Squat Jump Test
B. Starting Position:
Stand with your feet feet hip-width apart, arms by your sides, depressing and retracting your scapulae (pull shoulders down and back) without arching your low back, and shift your hips backwards then slowly moving downwards to create a hinge-like movement at your knees. Continue to lower yourself until your feel your heels about to lift off the floor. Try to maintain a flat back by bending forward at the hips, keep your head facing forward and position to your arms where comfortable or where they offer the greatest degree of balance support.
Hold for 2 seconds at the bottom of your downward phase.
After which, explode upwards through your lower extremity, achieving triple extension (pushing and extending your ankles, knees and hips simultaneously). As you jump into the air, keep your feet level with each other and parallel with the floor.
C. Landing:
The most important components of the landing phase are correct foot position and avoiding excessive forward movement in your lower extremity which places additional stresses upon your knees. Attempt to land softly and quietly on the mid-foot, rolling backwards quickly towards the heels. Always push your hips backwards and drop them downwards to absorb the impacting forces associated with jumping. Avoid locking out your knees or quads on your landing as this may lead to potential knee injuries.
Raffles Basketball Test Protocol
After looking through various research articles, we have decided to use these test items to form the battery of test to gauge the standards of our players in terms of agility, speed, jump power, flexibility and anaerobic endurance.
Counter Movement Jump Test
A. Starting Position:
Stand with your feet feet hip-width apart, arms by your sides, depressing and retracting your scapulae (pull shoulders down and back) without arching your low back, and "brace" (engage your abdominal / core muscles) to stiffen your spine. Downward Phase: Begin your downward phase by first shifting your hips backwards then slowly moving downwards to create a hinge-like movement at your knees. Continue to lower yourself until your feel your heels about to lift off the floor. Try to maintain a flat back by bending forward at the hips, keep your head facing forward and position to your arms where comfortable or where they offer the greatest degree of balance support.
B. Jumping Movement:
With ONLY a very brief pause at the bottom of your downward phase, explode upwards through your lower extremity, achieving triple extension (pushing and extending your ankles, knees and hips simultaneously). As you jump into the air, keep your feet level with each other and parallel with the floor.
C. Landing:
The most important components of the landing phase are correct foot position and avoiding excessive forward movement in your lower extremity which places additional stresses upon your knees. Attempt to land softly and quietly on the mid-foot, rolling backwards quickly towards the heels. Always push your hips backwards and drop them downwards to absorb the impacting forces associated with jumping. Avoid locking out your knees or quads on your landing as this may lead to potential knee injuries.
Maximum Vertical Jump
All jumps are made with an approach from 5m measured out from the base of a Vertec. If a Vertec is not available, affix a measuring tape to the backboard and measure the 5m out from the point where the measuring tape would intersect the court floor.
If using a Vertec, high school boys should set the bottom vane 9.0 feet above ground. [Note: younger, less experienced athletes (<15 yrs) may require a lower pre-set Vertec height such as 8.5 feet.]
You can take as many approach steps as you need within the 5m arc to attain maximum touch height. Any approach starting outside of 5m is disqualified.
You can jump off one or both feet, whichever you believe will result in the highest jump.
Two trials are allowed; record both measurements in feet-inches to the nearest half inch, e.g. 10’-2.5” (122.5 in.).
Give yourself at least 1 minute of recovery in between trials.
Your jump will not be counted if your approach starts from beyond the 5m.
Lane Arrow Closeout
This defensive agility pattern reveals your ability to accelerate, maintain body position at pace, and ultimately shut down penetration and passing lanes.
Start from a standing position, feet staggered at start line marked beneath backboard, hips squared toward B. You must hold this set position for 2 seconds prior to the start of your sprint.
Sprint to the top of the key, planting your foot within square (B) to begin defensive slides (dotted line) to either C or D. Continue defensive slides and reach down to touch cone with hand, then sprint back to B, plant, pivot and then begin defensive slides to the opposite cone, touching it and again sprinting back to B; you’ll then plant outside foot in the square and turn to run back through start gate (A). You choose in which direction (C or D) you’ll initiate your first defensive slide.
Hand timing begins on your first movement from the set position, and stops when your torso crosses start/finish gate (A). Allow yourself two trials with at least 1-minute recovery between each.
Record each trial in seconds to nearest hundredth, e.g. 8.76 seconds.
Your trial will not be counted if:
• Your foot does not touch the inside of the square.
• You begin your defensive slides after your feet leave the square pivot area.
• You cross your feet during your defensive slides.
• You don’t keep your hips parallel with your direction of movement toward the cone.
For best results, stay low while sliding to cones to control deceleration and transition quickly for sprint back toward B. Push through the finish line instead of pulling up short.
*Adapted from SPARX Testing Protocol.
*Adapted from SPARX Testing Protocol.
Half-Court ZigZag Sprint
This agility drill is an indicator of your ability to dodge opponents, change direction and accelerate/decelerate in pushing the offense up the court.
You’ll start from a standing position, feet staggered behind baseline, hips angled toward second gate (B).
Hold this set position for 2 sec. prior to sprint start.
Hand-timing begins on your first movement from the set position. Timing is stopped when your torso crosses finish gate (D). Allow yourself two trials with at least 1 min. recovery between each.
Record each trial in seconds to nearest hundredth, e.g. 7.06 sec.
Your trial will not be counted if your hand touches down to the floor while moving through the gates.
For best results, remember to finish strong by slashing diagonally through the last gate instead of ‘turning out’ prematurely.
Seated Medicine Ball Throw
Sit on the floor with your back against the wall, facing the area to which the medicine ball is to be thrown.
Extend your legs out in front of you and place your feet slightly apart for balance.
Hold the ball with your hands on the side and slightly behind the center.
Bring the ball back to the chest and throw the ball out as far as possible.
During the throw, your back should remain in contact with the wall the entire time.
Perform the throw 2 times.
Record both your results in metres.
*Adapted from SPARX Testing Protocol.
Wall Chest Pass
Purpose:
To assess the student’s skill of using the chest pass to pass the ball accurately while on the move.
The student holds a basketball at a ready position behind the guideline facing Target A.
On the command “Ready, Go!” the student throws (with two-handed chest pass) the ball at Target A and recovers the rebounded ball while moving along the guideline towards Target B.
At the position facing Target B, the student throws the recovered ball at Target B and recovers the rebounded ball while moving along the guideline back to Target A.
YO-YO Intermittent Recovery Test Level 1
Aerobic endurance has been identified as a major component of conditioning for basketball players. A high degree of aerobic power is necessary to meet the energy demands within a game and aid in recovery from anaerobic efforts. It also enables the athlete to play and practice longer and at higher intensities.
This test is best done as the final station of the testing battery. Fatigue associated with this test may impair the performance of other speed and power tests when conducted after. The athlete’s maximal heart rate can be tracked at the last stage of his/her run before giving up using the Polar watches.
Test Procedure
1. Athletes should assume a starting position on the 0 m line between each cone.
2. Instruct the athletes that they are required to place one foot either on or over the 0 m, 5 m & 20m lines at the start and end of each beep / test interval.
3. Start the YO-YO test CD by pressing the play button on the portable CD player.
4. At the time of the first signal, athletes should start running towards the 20 m line. At the sound of the second signal, athletes should arrive and pivot at the 20 m line and run back to the 0 m line while arriving on the next beep. On crossing the 0 m line, the athletes will continue forward at a reduced pace (jogging) towards the 5 m mark, where they then make a turn around the cone and return to the start line. At this point the athletes stop and wait for the next signal to sound.
5. Athletes should continue running for as long as possible, until they are unable to maintain the speed as indicated by the CD.
6. The end of the test is indicated by the inability of an athlete to maintain the required pace for two successive trials. A warning is given on the first miss while the athlete must withdraw on the subsequent miss.
7. When the athlete withdraws, the last speed and the number of 2 x 20 m intervals performed at this speed are recorded on the recording sheet. (Note: The last 2 x 20 m interval is included, even if the athlete has not made the complete distance).
8. The Yo-Yo intermittent recovery test is effort dependent, thus for valid results athletes must attempt to reach the highest level possible before stopping.
9. Verbal encouragement should be given to the athletes throughout the test.
10. Upon completion of the test, all athletes should be encouraged to perform a warm down.
11. The final YO-YO intermittent recovery speed and interval score obtained by each athlete is used to calculate the total distance covered by the athlete during the test (refer to the YO-YO Calculator to calculate the corresponding total distance attained for Level 1 & Level 2).
12. There are two levels for this test; Level 1 and Level 2. Currently, the standard testing criteria is Level 1. If an athlete is able to run faster than the speed-level 23, they should perform the level 2 test on the next occasion.
*Adapted from Physiological Assessment of National Basketball Players
*Adapted from Physiological Assessment of National Basketball Players
*Adapted from CCAB Basketball Testing