On-Court Change of Direction Test: an Effective Approach To Assess COD Performance in Badminton Players

The aim of this research was to assess the reliability of a specific change of direction test (i.e., “On-Court COD test”) in youth badminton players, evaluate the effect of age on On-Court COD performance, and examine its correlations with linear speed, change of direction speed, and vertical jump tests. Forty-two young badminton players (27 males and 15 females; age: 17.3±1.6 years, body height: 170.3±7.5 cm, body mass: 59.0±9.7 kg) were divided into two age groups (Under 17 years and under 19 years). Tests included: linear sprints (5, 10, and 20-m), bilateral/unilateral countermovement jumps, a hexagon test, traditional and modified 505 change of direction tests; and On-court COD. Results showed an excellent intraclass correlation coefficient score (0.90) and a very low coefficient of variation values (1.6%) for the On-Court COD test. Comparing age groups, under 19 players were significantly faster in linear sprints (i.e., 5, 15 and 20-m; small to moderate effect sizes) and in all change of direction tests (moderate to large effect sizes). Moreover, the On-Court COD test showed moderate to large (r=.513-.779) relationships with both acceleration and COD abilities in under 17 players, and with linear sprints, COD, and jump performances in under 19 players. These data indicate that the On-Court COD test is a useful and reliable means to assess COD performance in youth badminton players and it is associated with acceleration, sprint and jump performance.