Published Paper Details:

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of agility ladder training and cone drills on agility among hockey players. Sixty male hockey players (N=60) aged 17-20 years, who had participated in different tournaments in Kadapa district, were randomly divided into three groups: Experimental Group I (agility ladder training, n=20), Experimental Group II (cone drills, n=20), and a Control Group (n=20). The experimental groups underwent their respective training for 12 weeks, while the control group did not receive any special treatment. Agility was measured through standardized agility tests before and after the training. The pre-test mean scores were 35.85 (ladder group), 34.30 (cone drills group), and 37.65 (control), while the post-test mean scores were 38.55, 36.75, and 37.80 respectively. ANCOVA analysis revealed a significant difference in adjusted post-test means among groups (F = 49.36, p < 0.05). Post-hoc analysis confirmed that both ladder training (MD = 2.32) and cone drills (MD = 1.87) produced significant improvements in agility compared to the control group. However, the difference between ladder and cone drills groups (MD = 0.45) was not statistically significant. The findings indicate that both ladder and cone drill training are effective methods to enhance agility in hockey players, with ladder training showing a slightly higher, though not significant, improvement.