Különleges Bánásmód (Mar 2025)
Examination of Agility Development in Extracurricular Activities
Abstract
In contemporary sports, achieving higher levels of performance has become almost unimaginable without scientific support. This is equally true for modern football, where agility stands out as one of the most critical abilities. Agility is a multifaceted skill that encompasses components such as change-of-direction running, recognizing game situations, decision-making, and response time. While physical abilities contribute significantly to performance enhancement, the distinguishing factor in agility often lies in the speed of decision-making. The objective of our research was to investigate the trainability of agility. Specifically, we aimed to design an agility test that evaluates not only physical abilities related to direction changes – such as dynamic leg strength and running technique – but also agility in its full complexity, incorporating all related decision-making mechanisms. Our study sought to determine the extent to which agility could be developed in the examined age group through an 8-week training program consisting exclusively of agility tests. School sports clubs provided an appropriate foundation for the research, as participants were non-elite athletes, making short-term progress more likely. The study was conducted in 2023 at the gymnasium of Huszár Gál High School, Elementary School, Basic Art Education Institution, and Kindergarten. The participants were first- and second-grade boys, with an average age of 7.4 years. A total of 16 students took part in the research. At the start of the study, during the initial assessment, students performed several tests: a 20-meter straight-line sprint, a shadowing agility test, an auditory signal agility test, and a predetermined course agility test with a known route. Following this baseline measurement, an 8-week period commenced, during which students participated in sports club sessions twice a week. These sessions incorporated agility tests as training elements. Specifically, students performed three Agility T-tests and three Illinois agility tests during each session. After eight weeks, post-training assessments were conducted under identical conditions. The results indicated that incorporating agility tests as training elements led to significant improvements in time-based performance metrics. It was also evident that tasks requiring decision-making took longer to execute compared to those following predetermined routes. Our findings confirmed the hypotheses set before the research and provided answers to the research questions posed.
Keywords
