The effect of small-ball-based physical activity on multicomponent agility in 11 12 year old students

Abstract

Developing multicomponent agility through school-based activities that integrate multidirectional movement and object manipulation remains an important but insufficiently investigated area in physical education. This study aimed to examine the effect of small-ball-based physical activity on multicomponent agility in students aged 11-12 years and to determine whether the effects differed by initial agility level. This study employed a matched pretest-posttest control-group design with a 2 × 2 treatment-by-level arrangement. A total of 80 students aged 11-12 years participated. The intervention group participated in a small-ball game program for 6 weeks, with 3 sessions per week (18 sessions in total). The program incorporated running, changes of direction, acceleration, deceleration, coordination, accuracy, and rapid responses, while maintaining a controlled intensity of approximately 65%-75% and RPE 12-14. The control group participated in matched free-play physical education activities. Multicomponent agility was assessed using the N-Challenge Test. The results a significant main effect of group was observed (p < 0.001, ηp² = 0.842), as well as a significant main effect of initial agility level (p = 0.042, ηp² = 0.053). However, the interaction between group and initial agility level was not significant (p = 0.167, ηp² = 0.025). Small-ball-based physical activity was effective in improving multicomponent agility among students aged 11-12 years. Within this six-week intervention, improvements were greater in the intervention than in the matched control condition, while no evidence indicated that the intervention effect differed according to initial agility classification. Future studies should therefore consider involving larger and more diverse samples and implementing longer intervention periods.