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EFFICACY OF 6 WEEK PLYOMETRIC TRAINING ON AGILITY PERFORMANCE IN

COLLEGIATE MALE BASKETBALL PLAYERS

Article  in  Indian Journal of Physiotherapy & Occupational Therapy · December 2016

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TJPRC: International Journal of Physiotherapy
& Occupational Therapy (TJPRC: IJPOT)
ISSN(P): Applied; ISSN(E): 2455 -1996
Vol. 2, Issue 2, Dec 2016, 1-8
© TJPRC Pvt. Ltd.

EFFICACY OF 6 WEEK PLYOMETRIC TRAINING ON AGILITY

PERFORMANCE IN COLLEGIATE MALE BASKETBALL PLAYERS

S. SUDHAKAR, G. MOHAN KUMAR, K. RAMANATHAN & P. VASANTH

Faculty of Physiotherapy, Dr. MGR Educational & Research Institute
University, Velappanchavadi, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
ABSTRACT
Objective

To evaluate the effectiveness of six week plyometric training on agility performance in collegiate male
basketball players.

Background of the Study

Basketball is the world`s second fastest game and is played all over the world. player requires an appropriate
mixture of mental, physical, technical, and tactical ability. Agility is an ability of the neuromuscular system to coordinate
explosive changes of direction and/or multiple body segments in all planes of motion. Plyometric training has been

Original Article
advocated for sports that require the athletes to have explosive power and agility. Advanced technique such as plyometric
training protocol has proven more effective but not much studies have been done to assess its effectiveness over agility.

Methods

A total of 24 collegiate basketball players were taken with a mean age of 20.5 with a standard deviation of one.
They were grouped in one group and were selected based on their selection criteria. Informed consent was obtained from
the subjects. The study was conducted for six weeks (12 sessions). Evaluation parameters were Illinois agility test, T test.

Results

Paired t test was used to analyze data. The results of this study show that plyometric training can be effective
training to improve Agility of the basketball players

Conclusions

These results suggest that plyometric training is advantageous for developing lower body explosive power and
Agility. Agility and explosive power is a key component in many sports, so coaches and participants should therefore
consider a plyometric training program that incorporates specific exercises according to the needs of individual’s
athletic performance as part of the overall training program.

KEYWORDS: Agility, Illinois Test, Plyometric, T Test

Received: Jun 19, 2016; Accepted: Jul 04, 2016; Published: Jul 14, 2016; Paper Id.: TJPRC:IJPOTDEC20161

INTRODUCTION

Basketball is a sport played by two teams of five players on a rectangular court. The objective is to shoot
a ball through a hoop 18 inches (46 cm) in diameter and 10 feet (3.0 m) high mounted to a backboard at each end.
Agility ornimbleness is the ability to change the body's position efficiently, and requires the integration of isolated

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2 S. Sudhakar, G. Mohan Kumar, K. Ramanathan & P. Vasanth

movement skills using a combination of balance, coordination, speed, reflexes, strength and endurance. Although agility is
a key component, it is often an overlooked component of the game. Basketball is an extremely fast game that requires
continual agility. Frequently, the game is played in short bursts of a few feet or less before a change of direction is
required. One needs agility to be able to explode when penetrating to the basket, get into position to take a charge, or to
catch up to an opponent after a turnover in a fast break situation. An individual, or team, who is extremely agile, will excel
on fast breaks, defense, and pressing. Agility training will help gain fractions of a second on that first step and those
fractions of a second can be the difference between an uncontested layup and a turnover.

Plyometricsis a type of exercise training designed to produce fast, powerful movements, and improve the
functions of the nervous system, generally for the purpose of the improving performance in sports. Plyometric exercises
may also be referred to as explosive exercises (craig et al, 2004). Plyometric is a rapid pre stretching of a muscle during an
eccentric action, followed immediately by a concentric action of same muscle and connective tissue. The sequence of
events is known as “stretch shortening cycle” (komi et al, 1992).A stretch- shortening cycle can be defined as an active
stretch (eccentric contraction) of a muscle followed by an immediate shortening (concentric contraction) of that same
muscle (yuri et al, 1996) a soviet jumping coach observed that jumpers with the shortest amount of ground contact time
(amortization phase) displayed the greatest jumping performance. The amortization phase, or transition phase, is one of
three parts of a plyometric exercise. This phase is the time between the concentric and eccentric phases. This phase of the
stretch shortening cycle is perhaps the most crucial in production of power as the duration of amortization must be kept at a
minimum (Bosco et al1981). Plyometrics are primarily used by athletes, especially martial artists and high jumpers, to
improve performance, and are used in the fitness field to a much lesser degree. Brandon Todd, a 5'5" basketball player,
trained himself to slam dunk using plyometrics.

METHODOLOGY

An experimental study was done to find the effectiveness of plyometric training on agility in collegiate male
basketball players. pre-post testtest type of study conducted in 24 players of Dr. MGR Educational and Research institute
basketball team by simple convienient sampling based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Off season male collegiate
basket ball players of age group 18-25 years, who are not been trained in specific plyometric training program in past 6
months were included for the study. Any history of Recent fracture of player, Acute inflammation, Hyper mobility of
joints, Any pathological condition of spine or lower extremitiesLower extremity or back injuries were excluded..materials
such as Stop watch, Cones, measuring tape Pen &Pencil were used.

PROCEDURE

A total of 24 subjects will be recruited based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. The subjects were instructed that
in case any subject discontinued the training program or if he developed any pain or injury in lower limbs or back during
the training period then they will be excluded from the study. In this study none of the subject discontinued the training
program and none developed any injury. All subjects should undergo 11 minutes of warm up protocol includes 5 minutes
of static stretching & 6 minutes of jogging prior to training & ends up with 7 minutes of cool down sessions.
(salujaisha 2009).All players were instructed to wear jogger shoes & players are under direct supervision during the
training session. Players received the selected training protocols 2 days per week for 6 weeks (12 sessions), 3 days will be a
sufficient recovery period in between sessions (mckeag 2003). All subjects will be trained with plyometrics. Informed
consent will be obtained from the subjects. All subjects agreed not to change their current exercise habits during the course

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Efficacy of 6 Week Plyometric Training on Agility 3
Performance in Collegiate Male Basketball Players

of the study. The plyometric exercises were designed for the lower extremity. Subjects were instructed not to start any
lower extremity strengthening exercises during the 6 week period. Subjects agreeing to participate signed an institutionally
approved consent form. A six week training program was developed using two training sessions per week. Training
volume ranged from 90 foot to 140 foot contacts per session. The intensity of the training was tapered so that fatigue would
not be a factor during post testing.

Table 1
Training Week Plyometric Drill Sets x Reps
Week 1 Side to side ankle hops 2 X 15
Standing jump and reach 2 X 15
Front cone hops 5X6
Week 2 Side to side ankle hops 2 X 15
Standing long jump 5X6
Lateral jump over barrier 2 X 15
Double leg hops 5X6
Week 3 Side to side ankle hops 2 X 12
Standing long jump 4X6
Lateral jump over barrier 2 X 12
Double leg hops 3X8
Lateral cone hops 2X 12
Week 4 Diagonal cone hops 4X8
Standing long jump withlateralsprint 4X8
Lateral cone hops 2x12
Single leg bounding 4x7
Lateral jump single leg 4x6
Week 5 Diagonal cone hops 2x7
Standing long jump with 4x7
Lateral cone hops 4x7
Cone hops with 180 degree turn 4x7
Single leg bounding 4x7
Lateral jump single leg 2x7
Week 6 Diagonal cone hops 2x12
Hexagon drill 2x12
Cone hops with change of direction sprint 4x6
Double leg hops 3x8
Lateral jump single leg 4x6

Figure 1: Agility T Test

OUTCOME MEASURES
Illinois Agility Run Test

Test procedure consists of four cones forming the agility area (10 meters long x 5 meters wide). Cone at point A,
marking the start. Cone at B & C to mark the turning spots. Cone at D to mark finish. Place four cones in the center of the
testing area, 3.3 meters apart. On the “go” command, athlete begins and timing was measured manually using stop watch

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4 S. Sudhakar, G. Mohan Kumar, K. Ramanathan & P. Vasanth

which has operated in a 0.01 seconds mode. Get up and run the course in the set path. On the turn spots
sp B and C, the
athlete should touch the cones with their hand. trail is complete when athletes cross the finish line and when no cones are
knocked over (Miller 2001). Each subject was given 3 trails of Illinois agility test, with rest recovery in between.
between
The fastest of the three scores was used to report agility test.(FIGURE
test. - 3)

Figure 2: Illionos Agility Test Figure 3: Agility T Test

T-Test

The T-Test
Test was administered using a version standardized from
rom previous literature. The units of measurement
were changed from yards to meters, creating a 10 x10 m course. The directions adopted for this study were based on Miller
et al.

On the –go– command, the participant (1) ran or moved as quickly

quickly as possible forward to the center cone, (2)
sidestepped to the right 5 m to the right cone, (3) sidestepped to the left 10 m to the far left cone, and then (1) sidestepped
back to the right to the center cone (Figure
Figure 2).
2 The participant then ran or movedd backward as quickly as possible to cross
the finish line. The raters began the stop watch on –go– and stopped when the participant broke the plane of the finish line.
The time to complete the task was recorded in seconds.

DATA ANALYSIS
Comparing the Pre and Post Test in T Test and Illinois Agility Test Within the Group A & Group B

Table 2
Plyometric Training Pre
Pre-Test Post-Test
T-Test
Test Significance
Group Mean SD Mean SD
“T”- test
(in seconds) 11.0875 0.36512 10.5917 0.32292 14.029 0.000***
Illinois agility test
(in seconds) 22.7958 1.49244 21.1417 1.60025 13.673 0.000***
***-p<0.001

The above table reveals the mean, standard deviation (S.D) paired t-test
test and p value of the “T”-test
“T” and Illinois
agility test. In agility T-test
test there is a significant difference between the pre and post test values (p<0.001), In Illinois
agility test there is a significant difference between the pre and post test values (p<0.001)

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Efficacy of 6 Week Plyometric Training on Agility 5
Performance in Collegiate Male Basketball Players

Comparing the Pre and Post Test in T Test and Illinois Agility Test within the Group A & Group B

Figure 4

RESULTS

On comparing the mean values of pre and post training values on Illinois agility test and T-test shows significant
difference in Pre and post test mean values at (p<0.001).

DISCUSSIONS

This study evaluated the effects of six week plyometric training on agility performance in collegiate male
basketball players. The main result of the study was associated with the plyometric training induced changes in dynamic
athletic lower body performance. Most previous study of plyometric training, the author speculated that improvements in
muscular performance enhanced by motor unit recruitment pattern (potteiger et al, 1999). Some studies compare the
effects of plyometric with the effects of strength alone (or) of their combination (craig 2004). To the best of our knowledge
only few studies have used the plyometric training in measuring agility in specific sports, especially basketball
(Michael G. Miller 2006). In particular, plyometric training significantly improves the agility, specifically it was found
that the timing were improved in both T test and Illinois test. By finding significant differences for all two tests, our
results indicate that the plyometric training improved times in the agility in collegiate male basketball players. Wilk et al,
(1993) suggested that plyometric drills or exercises are based on stretch shortening cycle(SSC). A stretch reflex is utilized
during many activities because most movements involve two phases of muscular contraction. Such components of stretch
shortening cycle refer to a rapid eccentric muscle followed by concentric contraction. Bosco et al, (1982) showed that
during plyometric movement, the muscles undergo a rapid form of eccentric phase to concentric phase. This stretch
shortening cycle decreases the time of the amortization phase that in turn allows greater than normal power production.
The muscle store elastic energy and stretch reflex responses are essentially exploited in this manner, permitting more work
to be done by the muscle during the concentric phase of movement. Adams et al, (1992) studies suggested that plyometrics
improves power output and increases explosiveness by training the muscles to do more work in a shorter amount of time.
this is accomplished by optimizing the stretch-shortening cycle, which occurs when the active muscle switches from rapid
eccentric muscle action (deceleration) to rapid concentric muscle action (acceleration).Sporis (2010) proved that the T-test
agility is reliable and valuable test for the estimation of agility performance in basketball players. Our findings consistent
with postulation that plyometric training is most effective in improving agility and performances as it enhances the ability

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6 S. Sudhakar, G. Mohan Kumar, K. Ramanathan & P. Vasanth

of subjects to use the elastic and neural benefits of stretch shortening cycle. In addition to the reliability of measurements in
our study the sample size, allowed to conclude with high level of confidence that the plyometric training produce greater
training effects on agility.

CONCLUSIONS

The present study concluded that a six weeks program of plyometric training yielded significant improvement on
Agility in collegiate male basketball players. These result also suggested that plyometric training is advantageous for
developing lower body explosive power and Agility. Agility is required in many sports and physical activities. “coaches
and participants should therefore consider a plyometric training program that incorporates specific exercises according to
the needs of individual’s athletic performance as a part of overall training program”

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