THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ANKLE FLEXIBILITY, AGILITY, AND SPRINT SPEED PERFORMANCE IN COLLEGIATE FEMALE ATHLETES
Abstract
There is an ongoing search for different ways of increasing an athlete’s sprinting speed and agility. It is possible that the flexibility of an athlete may play a role in regards to the agility and sprinting ability of an athlete. Purpose: The current study examined the relationship between ankle flexibility, agility and sprinting ability among female collegiate athletes. Methods: Fifteen (n=15) female collegiate athletes (age: 21.5±1.3 years, height: 173.7±7.5 cm, mass: 73.1±10.8 kg) of different sports (softball and basketball) and experience levels (Freshman-Senior) were recruited to take part in the study. The ankle flexibility was measured by the wall test (WT) for the right and left leg (WTR and WTL cms). Agility and sprinting ability were assessed using the T-test and a 36.6 meter sprint. Each athlete was given three attempts for each test. Results: The WT measures were (mean±SD): WTR=10.5±2.8 cms, WTL=11.1±2.7 cms. The T-Test and 36.6 meter sprint times were: 11.38±0.40 and 5.96±0.31 seconds respectively. The relationships between the variables were as follows: WTR and T-Test r=0.00, WTR and 36.6 meter sprint r=0.27, WTL and T-Test r=-0.33, WTL and 36.6 meter sprint r=0.02. None of the relationships were significant (p>0.05) or meaningful. Conclusion: Within the parameters of this study ankle flexibility was not related to agility or short sprint ability.
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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejpe.v6i5.3142
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