Agility
Agility is the ability to move and change the direction and position of the body in a quick, effective and controlled manner in response to a stimulus [1]. Agility therefore requires fast reflexes, coordination, balance, speed and the ability to respond correctly to a change in the situation by initiating and quickly concluding a decision-making process.
An “agile” athlete responds to what is happening around them, acquiring that information and translating it into body positioning that allows them, while maintaining balance and control, to move into the best place to take the next action effectively.
Agility is therefore one of the key components of performance and in recent years it has been widely studied and trained in situational sports, where it is essential to manage primary stimuli (ball, opponent), secondary stimuli (tiredness, tactics, evolution of the game), simultaneously with rapid and continuous changes in direction. This capability is therefore applied both in team sports (football, basketball, hockey, volleyball, rugby, American football, etc.) and in individual sports (tennis, table tennis, fencing, boxing, skiing, etc.).
Despite the importance of agility identified almost 4 decades ago [3], the understanding of the subject is rather limited, especially when compared to that of other physical characteristics such as stamina, strength/power, and speed. This difference is probably due to the complexity of this attribute which involves several aspects, clearly set out in the diagram developed by Sheppard & Young in 2006.
Figura 1 The image shows the Agility diagram, developed by Sheppard & Young
As you can see from this schematic simplification, all the Microgate tools can be used in the monitoring and development of agility. Gyko is useful for measuring and training strength, while OptoJump Next and Witty allow the analysis of rapid movements (whether specific to the feet and legs, or more complex motor activities such as linear and non-linear sprints).
Witty SEM enables training the area of perception, cognitive speed and attention capacity, reaction times and disturbance suppression. The possibility of simultaneously developing the different blocks enables working in a more complete way, obtaining a better result than separately exercising each sector.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
[1] D. J. Paul, T. J. Gabbett, and G. P. Nassis, “Agility in Team Sports: Testing, Training and Factors Affecting Performance,” Sports Med., vol. 46, no. 3, pp. 421–442, Mar. 2016, doi: 10.1007/s40279-015-0428-2.
[2] J. M. Sheppard and W. B. Young, “Agility literature review: classifications, training and testing,” J. Sports Sci., vol. 24, no. 9, pp. 919–932, Sep. 2006, doi: 10.1080/02640410500457109.
[3] Chelladurai, P, “Agility performance and consistency.,” Can J Appl Sport Sci 2, pp. 37–41, 1977.
