Some excellent points there Fergus makes for interesting reading, one point I would like t make and this is specific to the group that was tested in that year and in that competition and in that sport, so transfer is an issue, but in the late 1970`s the Hungarian first division football competition allowed researcher to VO2max test the entire population of players, team averages were then calculated and ranked highest to lowest, and put aside till the end of the season when the table for wins losses draws was complete, the two tables highest to lowest matched except a reversal of I think from memory 10th and 12th, so in this case VO2max was an excellent predictor of performance.
I do very little testing, I never strength test since my program take players down regularly to heavy singles, doubles and triples so we know where they are, and by not testing I do not lose a full day at least of valuable training time and I do not get a glimpse of the athletes strength at that moment in time, where the night before he might have had an argument with his wife, or had not much sleep because his child was ill. I like the terminology of Graham Lowe (former AB Head S & C coach) and Dr.Nic Gill (current AB Head S & C coach), here both use the word monitoring, or a collection of snap shots along the way which provide ongoing information, combined with honest and open communication between the player and his S & C coach, to ensure that they are moving ahead physically on the field where it counts and not just in the gym or on the training grounds or track. ashley