Justification of the reliability of a control exercise for assessing stick handling technique in hockey

Relevance. Monitoring the technical fitness of hockey players is an important part of the training process. Existing tests often assess complex qualities, making it difficult to evaluate stickhandling technique in isolation. Furthermore, reliability data for many movement tests used in hockey is lacking, which reduces the objectivity of the assessment. Objective. To validate the use of a technique involving simulating a dribble move to both the comfortable (preferred) and uncomfortable (off-hand) sides for 15 seconds as a reliable control exercise for assessing stickhandling technique. Methods. Twenty-one young hockey players (13 years old) participated in the study. The testing consisted of performing stationary dribbling while simulating a puck handling move to both the preferred and off-hand sides at maximum frequency for 15 seconds. A specialized device with an MPU9250 sensor mounted on the stick was used to objectively record the frequency of movements. A retest was conducted after a 30-minute interval to assess test-retest reliability. Results. High Pearson correlation coefficients were obtained between the repeated measures: 0.925 for the simulation to the preferred side and 0.907 to the off-hand side, indicating good reliability of the control exercise. Performance indicators for the exercise on the preferred side were statistically significantly higher than those for the off-hand side. Conclusion. The proposed control exercise, "Imitating an Opponent’s Dribble," demonstrates high reliability and can be recommended for assessing the technical preparedness of young hockey players as part of the educational and training process.