Wes Hoolahan and the Beep Test

[Not Nigel 0]

I assume that most of you will know what a beep test is, it is when you run and have to beat the beep, the beep gets quicker and quicker, and the maximum score that can be achieved is 23. It is extremely tough, to put this into perspective..... very very few professional athletes in any sport will achieve a level 16 or 17 out of 23.

To put this into perspective, the minimum requirement for the Royal Marines is a score of 11, and David Beckham''s best every beep test score is said to be 16, which most professional footballers would be proud of.

The world standard for professional footballers is a score of 13.09.....

Wes Hoolahan, according to the Irish Independent, beat the beep test not once but TWICE.... so twice achieved a score of 23. He is not only one of the few people ever to beat the beep test at all, but possibly even the only footballer ever to beat the test more than once.

[Not Nigel 0]

I wonder whether this obscene level of natural fitness means that he will be one of those players who can just go on and on..... like Ryan Giggs.... I sure hope so, would be amazing to see Hoolahan being effective at 35!

[lappinitup 629]

I thought the beep test was for swearing......

[chicken 0]

I don''t see why Hoolahan couldn''t keep going to at least 35 injury allowing.

Although he has got pace his main asset, when not off form, is his passing, playmaking and ability to get himself out of tricky/tight spots.

Especially if he is deployed as he is at the moment or at the tip of the diamond. I think he has probably improved as a left winger too although we rarely see him there anymore.

[The Butler 0]

Marvelous, for someone who uses 1 leg[:P]

[TCCANARY 263]

I think the beep is over-rated, how many times did he give the beep away and not track back to try and recover it thus putting his team mates under pressure from a beep break away?

 

[morty 0]

Having done this test several times, and achieving a best of just over 9, I am genuinely impressed.

[QHcanary 0]

[quote user="singupcarrowroad"]I assume that most of you will know what a beep test is, it is when you run and have to beat the beep, the beep gets quicker and quicker, and the maximum score that can be achieved is 23. It is extremely tough, to put this into perspective..... very very few professional athletes in any sport will achieve a level 16 or 17 out of 23.

To put this into perspective, the minimum requirement for the Royal Marines is a score of 11, and David Beckham''s best every beep test score is said to be 16, which most professional footballers would be proud of.

The world standard for professional footballers is a score of 13.09.....

Wes Hoolahan, according to the Irish Independent, beat the beep test not once but TWICE.... so twice achieved a score of 23. He is not only one of the few people ever to beat the beep test at all, but possibly even the only footballer ever to beat the test more than once.[/quote]Have you got a source for those figures? Any idea of the distance they run it over. I know the police run a 15m shuttle, whereas the armed forces run it over 20m.I find it hard to believe that the average for a pro is 13. I managed 14 at my absolute fittest, and I was certainly nowhere near the fitness level of a pro footballer. I''ve known people go past level 15 who also couldn''t be considered professional athletes (though very fit).I wonder what Big Grant can do?

[morty 0]

Ah that excuses my low score, mine were 20m shuttles lol.

[QHcanary 0]

[quote user="morty"]Ah that excuses my low score, mine were 20m shuttles lol.[/quote]Haha, no it doesn''t! It''s meant to be run over 20m. It''s just that fat lazy coppers would never pass if they didn''t do it over 15m. I think they only need to get to level 7 or something over that distance too.Don''t take this as gospel and start accusing coppers of being lazy. It''s only what someone told me. I take no responsibility for any arrests.

[A Gay Schoolboy 0]

Is there a link for this information? I''m somewhat skeptical as I believe it would make him the world record holder, twice.

[AJ 1,232]

http://www.topendsports.com/testing/results/beep-test.htm

Apparently there was an article in the Irish Independent, I''ll do some searching

[AJ 1,232]

Quotes are taken from the article here (press read more)

http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/hoolahan-has-championship-in-his-sights-26293480.html

Young, legendary manager of Bohemians, recalls the young Wes: "He was a handful, for the class-based studies he was a disaster. I kept getting notes from the teacher, but he''d stay out on the pitch all day.

"His commitment to the football part of the course was unbelievable. He was a great worker."

Young was also instrumental in changing Hoolahan''s role on the pitch. "I used to see him playing for Belvedere on the wing, where he had to wait for the ball to come to him, and often had two men marking him. So I brought him inside and that''s when he realised he had something to offer in that position.

"For me, when Wes played, Shelbourne played. He has unbelievable ability and vision. He sees situations and creates the openings.

"On the U21s, he was the first player Don Givens put on the teamsheet, and he didn''t let him down. In the last few years, he was the player I most enjoyed watching in the League of Ireland. He was one of those rare players you would pay to see.

"When we did the multi-stage fitness tests," recalled Young, "shuttle runs that get progressively quicker as the player tries to beat the bleep, on two occasions Wes beat the machine. It''s a stamina speed test, and he showed that he had a great engine."

However, it is his ball control which marks him out, and he attributes this to those five-asides at Liberty House. "All the lads there had unbelievable skill, but many of them have given up football now. You need a bit of luck on the way, someone to like you, and then a willingness to work hard."

[Zak Van Burger 0]

UK Police force 15m min required score - 5.4 PC/PCSOHM Prison staff level reqd - 5.2G4S no minimum requirement (it would appear from the number of escapes).

[QHcanary 0]

[quote user="AJ"]http://www.topendsports.com/testing/results/beep-test.htm

Apparently there was an article in the Irish Independent, I''ll do some searching[/quote]The BBC published an artivle claiming that Becks had completed it. Others state he got to level 16. I''m not sure what to believe, but having seen relatively "normal" people get past level 15 I certainly think DB could get past level 16 and beyond at his peak.I just looked the police standards up. It''s level 5.4 over a 15m course. Lazy fat buggers.

[Not Nigel 0]

QHCanary,

The scores being discussed would almost certainly be over 20 not 15.... the police must be pretty unique in adapting the test to be over 15, which is not surprising seeing as half of them are fat c**ts.

As for the person who mentioned the "world record", I can''t find any information on the world record, anywhere?

Most of the scores do seem to be speculation, it is rumoured that Lance Armstrong could complete it.

One of the links above said that it was unlikely that he could complete it because he didn''t prove successful as an endurance runner, but that''s rubbish.... because the beep test isn''t a measure of stamina or endurance but a measure of endurance, stamina, and pace.

Grant Holt could run all day for example, but he wouldn''t have the pace to beat the beep past a certain point...... Simeon Jackson would have the pace to beat the beep at the higher points, but would probably be far too knackered by the time he got past 13 or 14.

I''d probably say that if I had to choose a City player who looks to have the necessary stamina plus pace over short distance to get a very high score in a beep test.... it would be Hoolahan.

I don''t know why the manager of a very small Irish team discussing a completely unfamous Wes Hoolahan would have reason to lie.....

It would be very interesting if the club were to release beep test scores for players though, they almost certainly undertake them.... particularly throughout pre-season to measure progress.

[Not Nigel 0]

Does Hoolahan have a twitter account? If he does, somebody fancy asking him if it is true? We need to find out. If anybody ever meets him please ask!

[Number 9 0]

Two sacks of spuds, either end of the main bar ( the locals had to sit at the back for the test )

How did you think they did it in Ireland?

[A Gay Schoolboy 0]

[quote user="singupcarrowroad"]I don''t know why the manager of a very small Irish team discussing a completely unfamous Wes Hoolahan would have reason to lie....[/quote]He could well be mistaken though. I believe the quotes come from the manager of his youth team, is there a beep test for a younger age group that is easier perhaps? We know there is an easier one for the police so it is possible.I''m still skeptical, I can''t find any proper evidence that *anyone* has completed the beep test. It seems unlikely that out of all the people in the world, the only person to have completed it (twice apparently) is Wes Hoolahan, during his youth team days.However the highest confirmed score appears to be from a footballer, Hakan Mild, so its not outside the realm of possibility that a footballer would be the one to beat it.

[snake-eyes 13]

No it is the same across the board.

l managed level 13.1 at age 17.

The fittest guy l knew reached level 18.

Snake

[A Gay Schoolboy 0]

The fittest guy you knew is apparently one of the best in the world then:[url]http://www.topendsports.com/testing/records/shuttle-run.htm[/url]

[holt, who goes there? 9]

The multi stage fitness test actually goes up to level 21 and like has already been stated, is run over a 20m distance; so I''m not sure where the level 23 came from. There r a few other similar tests including an Australian version but the timings r slightly different.

I conduct the test on a daily basis and haven''t seen anyone get over level 17. I''m pretty sure the original test was designed utilising seb coe, who managed level 21; heard he was quite fit in his day. Not sure wes is quite at that level but I may b wrong!!

[NCFC for life 1993- 0]

One of the fittest England players at the beep test was gazza when he was in his prime...he used to hit the 20/s! sad to see him now hope he can sort himself out.

[crabbycanary 2]

I too have reached level 14, but am also surprised that I would have been compared to a top level footballer. I always thought it was over a set distance and not have a ''choice'' of two different ones.

[Not Nigel 0]

Well it would make sense for a footballer to struggle to get the top scores as they don''t really run constantly, footballers require stamina but they aren''t endurance athletes. I should imagine that long distance runners and cyclists are best conditioned for it, as they tend to finish faster than they start and never stop, and most of them train for sprint finishes. A beep test is pretty similar to that, start pretty slow, become progressively faster, and then the sprint finish.

[Howson is now! 0]

One of the midfielders in our Sunday league team stopped at 16 as he was bored and everyone else had stopped. Funnily enough, long distance runner as well.

I got to level 11 at the beginning of this season so not too bad for a 29 year old, bit overweight player.

[AJ 1,232]

We used to do the shuttle runs when I played in the youth system, I''m sure most of us used to duck out around level 15/16

[Monty13 2,254]

I have seen marines get to level 16/17, its impressive to watch, but I can''t believe that''s the highest anyone has got.

The police test is an absolute joke, compared to the military basic level it''s not even half, can''t believe they were all up in arms about an annual fitness test, sounds like they need one.

[York Canary 28]

We called it the bleep test at school. My best was 9.5 over 20m I think, but not sure. I remember our teacher bragging about getting 12/13. 23 is pretty awesome

[GenerationA47 762]

Not having done or seen this beeping myself, it sounds like a test of turning speed as much as the running pace. Is this right or have I imagined it wrong? I ask because that would help to explain Wes'' excellence, switching direction at speed is a trademark of his