Pre-Post Practice Changes in Countermovement Vertical Jump Force-Time Metrics in Professional Male Basketball Players

Changes in Countermovement Vertical Jump Force-Time Metrics During a Game in Professional Male Basketball Players

ABSTRACT

Cabarkapa, D, Johnson, QR, Cabarkapa, DV, Philipp, NM, Eserhaut, DA, and Fry, AC. Changes in countermovement vertical jump force-time metrics during a game in professional male basketball players. J Strength Cond Res 38(7): 1326-1329, 2024-As technology within elite basketball advances and is more available to sporting organizations, novel approaches for assessing and addressing athletic performance during practice or competition are being continuously explored. The aim of this investigation was to examine changes in neuromuscular performance during live basketball play. Eight professional male basketball players volunteered to participate in this study. The testing procedures were conducted during a pre-tournament camp over a span of 2 days. During the first day, the athletes were familiarized with the testing procedures, and baseline measurements were obtained. Using a uni-axial force plate system sampling at 1,000 Hz, each athlete performed 3 countermovement vertical jumps (CVJ) without an arm swing before proceeding with their regular training activities. During the second day of the pre-tournament camp, the athletes repeated identical CVJ testing procedures before the start of the first quarter and post-first, second, third, and fourth quarter of a simulated 5-on-5 basketball game. Repeated-measures testing design was used to examine statistically significant differences in various force-time metrics of interest in comparison to the baseline levels (p < 0.05). Besides a trivial decrease in eccentric mean force, the findings of this study revealed no statistically significant changes in any force-time metrics of interest within both eccentric and concentric phases of the CVJ (i.e., mean and peak force and power, jump height, impulse, velocity, and contraction time). Thus, we can conclude that these variables were not sensitive to acute fatigue, suggesting that the neuromuscular performances of professional male basketball players tend to remain unchanged throughout a 5-on-5 simulated game.

Differences in anthropometric and vertical jump force-time characteristics between U16 and U18 female basketball players

Considering the importance of body composition and lower-body strength and power for basketball players' on-court performance, as well as a lack of sports science research focused on female athletes, the purpose of the present investigation was to record the anthropometric and countermovement vertical jump (CMJ) characteristics of top-tier U16 and U18 female basketball players and examine between-group differences in the aforementioned tests. Thirty-two athletes who were a part of the national basketball academy volunteered to participate in the present investigation. Following the body composition assessment conducted via a segmental multifrequency bioimpedance analyzer, athletes performed three CMJs while standing on a force plate system sampling at 1000 Hz. Independent t-test and Mann-Whitney U-test were used to examine between-group differences. The findings reveal significant differences in body composition and lower-body neuromuscular performance characteristics between female basketball players ages 16 and 18. Although no differences were observed in muscle and body fat percentages, the U18 group had significantly greater height, overall body mass (both muscle and fat mass), as well as greater segmental fat-free mass (trunk, both legs and arms), intracellular and extracellular water, and body mass index when compared to their U16 counterparts. On the other hand, the U18 group demonstrated longer eccentric, concentric, and braking phase duration, as well as overall contraction time when compared to the U16 players. In addition, the U18 athletes exhibited higher eccentric mean force and power, concentric impulse, peak power, and mean and peak force.

Relationship between vertical jump performance and playing time and efficiency in professional male basketball players

With innovative force plate technology being available to many sports organizations worldwide that allow for time-efficient in-depth neuromuscular performance assessment, the purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between some of the most commonly analyzed countermovement vertical jump (CVJ) force-time metrics and basketball playing time and efficiency. Twenty-four professional male basketball players volunteered to participate in the present study. The CVJ testing procedures were conducted within the first quarter of the competitive season span. Following a standardized warm-up protocol, each athlete stepped on a dual uni-axial force plate system sampling at 1,000 Hz and performed three maximum-effort CVJs with no arm swing. To minimize the possible influence of fatigue, each jump trial was separated by a 10-15 s rest interval and the average value across three jumps was used for performance analysis purposes. Basketball playing efficiency and average playing time were obtained at the end of the regular season competitive period from the coaching staff records and the official team records. Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients (r) were used to examine the strength of the relationships between force-time metrics and basketball playing time and efficiency, separately for each dependent variable (p < 0.05). A significant positive association was observed between playing efficiency and eccentric mean force and eccentric mean and peak power (r = 0.406-0.552). Similarly, an increase in eccentric mean power was positively correlated with the number of minutes played during the competitive season (r = 0.464). Moreover, the aforementioned relationship remained present even when eccentric mean power was expressed relative to the player's body mass (r = 0.406). Thus, the findings of the present study indicate that, at the professional level of men's basketball competition, CVJ eccentric strength and power have a positive impact on both playing time and efficiency.

Vertical jump neuromuscular performance of professional female handball players-starters vs. non-starters comparison

Given the complex nature of the handball as a game, players are required to possess a distinct set of physical and physiological attributes to attain peak performance. With the countermovement vertical jump (CVJ) being widely implemented as a non-invasive and time-efficient testing modality in sports settings, the purpose of the present study was twofold: (a) to establish a CVJ profile of professional female handball players and (b) to examine differences in force-time metrics between starters and non-starters. Forty-two professional female handball players (e.g., SuperLeague) volunteered to participate in this study. Each athlete performed three maximum-effort CVJs with no arm swing while standing on a uni-axial force plate system sampling at 1,000 Hz. Independent t-tests were used to examine differences in each variable between starters and non-starters. The results revealed that starters attained superior performance within the eccentric phase of the CVJ when compared to non-starters, particularly in terms of eccentric peak velocity (-0.957 ± 0.242 vs. -0.794 ± 0.177 m·s-1), eccentric mean power (320.0 ± 77.7 vs. 267.1 ± 75.2 W), and eccentric peak power (929.0 ± 388.1 vs. 684.4 ± 214.2 W). While not reaching the level of statistical significance, moderate-to-large effect sizes were observed for concentric impulse, peak velocity, and mean and peak force and power, all in favor of players included in the starting lineup (g = 0.439-0.655). Overall, these findings suggest that at the top-tier level of handball competition, the ability to secure a spot in a starting lineup may be possibly influenced by the athlete's eccentric performance capabilities. Thus, the development of lower-body eccentric strength and power may positively impact on-court athlete performance and ultimately help the team secure the desired game outcome.

Differences in countermovement vertical jump force-time metrics between starting and non-starting professional male basketball players

With force plates being widely implemented for neuromuscular performance assessment in sport-specific settings and various force-time metrics being able to differentiate athletes based on their performance capabilities, the purpose of the present study was to examine the differences in countermovement vertical jump (CVJ) characteristics between starting and non-starting professional male basketball players (e.g., ABA League). Twenty-three athletes (height = 199.2 ± 7.7 kg, body mass = 94.2 ± 8.2 kg, age = 23.8 ± 4.9 years) volunteered to participate in the present investigation. Upon completion of a standardized warm-up protocol, each athlete performed three maximal-effort CVJs without an arm swing while standing on a uni-axial force plate system sampling at 1,000 Hz. Independent t-tests were used to examine statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) in each force-time metric between starters (n = 10) and non-starters (n = 13). No significant differences in any of the CVJ force-time metrics of interest were observed between the two groups, during both the eccentric and concentric phases of the movement (i.e., impulse, duration, peak velocity, and mean and peak force and power). Moreover, starters and non-starters demonstrated similar performance on CVJ outcome (e.g., jump height) and strategy metrics (e.g., countermovement depth). Overall, these findings suggest that at the professional level of play, the ability to secure a spot in the starting lineup is not primarily determined by the players' CVJ performance characteristics.