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by. Athen

AN EXPERIMENT IN THE TESTING OF
ABILITY AND PROGRESS IN BASKETBALL

Harry D. Mgren
Ghiecago Y.M.C.A. College
Department of Physical Biucation

This experiment is an attempt to develop and use some tests
and measurements in the field of motor ability and in the specific activity
of basketball. Although there has been considerable work attempted in the
field of physical efficiency, very little has been attempted in the field
of motor ability tests, ‘the princim) contributions to this field are con-
tained in "Measuring Motor Ability" (1) by Brace, and "Tests and Measure-
ments in Physical Mucation® (2) by Bovard and Cozens. The writer has been
helped very materially from these two sources.

During the past seven years as a basketball coach I have used
various means of determining the varied abilities of my mq. for the past
two years I have used a battery of specifie basketball tests as & means of
measuring the abilities of all the varsity men in the fundamentals of basket~-
ball. Along with these tests we scored all the players on actual playing
ability as demonstrated in competition. These tests and scoring methods
were reported in a paper entitled "Basketball Efficiency Tests," for the de-
partment of Psychology at the University of Chicago.

_ During the past year my studies have shifted from the varsity
player to the many individuals who play basketball in the Y.M.C.A, and school
physical education classes and not as members of a tean. it is this partic-
ular group that needs to be encouraged and helped but whieh altogether too
often is left to its om resources. My interest here centered around two
phases of the problem of measuremats. I wanted first to devise a means of
determining the progress of an individual in the learning of specifie motor
skills, and second to develop a combination of tests which when applied might
prove an index to basketball ability.

fhe study concerned itself around three major problaus.

1. Gan a series of tests be developed which would adequately
measure progress in basketball?

2. Gana series of tests be developed which might be used
as @ means of predicting potential basketball ability?

Se Is there any carry-over from specifie basketball skills
to gmeral ability skills? :

The Method Used:
i. The groups used are:

a An experimental group consisting of thirty members
ef a beginners’ class in basketball.

be A control group of thirty menbers, of varied
basketball ability.

 

(i) David Brace “Measuring Motor Ability." New York, A. S. Barnes.
(2) Bovard end Cozens "Tests and Measurements in Physical Biucation."
Philadelphia, We By Saunders- a