Concurrent validation of foot-mounted inertial measurement units for quantifying Australian Rules football kicking.

Abstract

Wearable inertial measurement units (IMUs) may improve the objective analysis and load monitoring of skilled actions during team-sports, such as Australian Rules football (AF) kicking. This study aimed to determine the concurrent validity of a foot-mounted IMU to detect and quantify AF kicking output. Video footage compared kicks observed with kicks detected within the IMU. This study consisted of two phases; 1) On-Field Phase: Kicking actions were captured from n = 11 male and n = 25 female, professional AF participants throughout nine and five regular training sessions, respectively. 2) Protocol Phase consisted of n = 6 male and n = 8 female, semi-professional AF participants who performed a controlled kicking protocol, during a single testing session. Overall, the IMU exhibited good concurrent validity (Accuracy = 92% and 79%, Sensitivity = 0.92 and 0.79) in the On-Field and Protocol Phases, respectively. Kick intensities ranged from 6.30 m⋅s^-1 to 24.30 m⋅s^-1. This study demonstrates the potential of the IMU to automate the detection and quantification of kicking output, such as volumes and intensities in AF.