A comparison of the moving start and sprinter's start when breaking from a base in women's fast-pitch softball.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine which starting technique, the moving start or the sprinter's start, was most efficient in getting a runner off one base and on the way to the next. Forty -eight subjects were randomly assigned into treatment groups. The three treatment groups were C (control), A (moving start technique), B (sprinter's start technique). All three groups were pretested on how quickly they could run a distance of thirty feet following a pitcher's release of a softball. Subjects were allowed to use the starting technique of their choice. Groups A and B participated in a two-week treatment phase in which group A subjects were taught the moving start and group B the sprinter's start. A posttest was then given with subjects in groups A and B using the starting technique learned. Group C again used the starting technique of their choice. The differences in each subject's mean pre-and posttest scores were calculated. A one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was then preformed to determine the percentage of variance among the groups which could be exclusively attributed to the treatment effect at the .05 level of significance. Although differences in the two groups were found to exist at the .14 level, this did not meet the earlier established level of .05 needed for statistical significance. However, based on the consistency of the pattern for differences found between groups, the .14 level which was obtained was considered to have meaning on a substantive level.