Agility, vertical jump, and shot velocity of Brazilian water polo players: correlations and top performances analysis.

Background: Agility, vertical jump (VJ), and shot velocity (SV) are associated with water polo (WP) performance. The aim of this study was to identify the performance in agility, VJ and SV; to verify the correlations between the variables; and to identify the 90 and 95 percentile of each variable.

Methods: Fifty-five male WP players (aged 21.6±8.2 years; experience in WP: 8.5±6.1 years) were assessed in three specific in-water tests: 1) Functional Test for Agility Performance; 2) VJ; 3) SV. The 95 and 90 percentiles were identified (5% and 10% best results). Correlations were tested with Pearson Correlation test.

Results: Agility, VJ, and SV, were, respectively: 3.8±0.3 s; 137.5±14.3 cm; and 17.9±1.4 m·s. For the 95 percentiles, nine players were identified, all different players, three at each parameter. For the 90 percentile, 16 players were included, but just one player ws in the 10% best result for the three variables. Correlations (P≤0.05) were found for agility vs. VJ (r=-0.38) and for agility vs. SV (r=- 0.25).

Conclusions: Although correlations have been found between the variables, it was not possible to verify the pattern of better players in the three parameters evaluated.