The development of a new protocol to assess performance measure in sports

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to develop a novel protocol to be used in assessing performance outcomes in projectile sports. This study also wanted to establish if variability within a movement pattern (throwing) is detrimental to the outcome of that skill and to assess the validity of current methods used to measure performance. Single subject analysis was undertaken as 4 Wilson Trainer tennis balls were launched using a Tennis Cube launcher at a wall 25 times each. Infra-red light gate technique (wall mounted Optojump) in which ball tracking co-ordinates were obtained were compared to traditional movement measure device (3D Motion Analysis Corporation) coordinates. Agreement between the 3D landing point X and Y coordinates and the Optojump landing points X and Y coordinates were analysed using the Bland- Altman method.