Relationship between Dynamic Balance and Agility in Trained Soccer Players – A Correlational Study

Background: Performance in athletic activities demands stability as well as accuracy in functional movements.Agility involves moving laterally and changing directions rapidly, which is most apparent in sports like soccer.Although studies have examined balance and agility performances of soccer players, research that evaluates the relationship between these components in university players is rather limited.Hence, the purpose of this study was to determine if dynamic balance in soccer players was related to the agility skill.Methods: A total of 44 university male football players (age 24.64 ± 1.38 years) were recruited in this cross sectional study using convenience sampling.The Y Balance Test-Lower Quarter (YBT-LQ) was used to assess dynamic balance in the anterior, posterolateral and posteromedial directions.Agility was evaluated using the modified agility T-test.Karl Pearson correlation coefficient was used to estimate the relationship between the variables.Results: The modified agility T-test scores had a strong negative correlation with YBT-LQ composite scores, and reach distance in each direction viz., anterior, posterolateral and posteromedial (r = -.925,-.720, -.754 and -.853 respectively) which was statistically significant (p<0.05).Conclusion: The balance measures were significantly related to agility performance.These results suggest the use of appropriate testing and training procedures so as to improve balance and agility performance.