Determination of locomotor qualities in elite Australian Football: A pragmatic approach

Patrick Dillon, Dean Norris, Jason Siegler, David Joyce, Ric Lovell

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

The study examined the utility of surrogate measures of athletic performance to determine locomotor qualities (maximal aerobic velocity and peak velocity) in elite Australian Football (AF). 29 professional AF players undertook aerobic fitness (3km time-trial [TT] and 30–15 Intermittent Fitness Test [30–15 IFT]) and peak velocity (PV; 50 m maximal sprints using 10Hz GPS) assessments in pre-season. Characteristics of TT performance (mean velocity, 500m and 1km splits) were compared with a surrogate for maximal aerobic velocity (MAV; 80% of 30–15 IFT final velocity). PVs derived from sprint tests were compared to those attained in AF matches (10 Hz GPS). Higher Pearson correlations were observed between MAV versus the fastest 500m (r = 0.74) and 1km (r = 0.75) of the 3km TT, but they were not superior to mean velocity (r = 0.72; p ≥ 0.30) which also demonstrated the lowest bias (p ≤ 0.01) and equivalent typical errors (0.16–0.17 m.s−1). Peak velocity was higher across match observations (0.28, CI: ± 0.17 m.s −1, p = 0.017) versus sprint tests. There was no impact of playing position on the determination of locomotor qualities using surrogate measures of locomotor qualities. Locomotor qualities can be determined practically using 10Hz GPS devices during 3km time-trials and competitive matches (assuming appropriate signal quality), without additional fitness assessments.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1445-1451
Number of pages7
JournalJournal of sports sciences
Volume39
Issue number13
DOIs
StatePublished - 2021
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Locomotor Qualities
  • maximal Aerobic Speed
  • peak Speed

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Orthopedics and Sports Medicine
  • Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation

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