWC ranged 34
from 1.1% to 6.1%. All tests were identified as having "good" or "acceptable" reliability. The 35
IMTP and CMJ had "good" usefulness, all other tests had "marginal" usefulness. 36
37
Key words: Reliability, usefulness, fitness testing, strength, power, speed 38
3
Introduction 39
The importance of developing strength, power, speed and change of direction 40
qualities to improve athletic performance and reduce injury risk in adolescent athletes has 41
been highlighted regularly in recent years (Lloyd et al., 2016; Reilly, Williams, Nevill, & 42
Franks, 2000; Young, 2006). This, in addition to the recent National Strength and 43
Conditioning Association (NSCA) position statements indicating that resistance training is 44
beneficial for the youth athlete, has resulted in an increase in the number of adolescents 45
participating in structured strength and conditioning programmes (Faigenbaum et al., 2009; 46
Lloyd et al., 2016). A number of these programmes take place at schools or colleges where 47
adolescents are given scholarships based on their sporting prowess. A recent report by Ofsted 48
has suggested that as many as 15% of current international athletes across a range of sports 49
received a sports scholarship at some point during their school life, highlighting their 50
importance (Ofsted, 2014). As part of the scholarships, it is common for coaches to use 51
fitness testing batteries to regularly measure and monitor the physical characteristics of their 52
athletes (Pyne, Spencer, & Mujika, 2014). However, little information is available regarding 53
the between-day reliability of these tests, particularly in a school sport environment where 54
athletes of different indoor and outdoor sports regularly train and test their physical 55
capabilities together. 56
57
The between-day reliability of a test refers to its ability to produce consistent results 58
from day to day (Hopkins, 2000). In order for coaches to be confident that changes in 59
performance from a specific test are "real" and not due to the daily variation in the test, it is 60
important that the test has good between-day reliability. Although good reliability of a test is 61
necessary, in order for its results to be interpretable it is also important that it is sensitive 62
enough to detect the smallest worthwhile change (SWC) in performance. This has been 63
4
termed its "usefulness" (Hopkins, 2004) and is assessed by comparing a test's between-day 64
reliability, or typical error (TE), to the SWC. To do this, the TE is usually converted into a 65
factor of the SWC, which can be termed the "TE:SWC ratio". If the SWC is greater than a 66
test's between-day reliability (i.e. TE:SWC ratio < 1) it is considered to have good usefulness. 67
Conversely, if the SWC is smaller than its between-day reliability, (i.e. TE:SWC ratio > 1), 68
its usefulness is said to be "marginal" (Hopkins, 2004). This information can be used to 69
assess the length of time which may be required between tests in order for a clear change in 70
performance to be seen. A number of tests of strength, power, speed and change of direction 71
ability have had their between-day reliability and usefulness considered in recent times 72
(Cormack, Newton, McGulgan, & Doyle, 2008; Darrall-Jones, Jones, Roe, & Till, 2015; De 73
Witt et al., 2016; Gabbett, Kelly, & Sheppard, 2008; Haff, Ruben, Lider, Twine, & Cormie, 74
2015; Roe et al., 2016; Stewart, Turner, & Miller, 2014), however the reliability has been 75
shown to vary between sports and cohorts, so a study considering the between-day reliability 76
and usefulness of these tests in a group of school based adolescent athletes across multiple 77
sports is warranted. 78
79
A recently conceptualised and novel single measure of strength is the isometric mid-80
thigh pull (IMTP). The IMTP is designed to mimic the second pull phase of the snatch and 81
clean (Haff et al., 2005), and has shown to be strongly correlated with weightlifting 82
performance (Beckham et al., 2013). It requires little technical expertise indicating it is 83
suitable for athletes of all training ages with little familiarisation (Beckham, 2015). To date, 84
the majority of IMTP reliability studies have shown force plates to be reliable measures, with 85
intraclass correlation coefficients ranging from .92-.99 (De Witt et al., 2016; Haff et al., 86
2015), however given the high cost of the equipment, force plates are likely only available 87
within universities or professional sports teams and not within a school environment. A lower 88