Purpose: agility is a critical component of basketball performance, involving rapid changes in direction (cod) and speed. understanding the development of agility and its specific manifestations in sportrelated contexts can provide valuable insights for training and development programs. however, the majority of tests do not consider basketball- specific skills such as dribbling while handling a ball. the aim of the present study was to compare the performance of a generic agility test with a modified version that includes sportspecific skills in a cohort of young elite basketball players. methods: a total of 128 basketball players (66 male and 62 female) were enrolled and classified in relation to the category and the maturity status [peak height velocity (phv) offset] in the study. each player performed two agility tests after a proper warm-up of 10 min: a v-cut dribbling test without a ball (generic agility test) and with a ball (sport-specific agility test). the tests consisted of a 25-m sprint with 4 cod of 45° every 5 m. trials performances were recorded as time (seconds) by using timing gates (microgate witty wireless training timer). the gap between the trial without and with ball was computed and named sport-specific motor coordinative (ssmc). linear regression model analysis was performed to describe the relationship between the performance and the age. wilcoxon test was used to compare the ssmc between age categories. a p-value lower than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. results: the linear regression model analysis showed a correlation between performance time and age in the v-cut test without the ball (r = - 0.783, p<0.05) and with the ball (r = - 0.755, p<0.05) for male players, and without the ball (r = - 0.404, p<0.05) and with the ball (r = - 0.440, p<0.05) for female players. concerning the ssmc gap, it decreased from the under-13 to the under-15 age categories (p<0.05). conversely, the ssmc gap increased from the under-15 to the under-16 category and then decreased again from under-16 to under-18 categories (p<0.05). in addition, the v-cut test with and without ball showed higher performance in players in pubertal stage (phv) than the players in post-pubertal (post-phv). however, these differences were not statistically significant (p>0.05). conclusions: the findings highlight the significant relationship between age and agility performance in young elite basketball players, with differences based on the type of test and gender. the ssmc gap varies across age categories, indicating developmental changes in agility skills influenced by age. however, our findings suggest a complex interaction between growth, maturation, and skill acquisition. the comparison between phv and post-phv players in the under-15 category showed higher performance in the former group, suggesting that the pubertal stage may play a role in influencing agility performance.
Age-Related Variations in Agility Performance: Comparing Generic and Sport-Specific Agility in Young Elite Basketball Players
Zinno R.;
2024
Abstract
Purpose: agility is a critical component of basketball performance, involving rapid changes in direction (cod) and speed. understanding the development of agility and its specific manifestations in sportrelated contexts can provide valuable insights for training and development programs. however, the majority of tests do not consider basketball- specific skills such as dribbling while handling a ball. the aim of the present study was to compare the performance of a generic agility test with a modified version that includes sportspecific skills in a cohort of young elite basketball players. methods: a total of 128 basketball players (66 male and 62 female) were enrolled and classified in relation to the category and the maturity status [peak height velocity (phv) offset] in the study. each player performed two agility tests after a proper warm-up of 10 min: a v-cut dribbling test without a ball (generic agility test) and with a ball (sport-specific agility test). the tests consisted of a 25-m sprint with 4 cod of 45° every 5 m. trials performances were recorded as time (seconds) by using timing gates (microgate witty wireless training timer). the gap between the trial without and with ball was computed and named sport-specific motor coordinative (ssmc). linear regression model analysis was performed to describe the relationship between the performance and the age. wilcoxon test was used to compare the ssmc between age categories. a p-value lower than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. results: the linear regression model analysis showed a correlation between performance time and age in the v-cut test without the ball (r = - 0.783, p<0.05) and with the ball (r = - 0.755, p<0.05) for male players, and without the ball (r = - 0.404, p<0.05) and with the ball (r = - 0.440, p<0.05) for female players. concerning the ssmc gap, it decreased from the under-13 to the under-15 age categories (p<0.05). conversely, the ssmc gap increased from the under-15 to the under-16 category and then decreased again from under-16 to under-18 categories (p<0.05). in addition, the v-cut test with and without ball showed higher performance in players in pubertal stage (phv) than the players in post-pubertal (post-phv). however, these differences were not statistically significant (p>0.05). conclusions: the findings highlight the significant relationship between age and agility performance in young elite basketball players, with differences based on the type of test and gender. the ssmc gap varies across age categories, indicating developmental changes in agility skills influenced by age. however, our findings suggest a complex interaction between growth, maturation, and skill acquisition. the comparison between phv and post-phv players in the under-15 category showed higher performance in the former group, suggesting that the pubertal stage may play a role in influencing agility performance.I documenti in SFERA sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
