Influence of Combined Open and Closed Kinetic Chain Training on Agility Performance and Selected Fitness Variables among Inter-Collegiate Cricket Players

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the influence of open kinetic chain, closed kinetic chain and combined open and closed kinetic chain training on agility performance among inter-collegiate cricket players. Eighty male inter-collegiate cricket players aged 18–25 years from AAA College of Engineering and Technology, Amathur, Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu, India, participated in the study. The participants were divided into four groups of 20 players each: an open kinetic chain training group, a closed kinetic chain training group, a combined open and closed kinetic chain training group and a control group that continued regular cricket practice. The experimental training programmes were conducted for 12 weeks, five days per week, with each session lasting 60 minutes. Agility performance was assessed before and after the intervention using the T-test agility test and completion time was recorded in seconds. Paired-samples t-tests were used to examine within-group changes, while analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and Scheffé’s post hoc test were employed to compare the groups. The reported results indicated reductions in mean agility completion time in all three experimental groups. The closed kinetic chain group showed the greatest reduction, from 11.31 to 9.82 seconds, followed by the combined training group, from 11.28 to 9.93 seconds and the open kinetic chain group, from 11.29 to 10.75 seconds. The control group showed virtually no change. ANCOVA indicated statistically significant differences among the groups in post-test and adjusted post-test scores (p < .05). Scheffé’s comparisons indicated that the closed kinetic chain and combined training groups performed better than the control group, whereas the difference between these two training groups was not statistically significant. The findings suggest that kinetic chain-based training may be beneficial for improving agility performance in inter-collegiate cricket players.