Testing
The same tests the pros take.
A Baseline Assessment takes your athlete through three VALD systems in about 60 minutes with a coach, in a small group of up to 4, and ends with a report that shows where they stand and where to work. Every test is non-invasive and movement-based: they squat, jump, land, and push. Add the Speed pack and they sprint too.
The Baseline
Same tests. Same order. Every time.
Every Baseline runs the same tests in the same order with the same number of tries, so this session compares with the next. Your athlete is compared with their own body, left side against right, and with their last session. For body size, jump height and power, hip strength, and sprint times with the Speed pack, when the number holds up across repeat tries and published youth data covers their age, the report also shows where it sits among kids the same age and sex, as a guide, never a ranking. Athletes under 12 run a shorter set.
- Ankle mobility testMobility
- Overhead squatMovement
- Countermovement jumpPower
- 10-5 hopReactive strength
- Hip and hamstring strengthStrength
The hardware
Four systems.
Together they build a complete picture of your athlete. Here is what each one measures, and why that number matters in their sport.
VALD ForceDecks: Force Plates
Your athlete stands on two plates and jumps, lands, or holds a position. The plates read the force of every millisecond through each leg separately. The jumps and the hops run here; the Cutting and Landing pack adds the single-leg jump, and Contact and Collision the shoulder test, pressing one straight arm into a plate. A coach watches the practice landing of every hop and single-leg jump first.
- Jump heightcm
- Peak forceN
- Power outputW/kg
- L/R asymmetry%
- Reactive strength indexRSI
Why it matters: jump height tracks explosiveness, and because each leg is read on its own, a left-right difference that holds up across tries shows up while it is still easy to train.
VALD HumanTrak: Motion Capture
A camera-based system tracks their joints in 3D while they drive a knee over their toes and squat. No suit, no markers. The ankle test and the overhead squat show ankle range, depth, and how the knees and trunk hold up; the Cutting and Landing pack adds a squat on one leg.
- Joint anglesdeg
- Ankle rangedeg
- Squat depth (knee bend)deg
- Knee driftdeg
- Trunk leandeg
Why it matters: how an athlete moves decides how they hold up. Movement quality is the difference between training hard and training safely.
VALD ForceFrame: Strength Testing
Your athlete pushes or pulls against fixed sensors, one side at a time. The Baseline measures the inner and outer hip on each leg, and the hamstrings from age 12; sport packs add the calf, hip flexor, quad, glute, shoulder, and neck.
- Max isometric forceN
- L/R imbalance%
- Strength vs. body weight%
Why it matters: a side-to-side gap is invisible in the mirror but clear to the sensors, and once it shows up across repeat tries, training can close it.
VALD SmartSpeed: Timing Gates
Electronic timing gates clock sprints, splits, and agility runs to the millisecond, the way combines and pro trials do it. They run the Speed pack: the sprint, 20 m for ages 8 to 11 and 30 m from 12 (about 22 and 33 yards), with a split every 10 m, tracks speed from one test to the next, and the 505, a sprint into a turn on each side, tracks agility.
- Sprint splitss
- Acceleration 0–10 ms
- 505 turn, each sides
Why it matters: a stopwatch hides a tenth of a second. At game speed, a tenth of a second is the play.
Sport packs
More tests for your sport.
A sport pack puts sport-specific tests on top of any Baseline or retest, adding about 10 minutes per athlete to the session, and its results get their own section of the report. Pick the ones that match how your athlete plays, up to 2 on any test, at $39 each.
Speed
Every sport that runs. The 20 or 30 m sprint with a split every 10 m and the 505 turn test on each side, timed to the millisecond, plus calf and hip flexor strength from age 12: the push and the swing of every stride. Open to every age.
Overhead and Rotation
Baseball, softball, volleyball, tennis, swimming, golf. Shoulder rotation strength and range on each side, straight-arm shoulder strength overhead, plus hip rotation, read knowing the throwing or hitting arm is meant to differ. Under-12s can take the shoulder range test.
Cutting and Landing
Soccer, basketball, lacrosse, field hockey, track, gymnastics, cheer. A single-leg squat and jump, plus quad and glute strength on each side: what an athlete plants, brakes, and drives with, one leg at a time. From age 12.
Contact and Collision
Football, wrestling, rugby, hockey, martial arts. Neck strength in each direction, shoulder rotation strength on each side, and a straight-arm shoulder strength test, from age 13. With Overhead and Rotation too, the shoulder rotation test runs once.
The report
What you get back.
Every Baseline and retest ends with a private report, written for the athlete and the parent, not for a sports scientist. It compares your athlete with their own body and their own last session first, shows where body size, jump height and power, hip strength, and sprint times with the Speed pack sit against published youth data for their age, and a coach reads it before it is released.
Every test, and which numbers held up across repeat tries. A number that did not is marked for a retest, not read.
Side-to-side differences on the jumps and the strength frame, counted only when they are bigger than the spread between tries.
Up to three findings, most important first, each with a training focus. When nothing stands out yet, the report says so and sets the baseline.
When to come back and what to repeat, so the next report shows what changed.
A coach reads every report before it is released, and their name is on it.
After the Baseline
Then keep measuring.
A Baseline is the start. The numbers matter most when the next set shows what changed. See plans and pricing ↗
Coaching a team, club, or school? Groups of 10 or more test at a team rate from $99 per athlete, down to $79 for 50 or more, with a battery built around your sport, at the lab or on campus. See team rates ↗
Retest
The same tests, with a new report that shows what moved. A one-off test is $129, Monthly Testing is $99 a month with a sport pack included, and training plans include a free retest every month.
Sport packs
Any retest can carry up to 2 sport packs, chosen for the season your athlete is in. Monthly Testing includes one, training plans every one.
Train with us
Speed and Agility for ages 8 to 14, Strength and Conditioning for 12 to 18: coached classes built on the report, with a free monthly retest. From $399 a month. See training ↗
What to expect
Show up. Move. Get the numbers.
Nothing invasive, nothing your athlete hasn't done in a warm-up. A coach runs the whole session, explains each test before they do it, and the report follows.
Then see how those numbers become training. How training works ↗
- Ages8 and up, every sport
- TimeAbout 60 minutes, plus sport packs
- Price$129 · No sign-up fee
- WearAthletic clothes and training shoes
- BringWater. Everything else is on site
- Under 18A parent or guardian signs up
- AdultsSame Baseline, same report
Get started
It starts with a Baseline.
Baseline Assessment $129 · Monthly Testing $99/month · No sign-up fees
Create your free family account, add your athlete, and pick a Baseline time. Questions? Call (858) 899-0098.
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