Reliability and Performance Correlates of Life-Size Reactive Agility Test in Netball Players

Reactive agility is an important component in many team sports, with human stimulus considered more realistic for performance assessment than video- or light-based stimulus testing. This study aimed to evaluate the reliability of a newly adopted netball specific Life-Size Reactive Agility Test (LSRAT), and to determine the correlation between action accuracy and total time. Twenty young female netball players, mean age = 15.1 ± 1.7 years, completed two test conditions using a live tester with netball-specific movements: (a) the tester acted as an opponent by delivering an offensive stimulus for the subject to react to; and (b) the tester acted as a teammate by delivering a ball pass as a stimulus to which the subject had to react by receiving the pass. Results showed very high reliability for total time in both test conditions, with Pearson’s correlation coefficient (Pearson’s r) values of 0.90–0.94, and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) values of 0.91–0.93. However, action accuracy for both subjects and testers yielded moderate to low Pearson’s r and ICC values across both test conditions. The usefulness of the test in detecting moderate performance changes was evaluated as ‘good’ for the total time in both test conditions. In contrast, subject action accuracy was rated from ‘good’ to ‘marginal’, while tester action accuracy was rated as ‘marginal’ in both test conditions. In conclusion, the LSRAT is a reliable tool for measuring reactive agility in netball players while action accuracy measures may require further refinement for optimal utility in coaching and research. Keywords: Netball, reactive agility, decision making, reactive agility testing, speed