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. Aims - (i) to identify the performance in agility, VJ and SV; (ii) to verify the correlations between the variables; and (iii) to identify the 90th and 95th 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: (i) Functional Test for Agility Performance; (ii) VJ; and (iii) SV. The 95th and 90th 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-1. For the 95th percentiles, nine players were identified, all different players, three at each parameter. For the 90th 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.