Development of Handball Academy Korea Physical Fitness Test Model for Youth Handball Players

PURPOSE This study aimed to develop a Handball Academy Korea Physical Fitness Test Battery for youth handball athletes considering their characteristics using the Delphi/AHP method. METHODS After reviewing previous studies, an expert meeting was held to draft a battery. To select physical fitness variables, 17 experts with more than 10 years of research or coaching experience in related fields were invited. The contact validity of each variable was verified using the 1st and 2nd Delphi surveys. A decision-making method based on the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was used to assign weights to each factor in the final physical fitness battery, which was selected based on the results of the Delphi survey. RESULTS Ten physical fitness factors, namely, length (CVR=1.00), weight (CVR=0.67), muscle strength (CVR=0.67), muscular endurance (CVR=0.83), cardiorespiratory fitness (CVR=0.83), flexibility (CVR=0.67), power (CVR=1.00), agility (CVR=1.00), speed (CVR=0.80), coordination (CVR=1.00), were determined. As test variables for physical fitness, height (CVR=0.83), arm span (CVR=0.67), lean body mass (CVR=0.64), handgrip strength (CVR=0.83), push-up (CVR=0.67), 20 m shuttle run (CVR=1.00), sit-and-reach (CVR=0.83), standing long jump (CVR=0.76), countermovement jump (CVR=0.67), ball speed (CVR=0.67), rollercoaster run (CVR=0.83), visual reaction (CVR=0.83), 20 m sprint (CVR=0.83), and ball handling (CVR=0.67) were found to be valid. Weight was calculated according to the relative importance of the determined variables. CONCLUSIONS The present findings indicate that the Handball Academy Korea Physical Fitness Test Battery can be used to evaluate the physical fitness of youth handball athletes and select potential players.