It is important to remember that testing is the highest form
of training stress outside of the actual Competition. Testing is important to
determine the individual athlete’s athletic qualities relative to the demands of
their position/event and the sport. I am not interested in comparing an athlete
against some arbitrary norms, but I am interested in intra individual
comparison, comparing them against themselves. We must be careful not to draw
too many conclusions from a one off series of tests. Only after several tests
are conducted periodically throughout the training year can an in depth profile of
each athlete be determined. In most instances the test will indicate
deficiencies that were already identified through observation of training and
game performance. They will serve to further highlight those deficiencies
and provide direction to address those deficiencies in training. The tests give
specific numbers to compare for improvement and motivation, but remember the
ultimate test is the competition itself.
