Horizontal Deceleration Performance in Professional Female Handball Players
Nicolas M. Philipp,
Dimitrije Cabarkapa,
Kennedy M. Marten,
Damjana V. Cabarkapa,
Dragan M. Mirkov,
Olivera M. Knezevic,
Jelena Aleksic,
Lucija Faj,
Andrew C. Fry
Affiliations
Nicolas M. Philipp
Jayhawk Athletic Performance Laboratory—Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance, Department of Health, Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA
Dimitrije Cabarkapa
Jayhawk Athletic Performance Laboratory—Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance, Department of Health, Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA
Kennedy M. Marten
Jayhawk Athletic Performance Laboratory—Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance, Department of Health, Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA
Damjana V. Cabarkapa
Jayhawk Athletic Performance Laboratory—Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance, Department of Health, Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA
Dragan M. Mirkov
Faculty of Sport and Physical Education, Research Center, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Olivera M. Knezevic
Faculty of Sport and Physical Education, Research Center, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Jelena Aleksic
Faculty of Sport and Physical Education, Research Center, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Lucija Faj
Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Osijek, 31000 Osijek, Croatia
Andrew C. Fry
Jayhawk Athletic Performance Laboratory—Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance, Department of Health, Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA
Given the multidirectional nature of the sport, handball athletes must frequently perform high-intensity decelerations to avoid defenders, generate space, or perform directional changes. The aim of the present study was twofold: (i) to investigate different kinematic measures of horizontal deceleration performance by comparing the acceleration-deceleration assessment (ADA) with the 5-0-5 test and (ii) to investigate relationships between force-time characteristics derived from the countermovement vertical jump (CVJ) and measures of horizontal deceleration performance. Eleven female handball players competing in the first-tier professional league in Europe performed three CVJs while standing on a uni-axial force plate system sampling at 1000 Hz, followed by two ADAs (i.e., maximal-effort acceleration over a 10 m distance, followed by rapid deceleration) and 5-0-5 test trials. Tripod-mounted radar sampling at 47 Hz, placed 5 m behind the start line, was used to record horizontal velocity data. Each test was separated by a 5–7 min rest interval to minimize the influence of fatigue. No statistically significant differences were found in horizontal deceleration performance parameters between ADA and the 5-0-5 test. However, athletes with a higher CVJ height and reactive strength index-modified showed better performance in terms of horizontal deceleration measures such as maximal approach velocity and average and maximal deceleration. Overall, these results may be of interest to practitioners working with multidirectional sport athletes such as handball players as they provide critical insight for the selection of assessments and training strategies targeted toward optimizing on-court athlete performance.
