Background & objective: Plyometric training is widely used to improve explosive performance in handball, but evidence remains limited regarding its transfer to sport-specific flying shoot performance in female university athletes. This study examined whether a short-duration progressive plyometric programme could improve flying shoot performance compared with a control condition. Materials & Methods: A quasi-experimental, non-randomized controlled pretest–posttest design was used involving 68 female university handball athletes, with 34 participants in the experimental group and 34 in the control group. The experimental group completed a four-week progressive plyometric programme consisting of 12 sessions incorporating hurdle jumps, box jumps, single-leg hops, and medicine-ball throws, while the control group did not receive the additional plyometric intervention. Flying shoot performance was assessed using a standardized three-attempt accuracy test, with scores summed across attempts. The primary analysis used analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), with posttest score as the dependent variable, group as the fixed factor, and pretest score as the covariate. Assumption checks included Shapiro–Wilk and Levene tests, and non-parametric sensitivity analyses were performed Results: Baseline flying shoot performance was comparable between groups (5.03 ± 1.14 vs 5.12 ± 1.09; p = 0.746). Posttest scores increased to 7.94 ± 1.10 in the experimental group and 5.26 ± 1.02 in the control group. The adjusted between-group difference was 2.753 points (95% CI 2.548–2.959), F(1,65) = 717.125, p < 0.001, partial η² = 0.917. Sensitivity analyses confirmed the direction of the primary finding. Conclusions: A four-week progressive plyometric programme was associated with substantially greater improvement in flying shoot performance among female university handball athletes. These findings extend international evidence by supporting transfer from combined upper- and lower-body plyometric training to a sport-specific technical outcome, although generalization should remain cautious.
Background & objective: Sprint running in physical education requires repeated practice, technical feedback, appropriate task organisation, and adaptation to differences in learner ability. However, evidence is still limited regarding how these components operate together under authentic school conditions. This study aimed to analyse the sprint-running learning process in physical education, focusing on curriculum alignment, instructional implementation, teaching methods and feedback, assessment, learner diversity, and contextual constraints. Materials & Methods: A qualitative multiple-case study was conducted across 20 public junior high schools in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia. Participants comprised 36 physical education teachers and 300 students, supported by 20 school-level document profiles. Data were collected through 140 non-participant observation sessions, semi-structured interviews, document analysis, and field notes. Data were analysed using within-case and cross-case coding following the interactive framework. Descriptive frequencies were calculated for coded teacher and student records and reported as n/N (%). Results: Curriculum alignment was identified in 35/36 teacher records (97.2%), technical feedback in 34/36 (94.4%), and multidomain assessment in 33/36 (91.7%). Student heterogeneity was coded in 29/36 records (80.6%). Facility constraints occurred in 28/36 teacher records (77.8%), while waiting time was reported in 233/300 student records (77.7%). Students also reported useful feedback (83.0%) and preference for games or relay activities (75.0%). Conclusions: Sprint instruction showed a strong curricular and pedagogical foundation but remained constrained by facilities, waiting time, instructional organisation, and learner heterogeneity. Improving practice opportunities through diagnostic differentiation, efficient group organisation, formative feedback, and context-appropriate media may strengthen sprint-learning implementation.
Background & objective: Competitive psychological functioning in elite football is multidimensional, involving cognitive and somatic anxiety, self-confidence, and concentration. Evidence integrating these dimensions among elite female national-team football athletes remains limited, particularly in Southeast Asia. This study aimed to characterize the post-competition psychological profile of Indonesian Women’s National Football Team athletes and explore differences according to playing position. Materials & Methods: A quantitative descriptive observational study involved 22 athletes selected through total sampling. Psychological responses were assessed immediately after competition using the 20-item Athlete Anxiety Questionnaire (AAQ), measuring cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety, self-confidence, and concentration. Descriptive statistics characterized the psychological profile. Positional differences among goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders, and forwards were explored using the Kruskal–Wallis H test, with epsilon-squared (ε²) as the omnibus effect size. Holm-adjusted pairwise comparisons were conducted where appropriate. Results: Cognitive anxiety averaged 16.55 ± 2.79, with 81.8% of athletes classified as moderate, while somatic anxiety averaged 7.68 ± 1.13, also with 81.8% classified as moderate. Self-confidence was relatively high (22.23 ± 2.22), with 81.8% classified as high, whereas concentration averaged 14.14 ± 2.12, with 63.6% classified as moderate. The descriptive anxiety composite averaged 24.23 ± 3.57. No significant positional differences were found for cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety, or the anxiety composite. Significant omnibus differences were observed for self-confidence, H(3) = 8.208, p = .042, ε² = .289, and concentration, H(3) = 10.752, p = .013, ε² = .431; however, no pairwise differences remained significant after Holm adjustment. Conclusions: The athletes demonstrated moderate cognitive and somatic anxiety, high self-confidence, and predominantly moderate concentration following competition. These findings support multidimensional psychological assessment in elite football. Positional findings should be considered exploratory given the small, unequal subgroups and absence of significant adjusted pairwise differences.
Background & objective: Vault performance in women’s artistic gymnastics requires the coordinated organization of high-velocity movement across successive phases, from the approach run to the second flight. Previous biomechanical research has frequently examined individual variables in isolation, whereas phase-specific coordination across the complete vault sequence remains less explored using accessible video-based methods. This study aimed to explore phase-specific kinematic characteristics and inter-phase movement organization among selected female artistic gymnasts competing at Olympic/international and national levels. Materials & Methods: An exploratory multiple-case study design was employed using retrospective video-based biomechanical analysis. Five female gymnasts were analyzed, comprising three Olympic/international-level and two national-level athlete-performance cases. Publicly available competition footage was analyzed frame-by-frame using Kinovea motion-analysis software. Eleven kinematic variables were examined across the run-up, first-flight, repulsion, and second-flight phases, including run-up speed, hip and bilateral knee angles, hand-contact duration, bilateral elbow angles, second-flight elevation, flight duration, and bilateral knee angles. Descriptive statistics were calculated using means, standard deviations, minimums, maximums, and between-group mean differences. Intra-rater measurement reliability was assessed using ICC(2,1), 95% confidence intervals, SEM, MDC95, and Bland–Altman agreement analysis. Results: The national-level cases demonstrated higher mean run-up speed (7.95 ± 2.62 vs. 7.47 ± 2.23 m/s) and second-flight elevation (2.95 ± 0.03 vs. 2.57 ± 0.21 m). Olympic/international cases demonstrated greater first-flight knee extension, particularly in the right knee (175.17 ± 1.85 vs. 154.75 ± 1.20°), and slightly longer second-flight duration (0.89 ± 0.10 vs. 0.84 ± 0.09 s). All repeated kinematic measurements demonstrated excellent intra-rater reliability, with ICC values ranging from 0.997 to 1.000. Conclusions: The findings indicate that vault execution cannot be adequately characterized by a single kinematic variable. The international contribution of this study lies in proposing a phase-integrated video-analysis perspective in which approach velocity, body configuration, table interaction, and second-flight organization are interpreted as interconnected components of vault technique. The findings provide preliminary biomechanical evidence for future standardized and three-dimensional investigations of inter-phase movement coordination.
Background & objective: Character education in elementary schools requires learning environments in which disciplinary values can be practiced through authentic social and behavioural experiences. This study examined how disciplinary values were enacted, reinforced, and contextualized through the compulsory Pagar Nusa Pencak Silat extracurricular program at SD Khadijah Wonorejo, Surabaya, Indonesia. The study also explored additional character-related behaviours and contextual factors supporting the continuity of disciplinary practices. Materials & Methods: A descriptive qualitative design was employed involving 67 participants, comprising 62 elementary-school students, one school principal, two extracurricular teachers, and two Pagar Nusa coaches. Data were collected through participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and documentary evidence. Student records included descriptive ratings on a 1–5 scale covering three disciplinary dimensions and nine additional character-related indicators. Qualitative data were analyzed iteratively through data reduction, coding, categorization, cross-source comparison, and verification following the Miles and Huberman interactive model. Descriptive statistics were used only to summarize the student-level ratings using means, standard deviations, frequencies, and percentages. Results: Three interconnected dimensions of disciplinary practice emerged: time discipline, behavioural discipline, and training discipline. Behavioural discipline showed the highest descriptive rating (M = 4.08, SD = 0.68), followed by training discipline (M = 3.85, SD = 0.70) and time discipline (M = 3.76, SD = 0.67). Ratings of 4–5 were recorded for 80.6%, 67.7%, and 62.9% of students, respectively. Among additional character-related behaviours, tolerance (M = 4.42), social care (M = 4.34), and hard work (M = 4.19) received the highest descriptive ratings. Conclusions: The findings indicate that Pagar Nusa functioned as a culturally embedded pedagogical context in which disciplinary behaviours were practiced through routines, rule adherence, repeated training, social interaction, and structured responsibility. The study contributes an implementation-oriented perspective to international research by illustrating how martial arts-based extracurricular education can support the enactment and reinforcement of discipline through interconnected school, coaching, and family contexts. The findings do not establish causal effects or long-term character internalization.
