Field testing is used in many sports to quantify training programs and athletic development. Coaches have found field testing to be useful for talent identification, measuring an athlete`s physiological capabilities and physiological state, and to analyze the effects of training (Henson & Turner 2000, Pfaff 1993, Young 2001). Specific tests and norms for those tests can be obtained from sport publications which include articles that address field testing (Markov 1971, Popov 1971, Young 2001). There are many publications which address field testing, however there are not many available literature sources that provide evidence for the validation of these tests. Often, field tests are used without specific knowledge of what physiological component is being tested and coaches often rely on word-of-mouth and the fact that the test "has been done before" as validation. These assumptions by the coaches can result in inaccurate determination of athletic ability during training or when used for talent identification, an inaccurate assessment of potential talent. In this project, a group of collegiate and elite track and field athletes were used as subjects to determine the relationship between selected field tests of absolute and jumping power versus a laboratory test of absolute power.
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