A second paper was published on the Hunt Squash Accuracy Test (HSAT), this followed the original paper exploring the validity and reliability of the HSAT. In this study the authors specifically wanted to evaluate the link between the scores from the HSAT and the corresponding accuracy of shots played within tournament match-play.
Method – How did the authors conduct the test:
Participants: Eight males aged 15.5 ± 1.8 years old participated in the study. Their height (168.3 ± 10.8cm) and body mass (61.9 ± 14.6kgs) was also recorded. All were familiar with the HSAT and had performed the test numerous times.
Set Up: Players completed the HSAT followed by a round robin tournament PAR 11 best of 5 games on a standard ASB glass back court.
Data: Data analysis was conducted using Dartfish software; Dartfish was used to tag specific shot types and instances thus allowing analysis to occur following completion of gameplay. Tagging shots on Dartfish allowed each shot type executed in a game to be transformed into a percentage. The formula for doing so was: total number of shots – unforced errors / total number of shots. The descriptors for the shot types and subsequent tags were:
Shot Side: Forehand, Backhand
Shot type: drive; volley; boast; volley-drop; drop; lob; serve
Shot direction: straight; cross-court; Outcome: rally continues; winner; unforced error, forced error.
Definitions were given for the descriptors, though for the sake of this summary, they will not be expanded upon.
Stats: Correlation coefficient’s were used and significance set at p<0.05.
Note: for details of the HSAT on how to perform the HSAT, please click on the free download found on “A Review of the Hunt Squash Accuracy Test”.
Results – What did the authors find:
Strong correlations occurred overall for the HSAT Score when compared to accuracy as a percent for backhand (0.94), forehand (0.77), total shots (0.90) and tournament rank (0.95). Specific shots within match-play that showed large significant correlations to HSAT scores were the backhand drive (0.92) and backhand volley (0.97), which also both had large significant correlations to tournament (0.93 and 0.84 respectively). It should be worth noting that the backhand side comprised 23% of all shots. A comprehensive download of the results and statistical analysis can be found below.
Although there are significant limitations to this study (see review) the authors concluded “the large significant correlation between the total HSAT score and both the total % accuracy and tournament rank reconfirms the HSAT as a highly valid method of assessing the accuracy and performance of junior squash players when compared to overall performance at a tournament”.
If you would like to know more about the HSAT or how to perform this test, please check out my blog post titled: A Review Of The Hunt Squash Accuracy Test. This review featured on prominent squash websites SquashSite, Squash Mad, Daily Squash Report and The Squash Pod. You will also get access to an instructional on how to perform the test. Lastly, I have provided an accuracy calculator which will allow players/coaches to track their performance and determine if a true change has occurred. You can find the calculator here.
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Yours Truly,
Dominic Benacquista - Global Squash Coach
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Reference:
Williams, B. K., Bourdon, P. C., Graham-Smith, P., & Sinclair, P. J. (2015). A quantitative analysis of squash shot accuracy. In ISBS-Conference Proceedings Archive.