A work-based study of leg strength and agility performance in adolescent female athletes participating in competitive Queensland AFLW: Implications for future practice

A work-based study of leg strength and agility performance in adolescent female athletes participating in competitive Queensland AFLW: Implications for future practice

This work-based project investigated the relationship between leg strength—bodyweight ratio and agility performance in adolescent females participating in competitive Australian Football League Women’s in Queensland. This demographic has been shown to have a higher risk of Anterior Cruciate Ligament injuries as compared to their male counterparts and some research suggests improved agility may contribute to mitigation of this risk. The project investigated these relationships in-the-field to address some of the barriers reported by adolescent females to regular participation in strength and conditioning programs which may be beneficial to them. 23 volunteer adolescent females were separated into two groups. All participants were tested for anthropometric, unilateral leg strength measures and agility before Group 1 (n=11), undertook a six-week, leg strength intervention program while Group 2 (n=12) continued a normal training protocol. The intervention took place three times per week and was conducted at the training ground. Both groups then participated in the same post-intervention testing battery. Results indicate both Group 1 (t = 2.14, p = 0.06) and Group 2 (t = 2.35, p < 0.05), improved left leg strength and Group 2 improved aggregate leg strength (t = 2.20, p = 0.05). Improvement in agility for Group 1 was statistically significant (t = −4.84, p < 0.001). Significant negative correlations between bodyweight and leg strength for all participants were observed (r = −0.44, p < 0.05) and leg strength and leg strength-bodyweight ratio were correlated with agility performance (r = −0.47, p < 0.05). Implications for future workbased practise suggest a group-led, field-based strength program may benefit adolescent female agility and, by extension, injury risk.

File reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher/author.