Validity and reliability of a photoelectric cells system for the evaluation of change of direction and lateral jumping abilities in collegiate basketball athletes

The validity and reliability of the Optojump system were investigated for jumping height and flight time in vertical jump tests. Conversely, the purpose of the present study was to investigate the validity and reliability of the Optojump system for measuring contact time and lateral displacement in change of direction and lateral jump tests. Thirty basketball collegiate athletes were tested on two 10 m sprints with a 60° (COD60) or 180° (COD180) change of direction, lateral controlled (CLRJ) and maximal (MLRJ) rebound jump, and lateral countermovement (LCMJ) and squat (LSJ) jump with the concomitant use of two force plates and the Optojump system for the measurement of contact time in COD60, COD180, CLRJ, MLRJ, and lateral jumping distance in all the lateral jump tests. Almost perfect coefficients (r ≥ 0.95) emerged for contact time in COD60, COD180, CLRJ, MLRJ, although a systematic bias was found for COD60 (−0.01 s). Good-to-excellent reliability was found for almost all the measurements of contact time and lateral jumping distance for change of direction and lateral jump tests. Therefore, the use of Optojump system for testing change of direction and lateral jumping abilities should be executed with caution, avoiding misinterpretation of data.