| Popis: |
The ability to execute changes in movement patterns and directions as rapidly as possible is a desired quality highly regarded by coaches and athletes across a wide array of sports, such as invasion, court, and combat sports (Bourgeois et al., 2017; Jansen et al., 2021; Young et al., 2021; Zemková & Hamar, 2014). This quality is contemporary considered as agility, if the movement is performed in response to a stimulus (e.g., opponent, team-mate, or ball; Sheppard et al., 2014; Sheppard & Young, 2006). Equally in young athletes, well-developed agility is acknowledged as an important characteristic for sport success as it contributes to athletes’ performance across a large number of sports (Jeffreys, 2020). Research findings of agility training ascertained in adult population cannot implicitly applied to youth athletes, because the way in which a young athlete adapts to training is the result not only of a given stimulus, but also of their natural development (Harrison & McGuigan, 2020). The development of children and adolescents is non-linear, with periods of relatively little fluctuation followed by periods of rapid change (Beunen & Malina, 2008; Lloyd et al., 2015; Pereira et al., 2021). As a consequence, both the trainability and the development of underlying factors of agility performance (e.g. strength capacities, cognitive factors) and agility performance itself fluctuate throughout the maturation process (Blimkie & Bar-Or, 2008; Malina, 2008). Despite its recognized importance for sports performance, “agility is arguably one of the most under-researched fitness components within the pediatric literature” (Lloyd & Oliver, 2012). The lack of research in this field makes it difficult to ascertain the effects of maturation on agility performance, and also makes any recommendations for the optimal development of agility in young athletes largely speculative (Jeffreys, 2020). Almost a decade has passed since the statement of Lloyd and Oliver (2012) and it is unclear what kind of information is currently available in the literature about the trainability and development of agility in consideration of maturation. A scoping review will be conducted in alignment with the PRISMA extension for scoping reviews guideline (Prisma-ScR; Tricco et al., 2018) to address these problems. Objectives: The aims of the scoping review are threefold: (1) to examine the extent, range, and nature of literature approaching agility in youth population; (2) to reveal gaps in the literature to guide future research endeavors; and (3) to map evidence regarding trainability, development, and contribution of underlying key factors of agility performance in consideration of maturation. |
