Athletic Performance Assessment and Progression
Domain 3: Athletic Performance Assessment and Progression
This domain tests test selection, administration, interpretation, and decisions to progress. Expect questions on validity, reliability, testing order, field tests, and monitoring load.
Core rules
- Validity: does the test measure the target quality? Reliability: is it consistent? Use standardized warm-up, surface, footwear, verbal cues, and tester.
- Testing order: non-fatiguing first-body composition and health, then vertical jump or broad jump, then sprint, then agility, then strength, then endurance. Never test strength after sprint conditioning.
- Field tests: 10 m/20 m sprint for acceleration; 40 yd for speed; 5-10-5 for change of direction; vertical jump for lower-body power; 1RM for maximal strength only with technique and spotters.
- Use typical error or coefficient of variation (CV) to judge real change. A change smaller than the test's noise is not meaningful.
- Progress one variable at a time: if the athlete hits the top of the rep range with good technique and prescribed RPE, add load 2-5% or reps; do not change everything.
- Monitor readiness (sleep, soreness, HRV, mood) and adjust volume, not just load.
Worked example
An athlete's countermovement jump rises from 42.0 to 43.5 cm across 6 weeks; the test CV is 3%. The smallest worthwhile change is about 0.2 times the between-athlete SD, but for individual monitoring use typical error. 3% of 42 cm is 1.26 cm; a 1.5 cm gain is just above noise, so call it a possible real improvement, not a definitive one. Repeat under the same conditions and pair with sprint and strength data before changing the program.
Traps
- Testing after a hard practice.
- Using a single trial.
- Comparing scores from different surfaces or warm-ups.
- Treating a 1-2% change as meaningful when CV is 5%.
- Progressing load when technique breaks down.
- Testing 1RM on a novice without instruction.