Reactive Agility in Competitive Young Volleyball Players: A Gender Comparison of Perceptual-Cognitive and Motor Determinants

Limited evidence is available providing specific details about the perceptual-cognitive and motor factors that contribute to reactive agility (RA) and variations between genders in young athletes. The aim of the study was to investigate perceptual-cognitive and motor determinants of RA in competitive youth volleyball players. A total of 135 volleyball players (61 males, 74 females) aged 16–18 years were included in this study. The independent variables were as follows: explosive strength, maximal frequency of movements, simple and complex reaction time, selective attention, sensory sensitivity, and saccadic dynamics. Multiple linear regression analyses showed that explosive strength (ß = – 0.494; p < 0.001) and complex reaction time (ß = 0.225; p = 0.054) accounted for 23% of the variance in RA performance in male players. The best exploratory model for RA contributed 34.5% of the variance in RA for female players with significant determinants of explosive strength (ß = -0.387; p < 0.001), sensory sensitivity (ß = -0.326; p = 0.001) and selective attention (ß = 0.229; p = 0.020). Male athletes obtained better results in RA, in all motor tests (effect size of 0.88 to 2.58) and in five variables of perceptual-cognitive skills (effect size of 0.35 to 0.98). Motor and perceptual-cognitive components significantly contributed to performance in RA in competitive youth volleyball players. Gender differentiates between players’ RA performance, motor properties and saccadic dynamics to a large extent, while the remaining analyzed perceptual-cognitive components vary between female and male players to a small and moderate extent.

Zwierko, M., Jedziniak, W., Popowczak, M., Rokita, A. (2022). Reactive Agility in Competitive Young Volleyball Players: A Gender Comparison of Perceptual-Cognitive and Motor Determinants. Journal of Human Kinetics, 85, 87-96. https://doi.org/10.2478/hukin-2022-0112

Zwierko, M., Jedziniak, W., Popowczak, M., and Rokita, A. (2022). Reactive Agility in Competitive Young Volleyball Players: A Gender Comparison of Perceptual-Cognitive and Motor Determinants. Journal of Human Kinetics, 85, pp.87-96. https://doi.org/10.2478/hukin-2022-0112

Zwierko, Michał et al. “Reactive Agility in Competitive Young Volleyball Players: A Gender Comparison of Perceptual-Cognitive and Motor Determinants.” Journal of Human Kinetics, vol. 85, 2022, pp. 87-96. doi:10.2478/hukin-2022-0112.

Zwierko M, Jedziniak W, Popowczak M, Rokita A. Reactive Agility in Competitive Young Volleyball Players: A Gender Comparison of Perceptual-Cognitive and Motor Determinants. Journal of Human Kinetics. 2022;85:87-96. https://doi.org/10.2478/hukin-2022-0112