Marcin Krawczyk

W trakcie meczu koszykówki główne czynności ruchowe, które wykonują zawodnicy to: bieg, skoki, bieg sprinterski oraz zmiany kierunku biegu. Wymienione czynności ruchowe powinny stanowić główną treść testów sprawności motorycznej w koszykówce. Rzetelność oraz zdolność do wykrywania minimalnej zmiany sprawności (Minimal-Detectable Change – MDC) w próbach stosowanych w koszykówce były rzadko raportowane. Celem opracowania jest wypełnienie tej luki i próba zaprezentowania wyników rzetelności i MDC często stosowanych testów sprawności motorycznej w badaniach, ale u koszykarzy w kategorii ‘kadet’. W tym celu przeprowadzono badania w grupie 14 koszykarzy w wieku 15,3 ±1,04 lat. Przeprowadzono próby skoczności, biegu po linii prostej oraz biegu ze zmianą kierunku. Na podstawie wyników tych prób obliczono wskaźnik siły reaktywnej, pędu sprintu oraz wskaźnika utylizacji cyklu rozciąganie–skurcz. Rezultaty badań własnych ujawniły, że najwyższe wyniki rzetelności osiągnięto dla uśrednionych wyników z próby drugiej oraz trzeciej. Dobrą możliwość wykrycia minimalnej zmiany sprawności odnotowano dla wszystkich prób, z wyjątkiem wskaźnika utylizacji cyklu rozciąganie–skurcz były na akceptowalnym poziomie. Zastosowanie procedury w niniejszym badaniu może stanowić praktyczne wskazówki w celu analizy zmian sprawności motorycznej koszykarzy.

Aim: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the relationships between sprint mechanical parameters and sprint performance among female soccer players at different skill levels. The second objective was to assess a potential differences in force-velocity profiles between players from higher and lower sport skill level. Materials and methods: Sixty-six female soccer players (age = 23.1 5.1 years) performed a 30-m sprint to assess sprint performance and mechanical variables. Speed was measured by radar technology for 5, 10, 20, and 30 m and was used to calculate the theoretical maximal velocity (V0), theoretical maximal horizontal force (F0), maximal horizontal power (Pmax), decrease in the ratio of horizontal to resultant force (DRF), and peak ratio of horizontal to resultant force (RFpeak). Results: Different force-velocity (F-V) profile parameters are determinants of sprint performance at various distances. RFpeak (r =-0.99), Pmax (r = -0.93), and F0 (r = 0.92) had the strongest associations with sprint performance at shorter (5-m) distances, while at longer (20-m) distances, V0 (r = -0.73), Pmax (r = -0.94), and RFpeak (r = -0.88) were largely associated with sprint performance. The players from higher sports skill level showed higher levels of F0, RFpeak, Pmax and time to 10 meter distance. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that depending on sprint distance used for testing and training procedures in female soccer players, the most informative parameters are Pmax, RFpeak, F0, and V0. As the skill level in female soccer players increases, an increase in maximal theoretical horizontal force during sprinting can be observed.

The countermovement jump test (CMJ) is commonly used as an indicator of the anaerobic capacity of the lower limbs. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the CMJ with arm swing and the Wingate anaerobic test (WAnT) among female volleyball and football players. A group of first league female volleyball club players (VG, n = 12, age = 24.2 years), a group of first league female football club players (FG, n = 12, age = 20.6 years), and a control group (CG, n = 10, age = 20.4 years) participated in this research. The measurements of selected somatic features were carried out. The CMJ and WAnT were used to assess the explosive strength and maximum muscle power of the lower extremities. An analysis of variance test demonstrated differences between the VG and FG in terms of height (p < .001), body weight (p < .001), and lean body mass (p < .001). In the FG and VG groups, correlations between CMJ and maximum anaerobic power as determined by WAnT were r = .82 and r = .57, respectively. There was not statistically significant differences between values of these coefficients. The obtained results showed a potentially lean body mass influence on the results of the CMJ in VG. In women’s football and volleyball, the results of the CMJ are strongly correlated with the power parameters registered with the WAnT. In volleyball, players’ coaches should include a measurement of lean body mass in the assessment peak power by vertical jump tests.

Aim. Vertical jump tests (VJT), used in the study among speed climbers, have shown that lower limb explosive strength is an important factor determining success in this sport. However, the correlation coefficients between VJT and climb time reported in the literature indicate: poor to good validity of using the results of these tests as a means of controlling athlete preparation. The purpose of this study was to assess the informative nature of the VJT of varying technical complexity on an athlete’s preparation for competition. Materials. The material of the study was a group of 5 women (x̃=23.8 years) and 5 men (x̃=20.8 years), members of the Polish National Team. The following tests were performed: CMJ without sweep (CMJbz), CMJ with sweep (CMJ), CMJ with rotation about the body axis (CMJ 360), ten (10) CMJ jumps with sweep at 2/3 of the height of the CMJ jump with sweep, motor reaction time (RT) to a sound signal. Results and Conclusions. Our results showed that of the trials used, only the CMJ with swing (CMJ), CMJ without swing (CMJws), and CMJ with rotation (CMJ-360) were most accurate. The CMJ-360 trial, which was of higher complexity, indicated the highest accuracy and the lowest estimation error of the expected speed climb time.

The present study examined the validity of the force-velocity (F-V) mechanical parameters of the lower limbs as a predictors of the competitive performance in junior male speed climbing. The second aim was to evaluate F-V characteristics in competitive speed climbers in the junior male category. Ten junior male speed climbers (age: 18±0.5 years; BH: 174.7±4.5 cm; BW: 66.4±6.6 kg; with mean best climbing time from the competition BCT: 7.29±0.66 s) were participants in the research. All they were participants in the Youth European Cup in speed climbing. F-V characteristics were measured using a cycle ergometer test according to the Vandewalle’s protocol. To evaluate of the validity between BCT (criterion) and mechanical parameters (practical measures) from F-V test a standard error of the estimate (expressed as a raw and standardized typical error, TE) and correlation coefficients (rx,y) were used. Moreover, the validity of BCT as a potentially predictor of final competition rank (as a criterion for BCT) was evaluated. Additionally the mean value and standard deviation were calculated for all measured variables. Validity of the BCT as a competition place predictor was largely overestimated (TE=0.73 and rx,y=0.81, p p≤0.05). Accuracy of the BCT prediction for somatic and mechanical variables were very largely error biased. The standardized values of TE for these variables were: 1.93÷7.25. The rx,y were in the range of -0.18 to -0.46. The level of the mechanical variables from the F-V cycle ergometer as a predictors of the BCT in speed climbing may be largely error biased. Application of the cycle ergometer F-V test of prediction BCT values in speed climbing may have low practical value. Moreover, BCT variable may be a poor predictor of the final competition result. Coaches should take these suggestions into account during preparations to speed climbing competitions.