Fitness testing is commonly used to assess athletes` strengths and weaknesses. However, limitations exist including lack of position-specific comparative data, and little consideration for athletes` or coaches` needs. This article proposes a collaborative method for interpreting fitness testing data to address the practical limitations identified above. Data obtained from three male professional academy rugby league players (age 17.7 ± 0.6 years; height 180.1 ± 6.7 cm; body mass 88.8 ± 4.6 kg) were used for the purpose of this article. Following the fitness testing battery, in collaboration with each athlete, three professional coaches ranked the relative importance of each test (1 = least important; 7 = most important) for each player considering playing position, stage of physical and technical / tactical development, and future goals. Data were presented as absolute values, Z-scores and modified (benchmark; mean + 2 SDs) Z-scores in comparison to previously published data. The different approaches of data presentation identified different goals for each athlete. This article provides a novel approach for presenting and interpreting fitness testing data, considering athlete and coach needs. When profiling athletes, it is proposed that multiplying a modified Z-score by a factor based on relative importance of each characteristic may prove a useful tool for practitioners. In practice this process allows athletes and coaches to specifically focus on individual weaknesses, which are identified as being important for an athlete`s particular role in their sport or their stage of development.
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