Coaches working in football, rugby, hockey and other field sports increasingly look for technology that measures speed and agility accurately while also supporting reactive, decision based training. Sportreact Reactive Agility Kit is a combined system that functions both as a laser timing gate and a reactive light pod platform, allowing practitioners to assess linear speed, change of direction performance and perceptual reaction speed with a single tool.
Several peer reviewed studies have now used Sportreact directly in research settings. These studies provide useful evidence for coaches on the validity, reliability and applied usefulness of Sportreact across sprint timing, reactive agility and reaction speed testing.
What is Sportreact?
Sportreact brings together two key technologies within one platform: laser timing units for linear sprint and change of direction tests, and programmable reaction pods that display visual stimuli for reactive agility and cognitive motor tasks. The mobile app provides test templates, data capture and performance reports, which makes it suitable for both structured testing sessions and more open skill drills. This versatility is central to its use in published research.
Evidence from Sprint and Reactive Agility Timing Studies
Two validation studies have examined Sportreact as a timing system for linear sprinting and change of direction performance. Skala et al. (2025) compared Sportreact single beam timing to a laboratory grade dual beam system in youth football players performing 10 metre sprints, 30 metre sprints and the 505 change of direction test. The study reported very high agreement between systems, with intraclass correlation coefficients from 0.95 to 0.99 across all tests. The typical error was small for the 30 metre split and the 505 test, which supports the use of Sportreact for group benchmarking and athlete profiling. For the 10 metre sprint, the typical error of around 0.046 seconds was similar to the smallest worthwhile change for young athletes, so coaches should interpret very small improvements in short sprint performance with caution (Skala et al., 2025).
In a second timing study, Novak et al. (2022) assessed the validity and reliability of Sportreact for linear sprint and agility performance in youth football. This research also demonstrated high validity when Sportreact timings were compared with reference systems and reported strong test retest reliability for both sprint and agility measures. The authors noted that the portability and ease of deployment of Sportreact made it highly suitable for applied field settings. This supports the use of Sportreact in academies where repeated measurements across a season are needed (Novak et al., 2022).
Together these two studies confirm that Sportreact is a valid timing solution for linear speed and change of direction performance, especially over distances where measurement error is lower.
Evidence from Reactive Agility Testing
Sportreact has also been used in tennis specific agility research. Sinković et al. (2023) examined how biological age influences speed, agility and explosive power in young tennis players. Crucially for our purposes, the authors measured sport specific change of direction speed (TENCODS) and reactive agility (TENRAG) using the Sportreact system. The article is here:
They reported that players of older biological age were faster in several linear and change of direction measures and achieved better reactive agility results than less mature peers, highlighting the importance of maturity status when interpreting tennis specific agility data gathered with Sportreact (Sinković et al., 2023).
Evidence from Reaction Speed Testing in Goalkeepers
A further study applied Sportreact to the specialist demands of goalkeepers. Kovác et al. (2025) used Sportreact sensors to administer fast generating and slow generating visual reaction tasks in elite youth football goalkeepers. The study provided normative data for reaction speed in goalkeepers aged between sixteen and nineteen. It also examined the relationship between reaction ability and cognitive tests including the Stroop test and the Attention test.
The authors found a strong correlation between responses to fast and slow visual stimuli, suggesting shared underlying perceptual and neuromuscular mechanisms. However, the correlations between reaction speed and cognitive test performance were low, which indicates that reaction ability and cognitive processing should be assessed separately in goalkeeper profiling (Kovác et al., 2025). This study confirmed that Sportreact is suitable for high quality reaction testing beyond standard speed and agility measurements.
Practical Implications for Coaches
Together, the four Sportreact based studies indicate that:
- Sportreact is valid and reliable for timing linear sprints and change of direction tests
Researchers have consistently found strong agreement between Sportreact and dual beam systems, especially for distances of 30 metres and for the 505 test (Skala et al., 2025; Novak et al., 2022).
- Coaches should be cautious when interpreting very small improvements in 10 metre performance
The magnitude of measurement error at short distances means that changes should clearly exceed around 0.05 seconds before being considered meaningful for individuals (Skala et al., 2025).
- Sportreact can support high quality reactive agility testing
The 2024 Sports study showed that reactive agility tasks built with Sportreact pods are reliable and capture both physical and perceptual elements of agility (Babic et al., 2024).
- Sportreact is effective for reaction speed testing and provides normative data for specialist positions
The work with youth elite goalkeepers shows the system can capture rapid perceptual response data and can help academies benchmark reaction ability (Kovác et al., 2025).
- A single system can service multiple testing needs
Across the research, Sportreact was used as a timing gate, a reactive agility stimulus and a reaction speed sensor. This conclusively highlights its value as a versatile testing tool.
Recommended Testing Set Ups
- Linear speed testing: Use 10 metre and 30 metre sprint tests with consistent gate height and start procedure. For tracking changes within individuals, 30 metre splits offer better sensitivity.
- Change of direction testing: Sportreact supports the 505 test well. Both validity studies recommend it as a reliable measure for field use.
- Reactive agility testing: Use Sportreact pods as directional cues for reactive change of direction tasks. As validated by Babic et al. (2024).
- Reaction speed testing: Use fast generating and slow generating visual stimuli protocols as used by Kovác et al. (2025) to collect disjunctive reaction time data.
Summary
Across all published studies that have used the Sportreact System, a consistent picture emerges. The Sportreact 2-in-1 Agility and Timing Gate system is a scientifically supported platform that can measure speed, agility, reactive agility, and reaction times with high reliability. This makes the system an ideal choice for coaches for strength and conditioning in training and competition.
Validation studies show that the system provides accurate timing for linear sprints and change of direction tests when compared to established systems. Uses for sports such as tennis and football demonstrate Sportreact can assess both preplanned and reactive agility. Therefore making it highly valuable for physical testing, supporting skill acquisition, talent development, and rehabilitation. The goalkeeper reaction speed research further shows that it can measure perceptual motor abilities, offering meaningful data for practitioners working in high performance environments, rehab programmes, or student research projects.
The reactive agility research shows that the system can be used to design consistent and repeatable decision based tests, which are useful for performance analysts, academies, and sports science education settings that teach applied testing methods.
Overall, Sportreact 2-in-1 Reactive Agility Kit offers a practical solution for a variety of professionals in sports science and health related fields. It functions as a single integrated system making it invaluable for what it can do and a convenient solution for limited space and budget.
For universities, academies, coaches and teams, the Sportreact Starter Kit sold by HaB Direct provides the necessary pods and timing units to run all of the assessments described above. Additional pods can extend reactive agility courses or allow multiple athletes to rotate through stations at once.
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Sportreact Reactive Agility Starter Kit
The Sportsreact Starter Kit is a versatile training tool, merging a 2-in-1 timing gate and reaction lights agility system to improve physical and cognitive abilities. Tailored for athletes aiming to boost speed, agility, and reaction time, it offers intuitive training sessions for individuals or groups. Track progress in areas like focus, speed, coordination, balance, endurance, and beyond, fostering an innovative approach to athletic development.
References
Babic, M., et al. (2024) A new reactive agility test: reliability and contributing factors. Sports, 8(2), 48.
Kovác, K., Holienka, M., Matušica, M., Babic, M., Skala, F. and Peráčková, J. (2025) Reaction speed and attention of elite youth soccer goalkeepers. Journal of Physical Education and Sport, 25(4), 922–928.
Novak, D., et al. (2022) Validity and reliability evaluation of a portable timing device for linear sprint and agility performance assessment in youth football players. Sustainability, 14(20), 13321.
Skala, F., Horníková, H., Vrabľanský, M. and Zemková, E. (2025) Concurrent validity of single and dual beam timing systems for linear and change of direction speed testing in youth soccer players.
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