Kan accelerationsförmåga on-ice förutses av off-ice tester? : En korrelationsstudie av vertikala och horisontella hopptester jämfört med 10 m sprintförmåga on-ice.

Sammanfattning: Abstract Aim The purpose of this study is to examine the correlation between commonly used jump tests and sprint performance over 10 m skate on-ice. The questions we will answer are; -       What correlations exist between a set of jumping tests and the sprint ability over 10 m skate on-ice? -       Which jumping test has the strongest correlation with the sprint ability over 10 m skate on-ice? -       Are there any differences between junior- and senior players, and in that case wich? Method In this study 34 subjects participated and they were between 16-25 years of age and had 9-20 years of icehockey playing experience. They performed five jumping tests; countermovement jump with arms (CMJa), one-legged vertical jump on the right leg, one-legged vertical jump on the left leg, squat jump (SJ) and a horizontal broad jump. On-ice skate test was performed to measure the acceleration ability over 10 m skate sprint in order to try to find correlations between vertical jumping height and the sprint ability, as well as horizontal jumping length and the sprint ability. The tests were performed 48 hours apart. At the first test occasion the jumping tests were performed and at the second the on-ice test was performed. Results The results of this study shows a significant correlation between SJ and the on-ice test result, as well as between CMJa and the on-ice test result. The correlation between SJ and the On-Ice test was r = -0.422 (p < 0.05), and the correlation between CMJa and the on-ice test was r = -0.403 (p < 0.05). When comparing the jump tests to the on-ice test for only juniors no significant correlations were found. However, the seniors (n=7) showed a stronger correlation between the SJ and the on-ice test (r = -0.761, p < 0.05). Conclusions The study  confirmed that SJ is the jumping test that best correlates with  the acceleration/sprint ability skating on-ice. It was also shown that SJ is a more useful predictor for the acceleration/sprint ability for seniors than for juniors. More research will be needed for a deeper understanding of this area.