Anaerobic power output associated with agility-specific tests with and without the ball in female basketball players

The main purpose of the present study was to examine the associations between anaerobic power output and agility-related tests in basketball. Fifty-eight female basketball players (age: 24.3 ± 2.8 years, height: 185.1 ± 6.3 cm, weight: 83.4 ± 10.1 kg) of the Chinese 1st basketball division were recruited. Anaerobic power output was assessed by the Running-Based Anaerobic Sprint Test (RAST) and agility by the T-test and the T-505 test with and without the ball. Pearson’s product moment correlation and regression analysis were used to examine the associations and predictive ability. Absolute power output (W) was inversely and strongly correlated with the T-test without the ball (r = -0.67) and with the ball (r = -0.64) and with the T-505 without the ball (r = -0.84) and with the ball (r = -0.73). Relative power output (W/kg/s) was inversely and strongly correlated with the T-test without the ball (r = -0.62) and with the ball (r = -0.50) and with the T-505 without the ball (r = -0.76) and with the ball (r = -0.70). Absolute power output was well-predicted by all agility tests, accounting for a minimum of 40% of the variance shared for the T-test with the ball. Similar observations were shown for the relative power output, where the T-test with the ball yielded the lowest amount of the variance shared (25%), while the T-505 test without the ball seemed to be the strongest factor for predicting the absolute (71%) and relative (57%) power outputs. The findings should serve as an avenue for planning training protocols to enhance agility-related outcomes to effectively increase anaerobic performance.