Why We Do Assessment Testing at WST

At Williams Sport Training, all new clients take an assessment test before they begin training, among them, the 10-yard dash, the 5-10-5-yard sprint, the broad jump, and the max push-up test. 

The first two tests are tests of speed and agility. The 10-yard dash shows how fast athletes can reach their top speed.  The first 10 yards are the most important in a game because an athlete who can explode forward into their run will reach their top speed the fastest; it also shows if the athlete can accelerate the way he/she would in real game situations.  In soccer, when a forward receives the ball in a breakaway they need to be able to sprint down the field to avoid defenders and score the goal.  Average times for the 10 yard dash run from 1.6-1.7 seconds; our athletes at WST are averaging times from 1.5-1.7 seconds. 

The 5-10-5 sprint tests the athlete’s agility.  Athletes’ must successfully accelerate, decelerate, and make cutting movements to turn and reaccelerate, while keeping his/her balance.  In a sport like field hockey players need to be able to make quick cutting movements because if the attacking team loses possession they need to change direction and quickly get back to defend.  Average times run from 4.7-4.8 seconds; athletes at WST are also averaging 4.7-4.8 seconds and by the end of the summer our students leaving for their college season will have shaved off a few seconds in their time.

The next two tests are tests of physical strength and endurance.  The broad jump tests an athlete’s lower body strength, while the max push-up test measures the athlete’s upper body endurance.  The broad jump measures the explosive power of the athlete’s legs and hips.  The farther the athlete can jump, the stronger his/her legs are and the more explosive power he/she has in their legs.  Since arms dictate what the legs do, when our athletes are doing a broad jump they swing their arms forward, while they are jumping.  This forward movement of the arms tells the athlete’s legs to go in that same direction.  An example of how lower body strength plays a role in sports would be a soccer player; if the player has stronger quadriceps, hamstrings, and hip flexors he/she will shoot the ball harder than a player with weaker muscles.  Broad jump results differ between males and females; average jumps for males are 7’3”-7’6” and for females it ranges from 5’7”-5’11.”  Both our male and female athletes have exceeded those averages, with males averaging 7’8”-7’10” and females averaging 6’0”-6’10”.

The max push-up test, tests an athlete’s upper body endurance.  Athletes taking part in this test must make sure their chest touch the small medicine ball for each push-up.  The athlete will do as many push-ups as he/she can, until he/she can no longer do them or begins to lose proper form.  In sports like lacrosse, players are constantly being cross-checked for possession; a lacrosse player with weak upper body strength will be knocked very easily whereas a player with a stronger upper body will not be knocked as easily.  The average amount of push-ups completed run from 19-30 and our athletes are completing about 20-50.  The stronger the athlete, the more pushups he/she can complete before fatiguing.

These four tests are part of our new client assessments and allow us to accurately gauge clients’ fitness, body mechanics, and strength so that WST staff can design a customized training program fit for each client.  By making athletes stronger we increase their speed, agility, balance, confidence, and explosive power.