Effects Of Plyometric Exercises On Agility, Power And Speed Improvement Of U-17 Female Sprinters In Case Of Burayu Athletics Project, Oromia, Ethiopia

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of plyometric exercises, on agility, power, and speed and improvement of U-17 female sprinters in case of Burayu Athletics project. The true experimental research design was employed for conducting this study. The total populations of the study were 14 U-17 female sprinters from Burayu athletics project. The populations were small in numbers; therefore the researcher taken all as a sample by using comprehensive sampling techniques. These subjects were classified into Experimental group (N=7) and Control group (N=7) by using simple random sampling techniques. The Experimental group was participated in plyometric training for 8 weeks, 3 days per week and 60 minutes duration per day in addition to their regular training. But, the control groups were following their only regular training program. The variables selected for the purpose of this study were, agility, power and speed. The tests were Illinois agility test, stand long jump test, and 30m sprint test respectively. Both groups were tested before (pre-test) and after (post-test) 8 weeks of plyometric training. For data analysis, the researcher used SPSS version 26.0 software. The collected data was analyzed using a paired sample t-test to observe the difference between pre-test and post-test results of plyometric exercises of the study. The significant level p<0.05 was considered. The result of the study shows that after 8 weeks of plyometric training a significant improvement were found in Agility (MD=0.45, p<0.05), in power (MD=- 1.157, P<0.05) and in speed (MD=0.37, P<0.05) for experimental group subjects. On the other hand, there was no significant change (P>0.05) on those variables in control groups. Finally, the finding of study showed that eight (8) weeks of plyometric exercises had a positive effect on agility, power and speed improvement of female sprinters. Therefore, Athletics coaches and athletes are highly recommended to include plyometric exercise in to their training program.