NYSI IHL Basketball League Testing

The third edition of the National Youth Sports Institute (NYSI) Basketball League 2019 saw even more students joining the league this year, with newcomers Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) and Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) adding a new level of competitiveness to the league. This brings the total number of competing teams to 24, with men and women teams from Singapore Polytechnic (SP), Republic Polytechnic (RP), Temasek Polytechnic (TP), Nanyang Polytechnic(NYP), Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP), Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), National University of Singapore (NUS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore Institute of Management (SIM), Singapore Management University (SMU), SIT, SUSS, as well as Anglo-Chinese School Oldham (ACS).

Happening from June to July, this league was created to enhance the youth sports ecosystem by lengthening the playing season and allowing more student-athletes to participate. It kick-started the season by allowing the coaches to test out the new students that just joined the teams, so that they can phase in for the other competitions in the later part of the year.

This year, to enhance the efficacy of the league, NYSI implemented a series of fitness tests for the players before the league started. The pre-test was conducted to determine their base line and a post-test would be conducted after the league to determine if there was an improvement in their fitness, which would in turn lead to improvements in their game.

The tests that the athletes had to undergo were the vertical jump test, handgrip test, 20 meters sprint test, 505 agility test and the yo-yo intermittent test.

The vertical jump test aims to test the lower limb strength of the students while the handgrip test is used to determine upper body strength. The 20 meters sprint is used to determine the top speed that the student can achieve while the 505 agility test seeks to find out how fast the athlete can change direction when running at their fastest – a determination of their agility. The final test, which is the yo-yo intermittent test, tests the endurance of the students.

Other than using these tests to assess the competitiveness of the league, the results would also be sent to the participating teams to help them in their training.

Upon the completion of the fitness tests, NUS vice-captain, Leong Kai Yuan, shared, “We get to test these equipment that we usually do not have access to and then, we get to test our personal physical abilities also. It is a good thing to have it before and after the season to see how we improved physically.”

Player from NTU, Tabitha Tay, also mentioned, “I think what NYSI is doing is very interesting and I am very curious to know if after the tournament, I would fare better at the various stations that we were being tested on.”

Lastly, Sameerudeen Bin Abdul Rahman from SUSS added, “As a basketball player, I am really interested to know about the vertical height test. To see whether within this competition period, I will jump higher or even the speed test and so on, whether will I run faster or not. So, I am looking forward to the results at the end of the competitions.”

An NTU player getting her height and weight measured at the anthropometry station.

ACS Oldham team mates, comprising former ACS students, taking the yoyo intermittent test.

RP athletes going through the 505 agility test.