Player testing

Three times a season player testing is undertaken to assess posture, injury and a number of desirable attributes required for the sport. Player testing enables the sports science staff to analyse each player at different times throughout the season.

This is useful as it highlights any performance effects that training has had when compared with the previous test dates and enables the sports science staff to make informed decisions on what improvements can be made in order to further develop the squads.

At the club each player is reviewed during the last few months of their contracts. As a result the information from such testing is helpful in making such important decisions as it can highlight a players potential which could lead to further scholarship or professional contract.

Testing differed throughout the academy with the Under 21's Development Squad receiving more priority than the younger age groups.

Testing undertaken by the Sports Science staff was more performance based. Each squad throughout the academy was to participate although testing differed as for the younger players testing was only staged to allow the players to become familiar with the procedures rather than the importance of the actual results.

Testing format for the squads under 16 and below;

- 10m Speed, 5m Sprint, Arrowhead Agility Left, Arrowhead Agility Right

The testing for 16's, 18's and 21's was more concerned with results and consisted of;

- 10m Speed, 20m Speed, 30m Speed, Arrowhead Agility Left, Arrowhead Agility Right, Counter movement jump and the Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test level 2

Testing  always remained the same and ran in the same order throughout. This helps standardise the results encouraging greater reliability when performing follow up testing
as performing follow up tests in a different order could possibly give different results, due to factors such as accumulative fatigue, etc.....

Following a thorough warm up the first test was the countermovement jump.

 

Using the Bosco Ergo Jump System, each player was to perform a countermovement jump, as shown above. However, a broom handle was placed across the shoulders which Alex incorporated to further standardise the test to avoid any inclusion of the arms.


Sprint times were also recorded using Brower timing gates.

Arrowhead agility testing for both left and right directions were used.

Finally the Yo-Yo intermittent recovery test.

Each of the chosen tests assess football specific qualities which closely resemble the attributes required for the sport. This is an effective way of testing and gaining valuable information using repeatable and valid methods. These results can then be compared to that of previous testing undertaken by the players along with measures reported throughout the literature.

Testing also ran over a few weeks due to the amount of squads in the academy therefore time management would be a main priority and choosing the tests that would give the assessor the best information in the least time becomes apparent.

Also certain issues must be taken into account, such as time of season and phase of training, as this will have an effect on the results as highlighted during lectures based around testing parameters. If testing is undertaken during the competition phase where not as much gym based sessions are undertaken then the players strength and power could show reduced results when compared to a pre-competition training phase when the players training is more focussed around such parameters (Baechle and Earle, 2008).

Additional testing procedures are issued for the under 21's development squad as these are next in line to turn professional. The physiotherapists undertake additional testing which includes various postural, flexibility and neuromuscular analysis. Such testing includes; glute activation, faber test, single leg squat off a box, single leg triple jump, sit and reach test and calf flexibility testing.

Sit and reach;                                                                Faber test;

 

Testing is also used to assess injury possibilities as sporting injury are still relatively high in football which is of high concern.
Sporting injuries not only have negative effects on performance but also on an athlete’s future, as injury is a major factor for premature retirement in elite athletes (Knowles et al, 2006).

Testing for injury can identify the initial injury and magnitude of the problem along with possible risk factors. The data can highlight the people more vulnerable i.e. player position, etc.
Such information obtained can then enable the development of intervention programmes and can be used to determine the success of the intervention during follow up assessment.


References

Knowles, S.B. Marshall, S.W. Bowling, J.M. Loomis, D. Millikan, R., Yang, J.Z. (2006). A prospective study of injury incidence among North Carolina high school athletes American Journal of Epidemiology 164 pp1209–1221.