By SIMON PLUMB - North Shore Times | Thursday, 22 May 2008

Luca Hyatt-Brown was days before his 15th birthday when he hit level 15.1 on the notorious beep test.

That was around the same time the 15.5 test result of Turbos halfback Aaron Good, 27, was described as "going through the roof" and "higher than any of the New Zealand Sevens players".

A May 9 newspaper article said "the sevens men are traditionally fitter than anyone else" while Turbos trainer Paul Hamson claimed Good’s result was "the highest of any athlete I have ever coached".

Luca, a year 11 Rosmini College student, was only four shuttles behind.

"I wasn’t even aware I was at level 15," says the Greenhithe resident and NZ sailing international.

"I was exhausted at the end and walked out to get a drink.

"I didn’t find out the result until I went back into the room."

Luca’s teacher and Rosmini College’s head of physical education Stephen Rodkiss was stunned by the result.

"I’ve been a teacher for 12 years," says Rodkiss.

"Luca’s definitely the best I’ve ever seen."

Auckland’s Peter Snell Institute of Sport administered the test and acting chief executive Ken Lynch says the organisation ratifies the result.

"That test was superb and it was conducted in line with Peter Snell protocols," he says.

Such protocols state that the test must be carried out to its original format – shuttle runs over an exact distance of 20 metres to a correctly calibrated soundtrack of beeps signifying the deadline for each shuttle.

As levels progress, the time to complete shuttles incrementally decreases.

Created by Dr Luc Leger of Montreal University and developed by Loughborough University’s Professor Clyde Williams, the purpose of the multi-stage fitness test, or beep test as it’s commonly known, is to predict aerobic capacity or VO2 max and is used by schools to military forces the world over.

"VO2 max is the maximum amount of oxygen an individual can utilise during intensive or maximal exercise," Lynch says.

Luca’s result "would be in the top five" of everyone they have tested on the beep test alone.

"I’ve just started boxing training too," says Luca, "It’s made me realise how much fitter I can get."