Reactive Strength Index Impact On Skating Speed, Agility And Change Of Direction In Youth Ice Hockey Players

Reactive Strength Index (RSI) tests are often used in sports to primarily measure the peak force, power and reactive strength of the lower body. Does this variable measure speed and change of direction for ice hockey players ?. PURPOSE: The purpose of the present study was to determine the impact of the RSI on skating speed, agility and change of direction on youth ice hockey players. METHODS: Thirty-two youth male ice hockey players, [age: 14.32 ± 0.72 years; height: 172.88 ± 14.57 cm; weight: 60.04 ± 17.00 kg] performed three trials per test. The off ice test was a Drop Jump (DJ) from 24 inches. The flight time was measured using a force plate (Desmotec, Italy). After a complete rest of 15 minutes (time required to put on full ice hockey equipment), participants had to perform three on ice tests. The on ice tests were best of three trials of a 30 meter sprint measured with a camera and a reflective system (SciencePerfo, Quebec) and of the Pro Agility and a Modified Vierumaki measured with timing gates (Exsurgo, USA). A rest of 120 seconds was taken between each trial. Values are reported as mean ± SD for all variables. Simple regression equations and Pearson correlation analysis were performed using SPSS (Ver. 28). RESULTS: Average RSI was (1.40 ± 0.39 sec/sec), Skating sprint was (5.27 ± 0.45 sec), Modified Vierumaki was (16.44 ± 2.21 sec), ProAgility Left was (5.42 ± 0.67 sec) and ProAgility Right was (5.44 ± 0.66 sec). The coefficient of determination (r2) was 0.20 (r = 0.45, p = 0.01) for Skating Sprint as a function of RSI, r2 = 0.23 (r = 0.48, p = 0.006) for Modified Vierumaki as a function of RSI, r2 = 0.23 (r = 0.48, p = 0.006) for Pro Agility Left as a function of RSI and r2 = 0.196 (r = 0.44, p = 0.011) for Pro Agility Right as a function of RSI. When adding height and weight into regression, the results show a strong regression, r2 = 0.784 (r = 0.885, p < 0.0001) for skating speed. CONCLUSION: The RSI partially explains the players’ skating speed, agility and change of direction and shows that it is a fitness component that cannot be neglected for strength and conditioning coaches in ice hockey. Moreover, further research can be made with a more homogenous group to find better statistical evidence of the impact of RSI on ice hockey players.