Unique Specific Jumping Test for Measuring Explosive Power in Young Basketball Players: Differences by Gender, Age, and Playing Positions.

When playing basketball, players are required to have high explosive power, which requires the ability to move in efficient, specific, and game-specific movement patterns that combine both horizontal and vertical abilities. Differences have been seen between young male and female basketball players in this measure. The aim of this study was to examine differences in players' unique movements by gender, age, and playing positions using a novel test for basketball players. This study included 232 young basketball players, male and female, from a range of Israeli leagues, who were divided into three categories: under-14, under-16, and under-18. Our findings showed that males presented better results than females in all age categories. Moreover, females in the under-18 category presented better results than those in the under-14 category, but not more than those in the under-16 category. Differences in playing positions were only examined between males and females in the under-18 category, where players begin to specialize in playing positions, and here, guards showed better results than forwards and centers. Our conclusions highlight the importance of including unique, sport-specific tests in talent identification and selection processes, as these tests can provide valuable information about a player's skill set and potential for success. The findings are presented in an achievement table of the expected physical fitness results by age and gender for the benefit of basketball coaches and strength and conditioning coaches when assessing their players.

Physiology of Basketball - Field Tests. Review Article.

The game of basketball is characterized by short and intense bouts of activity at medium to high frequency. Basketball entails specific types of movements, physiological requirements and energy sources. The duration of physiological responses involving ATP, CP and glycolysis responses to this type of activity is 5-6 seconds for a single sprint, and a contribution of the aerobic system is of less than 10%. Recovery periods in basketball, as a rule, are not long enough to fill the gap for such high intensity activities. It is hard to achieve the same level of performance consistently over time in repeated sprints. This means that basketball players need great athletic ability in order to demonstrate speed, strength and power required to produce a successful performance most proficiently. Therefore, tests are needed to help coaches to monitor their players and ensure that they have the physiological capacity required for the game. The aim of fitness tests is to assess the condition of athletes in terms of each fitness component, in order to determine what needs to be improved through the training program and to conduct retests at set times to assess whether their condition has changed. The literature offers a number of widely used tests to measure aerobic and anaerobic fitness. This article reviews the physiological demands of basketball and analyzes the field tests commonly used at present. The article emphasizes the need for a specific test that will serve coaches and physical fitness trainers in monitoring their players.

Post-activation potentiation effects on vertical and horizontal explosive performances of young handball and basketball athletes.

BACKGROUND: The present study was designed to compare the effects of post-activation potentiation (PAP) protocols on explosive activities of trained young athletes. METHODS: Twenty-six young team sport players (handball, N.=12; basketball, N.=14; mean age 15.4±0.3 years; mean height 169.5±6.4 cm; mean weight 61.4±7.6 kg; Tanner stages 3 and 4) performed seven countermovement jumps (CMJ) and seven 20-meter sprints at baseline, ~15s, 4, 8, 16, 24 and 30 minutes after three different stimulus conditions: 3 sets of 10 repetitions of double-leg drop jumps (PAPD), 3 sets of 5 repetitions of alternate-one-leg drop jumps (PAPO), or walking control (CON). RESULTS: A significant reduction in explosive performance was observed at each time-point in both groups. Negative PAP effect occurred on the 20-meter sprint in PAPO at 16 (P=0.008), 24 (P=0.001) and 30 minutes (P<0.001) and in PAPD at 30 minutes (P=0.002) compared to CON. CONCLUSIONS: This study indicated the negative effect of PAP on subsequent explosive performance in young team sport players. These findings represent a practical suggestion for the prudent use of PAP protocols aimed at enhancing vertical and horizontal explosive performances of young athletes.

Repeated sprint ability in young soccer players at different game stages.

The purpose of this study was to determine the repeated sprint ability (RSA) of young (16.9 ± 0.5 years) soccer players at different game stages. Players performed repeated sprint test (RST) (12 × 20 m) after warm-up before a game, at half-time, and after a full soccer game, each on a different day, in a random order. The ideal (fastest) sprint time (IS) and total (accumulative) sprint time (TS) were significantly slower at the end of the game compared with those after the warm-up before the game (p < 0.01 for each). Differences between IS and TS after the warm-up before the game and at half-time, and between half-time and end of the game, were not statistically significant. There was no significant difference in the performance decrement during the RST after warm-up before the game, at half-time, or the end of the game. Significant negative correlation was found between predicted V[Combining Dot Above]O2 and the difference between TS after the warm-up before the game and the end of the game (r = -0.52), but not between predicted V[Combining Dot Above]O2 and the difference in any of the RST performance indices between warm-up before the game and half-time, or between half-time and the end of the game. The findings indicate a significant RSA reduction only at the end but not at the half-time of a soccer game. The results also suggest that the contribution of the aerobic system to soccer intensity maintenance is crucial, mainly during the final stages of the game.

Repeated sprint tests in young basketball players at different game stages.

This study compared between performance indices of repeated sprint tests (RSTs) (12 x 20 m) during different stages of basketball game. Twelve young (17 +/- 0.5 year) basketball players performed three RSTs (after a warm-up, at half-time and after a full game) and aerobic power test, each on different days. Ideal (fastest) sprint time (IS) was significantly faster at half-time (p < 0.007) compared to after warm-up. There was no difference between IS after the warm-up and after a full game. Total (accumulative) sprint time (TS) was significantly faster at half-time (p < 0.03) compared to after the warm-up. There was no difference between TS after the warm-up and after a full game. No differences were found in the performance decrement (PD) between the three RSTs. Significant negative correlations were found between predicted VO(2) max and PD during the 12 x 20 m RST only when the RST was performed at half-time (r = -0.58) and after a full game (r = -0.59), and not when the RST was performed after the warm-up. The findings suggest that a more intense warm-up is needed for better repeated sprint performance at the initial phases of the game and that the aerobic system is important to intensity maintenance mainly during the last stages of the game.