Assessment of the reactive agility profile through specific movements for football goalkeepers
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Objectives. This study aimed to assess reactive agility in soccer goalkeepers using goalkeeper-specific movements and to compare performance between regular and non-regular goalkeepers. Materials and Methods. The study included 60 soccer goalkeepers: 30 regular goalkeepers who competed in regional-level competitions and 30 non-regular goalkeepers who participated in unofficial competitions. Reactive agility was assessed using the Goalkeeper-Specific Reactive Agility Test (GRAT), which evaluates agility through movements specific to goalkeeping performance. The data were analyzed using normality testing, descriptive statistics, and independent-samples t-tests to examine differences between the two groups. Results. The findings indicated that regular goalkeepers demonstrated faster reactive agility than nonregular goalkeepers, with mean completion times of 11.52 ± 2.56 seconds and 15.11 ± 1.39 seconds, respectively. The difference was statistically significant (t(58) = 6.74, p < 0.001) and had a very large effect size (Cohen’s d = 1.74). These findings indicate a substantial difference in goalkeeper-specific reactive agility performance between the two groups. Conclusions. The Goalkeeper-Specific Reactive Agility Test showed potential to distinguish reactive agility performance between regular and non-regular soccer goalkeepers. This test may serve as a useful assessment tool for performance profiling and provide relevant information for evaluating goalkeeperspecific reactive agility.
Institution: Manado State University
Language: English
Subfield: Orthopedics and Sports Medicine
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7225486993