Assessments, Testing, and Monitoring
What the exam tests
Assessment literacy: validity (the test measures what it claims), reliability (repeatable results), and objectivity/inter-rater reliability. Screening precedes testing - PAR-Q+, medical and injury history, static posture, then movement screens (overhead squat, single-leg squat, pushing, pulling) to reveal compensations. Performance tests include vertical and broad jump (lower-body power), medicine-ball throw (upper-body power), 40-yard dash (acceleration and speed), 5-10-5 pro agility and T-test (change of direction), 300-yard shuttle (anaerobic capacity), distance runs or cycle tests (aerobic capacity), 1RM (maximal strength), and the Y-balance test (dynamic balance and injury risk). Test order runs from least to most fatiguing: body composition and posture, then balance and movement screens, then power, then strength, then muscular endurance, then anaerobic capacity, then aerobic capacity. Monitoring includes session RPE multiplied by duration for training load, heart rate and heart-rate variability, sleep and soreness questionnaires, and trends in volume, intensity, and frequency.
Traps
- Valid versus reliable: a scale can be reliably wrong.
- Order questions almost always trap candidates into putting power tests late; never test power after endurance work.
- A 1RM is a strength measure, not a power measure.
- One bad score is not a trend - retest and compare against the athlete's own baseline before changing the program.
Rule of thumb
Test what you train, in the order you least want to contaminate: the moment a test fatigues the athlete, every test after it is compromised.
Worked example
Vertical jump: warm up, allow three attempts with roughly 1-2 minutes rest, record the best. Compare with baseline and normative data, then use the result to decide whether the athlete is ready for Phase 5 power work or needs more Phase 1-3 groundwork.