Contact mats estimate countermovement jump (CMJ) height via flight time, assuming consistent body positioning at take-off and landing. However, foot landing technique, specifically soft versus stiff landings, may alter ankle and joint angles, potentially biasing jump height measurements. This study investigated the effect of externally cued ankle-focused landing styles- specifically ball-of-foot (“soft”) versus heel-first (“stiff”) landings on CMJ height measured by a contact mat in collegiate male team sport athletes. One hundred male team sport athletes (age 21.4 years; height 182.3 cm; weight 78.6 kg) performed CMJs under randomized, counterbalanced soft (ball-of-foot, greater plantar flexion) and stiff (heel-first, minimal plantar flexion) landing conditions. Jump height was measured with the Just Jump contact mat using the Bosco protocol. Participants completed three trials per condition; average jump heights obtained under the soft and stiff landing conditions were compared using paired t-tests, while Pearson correlation and Bland-Altman analysis assessed the relationship and agreement between two landing styles. CMJ height was significantly greater during stiff landings (48.50 ± 5.51 cm) compared to soft landings (45.62 ± 5.80 cm), with a mean difference of 2.88 cm (p = 0.001, Cohen’s d = 1.28). A strong positive correlation (r = 0.92) indicated consistent ranking across conditions, but Bland-Altman analysis revealed systematic bias and moderate variability between landing styles. Landing technique substantially influences CMJ height measurements using a contact mat, with stiff landings producing inflated jump heights. However, this preliminary study did not include biomechanical verification of landing mechanics, which should be considered in future research.These findings highlight the need for standardized, explicit ankle landing instructions during CMJ testing to ensure accuracy and comparability of results in sport performance assessment and monitoring.
This study examines the association between match outcome variables, total goals, goal difference, and the physical demands placed on referees in cerebral palsy (CP) football. Thirteen international referees were monitored via global positioning devices during 42 official matches at the 2022 CP Football World Cup and World Championships. Physical demands, including distances covered at various speeds and acceleration/deceleration metrics, were analyzed. Results revealed moderate to high negative correlations between goal difference and total, explosive, walking, jogging, me- dium-intensity running, high-intensity running and sprinting distances; maximum speed, accelerations, low intensity acceleration in zones 1 and 2, low intensity deceleration in zones 1 and 2, and player load (ρ = -0.30 to -0.54; p <0.001 to 0.04). In contrast, total goals showed only isolated, moderate correlations with medium-intensity running distance and deceleration Z1 (ρ = -0.33; p < 0.03 to 0.04). These findings indicate that match competitiveness, reflected by the goal difference, is a key factor associated with referees’ physical workload in CP football, with closer matches eliciting higher physical demands on the referees. The results highlight the importance of considering match context in referees’ training, recovery management, and match allocations, ensuring they are adequately prepared for the high demands of closely contested matches and can recover effectively during international-level CP football competitions.
Physical performance profiling is essential for monitoring player development and guiding individualized training in women’s football. However, multidimensional evidence from North African female football players remains limited. This study aimed to compare neuromuscular performance, sprint ability, change-of-direction speed, and maximal aerobic speed between Moroccan first- and second-division female football players. A total of 105 Moroccan female football players participated in this cross-sectional study, including 45 first-division and 60 second-division players. Participants completed a fieldbased testing battery including squat jump, countermovement jump, countermovement jump with free arms, drop jump, 10 m, 20 m, and 30 m sprint tests, a 20 m change-of-direction speed test, and the Vameval test. Between-division differences were examined using independent samples t-tests, while Pearson correlations, simple linear regressions, and multiple linear regression models were used to examine individual and combined associations with sprint performance. First-division players demonstrated superior performance in DJ (p < .001, d = 1.05), CMJ (p < .001, d = 0.82), CMJ-FA (p < .001, d = 0.86), 10 m sprint (p = .044, d = 0.40), 20 m sprint (p = .013, d = 0.49), 20 m change-of-direction speed test (p = .002, d = 0.65), and VMA (p < .001, d = 0.86). No significant differences were observed for squat jump or 30 m sprint performance. Countermovement jump was associated with sprint performance across all sprint distances. The 20 m change-of-direction speed test also predicted sprint performance across 10 m, 20 m, and 30 m, explaining 12.5%–21.7% of the variance. Competitive level in Moroccan women’s football appears to be characterized by dynamic jump performance, short-distance acceleration, change-of-direction speed, and aerobic fitness rather than by a single isolated physical quality. Multidimensional field-based testing may help coaches monitor player development and individualize training, with CMJ performance and 20 m change-of-direction speed potentially representing useful field-based indicators of sprint ability and competitive level.
Adequate legal anti-doping knowledge promotes informed decision-making, reduces the risk of uninten- tional rule violations, and supports the integrity and fairness of sport. The aim of this study was to exam- ine (i) whether legal anti-doping knowledge differs between athletes and coaches and (ii) whether such differences are specific to sport type by comparing participants involved in team and individual sports. The participants were 188 athletes and 35 coaches involved into team sports (112 athletes and 18 coach- es) and individual-combat sports (76 athletes and 17 coaches). The variables included legal anti-doping knowledge (LADK; evaluated via previously validated questionnaire tools), age, experience in sport, sport success, and experience in anti-doping testing (as an athlete/coach). Independent t tests revealed better LADK in coaches than in their athletes for the total sample (t test = 4.57, p < 0.001) and in individual/ combat sports (t test = 5.58, p < 0.01). Univariate logistic regression revealed that participants with higher LADK scores were more likely to belong to the coach group than to the athlete group in the total sample (OR = 1.87, 95%CI: 1.42–2.47) and in both subsamples (OR = 1.19, 95%CI: 1.01–1.40; OR = 2.31, 95%CI: 1.55–3.44 for team sports and individual/combat sports, respectively). However, when controlling for co- variates (age, experience in sport, sport success, and experience in antidoping testing), significant associ- ations were detected for the total sample (OR = 1.78; 95%CI: 1.25–2.65) and for combat/individual sports (OR = 2.11; 95%CI: 1.34–3.11). The findings suggest that legal anti-doping literacy is shaped not only by stakeholder role but also by sport-specific socialization and regulatory exposure. From a legal standpoint, these results indicate that being a coach should not automatically be regarded as evidence of adequate regulatory competence.
The objectives of this study were: (i) to analyze the evolution in the number of articles published on handball and the citations received; (ii) to determine whether there is a relationship between scientific production and the number of medals won in the Olympic Games and World Championships; (iii) to identify the research topics with the highest publication rates in handball; and finally, (iv) to identify the most cited articles, as well as the journals and countries that published the most on handball. Articles published between January 1, 1980, and December 31, 2024, were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection database. For each article, the following information was analyzed: authors; journal (year, volume, issue, pages, DOI); institution and country; funding agency; number of citations; and research topic. Absolute values and percentages were presented for articles and citations per year. Regression analyses calculated the coefficients of determination for the relationships between the number of articles and year, citations and year, and medals and publications by country. A total of 1,412 articles were analyzed. Significant relationships were found between year and number of articles (R²=0.6625, p<0.001), year and citations (R²=0.6697, p<0.001), and publications and medals by country (R²=0.1575, p<0.01). The four countries that published the most articles were Spain, Germany, Norway, and Brazil. The main research topics were physical capacities – measurements, injuries and sports medicine, and physiological responses and adaptation (training programs). Five journals accounted for 19% of all publications.
This study aimed to describe the performance on a repeated sprint test and assess internal load in youth soccer players at an altitude of 2650 meters. Sixty regional-level soccer players (age 14.1 +/- 1.7 years) participated in an RSA 7x30m-20"test. The study assessed height, body mass, fat mass, and Peak Height Velocity (PHV). Heart rate (HR) and blood lactate (LA) levels were monitored, and theoretical fatigue was estimated using the Fatigue Index (FI) and percentage decrement score (Sdec%). Descriptive and correlational statistics were employed for data analysis of anthropometry, performance, and internal load. ANOVA was used to compare different indicators across age groups. Across the sample, HR increased from 109 +/- 1 to 181 +/- 9 bpm during the protocol. LA mmol/L levels rose significantly at various points: pre-test vs. fourth repetition (t=18.706, p<0.001), fourth repetition vs. post-test (t=9.115, p<0.001), and pre-test vs. post-test (t=33.919, p<0.001). Performance results indicated that the 12-year-old group performed lower than other groups (F=12.261, p<0.001). The study concludes that RSA performance in the 7x30m-20" at 2650 improves with increasing age. LA and estimated fatigue were slightly higher in older participants; however, substantial inter-individual variability was observed in internal load.
Vertical jump assessments are widely used to evaluate athletic performance. As demand grows for field-ready systems with laboratory-grade accuracy, portable devices like the CC Athletics PlateMate force plates offer affordable and accessible solutions. This study examined the concurrent validity of PlateMate compared to a gold-standard AMTI force plate during squat jump (SJ), countermovement jump (CMJ), and countermovement jump with arm swing (CMJH). Seventeen recreationally active participants performed five trials per jump while force data were recorded simultaneously from both systems. Agreement was evaluated using Bland-Altman plots, RMSE, Pearson's r, ICC, CV%, and SEM. Across conditions, raw force-time signals and most derived metrics showed excellent agreement (r >= 0.95; ICC > 0.93), with RMSE under 50 N and SEM for jump height between 0.2-0.9 cm. PlateMate demonstrated strong feasibility as a practical, low-cost alternative to laboratory force plates for field-based vertical jump testing.
The school setting offers adolescents opportunities to engage in physical activity, potentially promoting the normal development of physical fitness. If so, school closure should impair fitness development. We leveraged data from the COVID-19 pandemic to test this idea. We aimed to examine the effects of school closure during the COVID-19 pandemic on the physical fitness of male adolescents from a private school in Chile. Longitudinal records from Physical Education classes were analyzed. The remote-schooling group included 92 boys (median [25th percentile, 75th percentile] age 12.8 [12.5, 13.1] years) measured before school closure due to the pandemic (March 2019) and after reopening (March 2021). The in-person-schooling group included 94 boys (12.7 [12.5, 13.0] years) who were measured in March 2017 and March 2019 and were normally exposed to the school setting. Outcomes included body mass index, maximum oxygen uptake, running speed, sit-ups, standing long jump, and pull-ups. ANOVA was used to test whether changes in the remote-schooling group were different from those in the in-person-schooling group, i.e., group-by-time interactions. Changes in body mass index and pull-ups did not differ between the remote-schooling group and the in-person-schooling group. Nevertheless, compared with the in-person-schooling group, the remote-schooling group showed attenuated increases in maximum oxygen uptake (by 2.5 mL/kg/min), 50-m and 800-m running speed (by 0.4 and 0.8 m/s, respectively), sit-ups (by 4 repetitions), and standing long jump (by 20 cm) (P-interaction < 0.001). School closure thus impaired the normal development of physical fitness in boys from a high socioeconomic background. This highlights the role of schools as health-promoting settings.
The purpose of the study was to evaluate the blood lactate reactive response to low-intensity resistance training with and without blood flow optimization in the limbs. The sample consisted of 9 female and 16 male participants, all second-year students enrolled in the "Special Physical Training in Security Forces" study program at the Faculty of Sports, University of Presov, who had one year of strength training experience but no prior Blood Flow Optimization (BFO) resistance training experience.The study design consisted of two training weeks, during which blood lactate samples were collected from the fingertips before and after each training session and analyzed using the Biosen C-Line device. Resistance training involved bodyweight resistance exercises, structured into a 40-minute session consisting of 20 minutes of upper-body exercises and 20 minutes of lower-body exercises. During the first week, students exercised with KAATSU AirBands to optimize blood flow in their limbs, using the KAATSU C3 controller with a constant pressure of 250 SKU. During the second week, students performed the same training protocol without the KAATSU AirBands.The results showthat resistance training caused significant changes in blood lactate concentration (p < .05). Among female students, lactate levels increased by 3.43 mmol/L after training without AirBands and by 5.43 mmol/L with AirBands. Among male students, the increase was 5.04 mmol/L without AirBands and 5.06 mmol/L with AirBands. The use of KAATSU AirBands during resistance training had no statistically significant effect on blood lactate concentrations (p > .05) in both male and female students.
This study examined the relationship between passive Achilles tendon (AT) and gastrocnemius (GAS) stiffness, measured by myotonometry, and 40-m sprint performance across acceleration and maximal velocity phases, while accounting for sex differences. Twenty-one student athletes (10 males, 11 females) underwent bilateral passive stiffness assessments of the AT and GAS using MyotonPRO, followed by 40-m sprint testing with 10, 20, 30, and 40 m splits. Reliability was assessed using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and coefficient of variation (CV). Sex differences were examined with independent t-tests. Partial correlations controlling for sex were used to assess associations between passive stiffness and sprint performance. Passive stiffness and sprint variables demonstrated excellent within-session reliability (ICC = 0.95-0.99; CV < 5%). Males showed significantly greater passive GAS stiffness bilaterally (p = 0.006-0.049) and faster sprint times at 30 m (p = 0.040) and 40 m (p < 0.001), while passive AT stiffness did not differ significantly between sexes. Partial correlations indicated that greater passive AT stiffness in both legs was associated with faster sprint times at 10 m (r = -0.46 and -0.58, p = 0.008 and 0.043) and 20 m (r = -0.49 and -0.58, p = 0.008 and 0.029). No associations were observed at 30 m or 40 m, nor between passive GAS stiffness and sprint performance. Myotonometry provides reliable measures of AT and GAS stiffness. Greater passive AT stiffness is associated with faster acceleration sprint performance independent of sex.
The aim of this research was to determine whether there is a difference in the improvement of lung function and reduction in abdominal fat thickness in obese individuals who follow a reduced diet programme and engage in regular organised exercise, compared to those who only follow the diet. This prospective study included 50 obese patients from the Obesity Outpatient Clinic of the Internal Medicine Clinic at Clinical Hospital Center Rijeka. It was conducted from October 2023 to May 2024. All participants followed a reduced diet and were given the option to take part in organised exercise sessions. They were divided into two groups: those who exercised (n=25) and those who did not (n=25). Data on gender, age, weight, height, BMI, waist circumference, abdominal fat thickness, and lung function parameters (FVC, FEV1, VC) were collected at the beginning and end of the intervention. The results showed no statistically significant differences between the two groups in final BMI (p = 0.154), waist circumference (p = 0.382), abdominal fat thickness (p = 0.435), FVC (p = 0.741), FEV1 (p = 0.676), or VC (p = 0.892). However, a statistically significant improvement (p < 0.001) was observed in all measured parameters between the first and second measurement for all participants. There was no confirmed difference between those who exercised and those who did not. Nonetheless, significant improvements were observed in all subjects over time.
Monitoring adolescent growth is important for understanding public health trends, especially in the regions and countries where national reference data are still missing, such as Kosovo. The aim of this study was to establish age-and sex-specific reference values for height, weight, and body mass index (BMI) among school-aged students in the Republic of Kosovo and to compare these values with World Health Organization (WHO) growth standards. The study included 1,950 students (997 boys and 953 girls), aged 12 to 15 years, selected from a nationally representative sample. Standard anthropometric methods were used, and BMI was categorized based on WHO criteria. Descriptive statistics, t-tests, and percentile calculations (P1-P99) were performed. The results showed a linear increase in height, weight, and BMI across all age groups. No significant gender differences were found at ages 12 and 13, but from age 14, boys were significantly taller and heavier. Compared to WHO references, height values were mostly similar, except for slightly lower height in 13-year-old boys, while BMI values were consistently higher in both sexes from ages 12 to 14. A high percentage of students, especially boys, were categorized as overweight or obese. Further research is needed to determine whether the higher BMI reflects increased fat mass or lean body mass.
High-frequency plyometric jump training (PT) may benefit tennis players, but little is known about how its weekly distribution affects performance and acute perceived soreness. The aim was to investigate the effects of PT, conducted at different weekly frequencies, on physical performance and muscle soreness in competitive tennis players. Eighteen competitive tennis players were randomly assigned to PT-1 (1 session/week) (n=9; age 17.0 +/- 2.0 yrs) or PT-3 (3 sessions/week) (n=9; age 19.0 +/- 3.9 yrs), both performing 180 jumps over 8 weeks. Countermovement vertical (CMVJ) and squat jumps (SJ), single-leg horizontal hop (SLHH), 10- and 20-m sprints, and a repeated change-of-direction (COD) test were measured pre- and post-intervention. Muscle soreness was recorded before and immediately after each PT session using a 7-point Likert scale. Both groups improved jump height, hop distance, sprint time, and repeated COD performance (p<0.05). No between-groups differences were noted for CMVJ (p=0.419), SJ (p=0.692), SLHH (p=0.512), 10- and 20-m sprints (p=0.658 and p=0.741), nor repeated COD performance (p=0.191). Distributing the same PT volume over three weekly sessions produces performance gains comparable to a single weekly session. However, the increase in muscle soreness was significantly lower in PT-3 than in PT-1 group. Higher-frequency, lower-dose PT may reduce acute muscle soreness perception while maintaining performance improvements.
The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of one-year dance therapy on psychomotor development in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Fourteen male children (age = 10.29 +/- 1.50 years) participated in this study. They were randomly assigned to an experimental group (n = 7, age = 10.29 +/- 1.50 years), who were engaged in dance therapy training, or a control group (n = 7, age = 10.29 +/- 1.50 years). General motor coordination, Draw-a-person, and the gesture imitation tests were used to assess subjective and objective scores, intelligence quotient (IQ), and the simple gestures of the hands and arms, respectively. Of note, both experimental and control groups were also subdivided according to their ASD degree: mild (n = 4) and moderate (n = 3) ASD. The findings revealed that dance therapy training significantly enhanced general motor coordination, namely objective scores, compared with the control group (p = 0.01). For the imitation of gestures, dance therapy was associated with higher simple gestures of the hands (p = 0.003) and arms (p < 0.001) scores compared to the control group. Conversely, the post-subjective scores of motor coordination and post-IQ values did not significantly differ between the overall experimental and control groups (p = 0.11 and p = 0.56, respectively). Moreover, a greater effect of dance therapy on subjective scores in children with mild ASD compared with those with moderate ASD (p = 0.03) was observed. The practice of dance therapy is an appropriate psychomotor therapy to develop visuospatial and motor execution in children with mild and moderate ASD, with a greater effect in children with mild ASD for subjective scores of motor coordination.
This paper proposes a novel approach for forecasting stroke outcomes in table tennis matches using a transformer-based deep neural network architecture. Table tennis rallies' highly dynamic and fast-paced nature makes trajectory and stroke prediction a particularly challenging. Our model employs dual encoder-decoder structures to extract contextual features from rally sequences and individual players separately, addressing this issue. The model uses attention mechanisms to evaluate the relative importance of stroke techniques and landing positions. Key game-specific attributes, including the ball speed and spin, are incorporated to enhance strategic insight and prediction accuracy. We further introduce a stroke-level event stream representation to convert raw match records into a structured and consistent format, significantly improving interpretability and enabling more efficient analysis. A feature fusion network is employed to integrate rally dynamics and player-specific traits, allowing the model to accurately forecast the type and landing zone of the next stroke. The "Intellectual Tactical System in Competitive Table Tennis" system database provided the table tennis match data collected in this study. This database collects the data of Lin Yun-Ju's matches against male opponents (23 matches, 121 games, 2,225 rallies, totaling 10,517 hits, an average of 4.7 hits per rally). Experimental results show that the proposed architecture significantly improves prediction performance. On the dataset, it achieved top-1 accuracies of 57.2% for stroke type and 42.8% for landing zone (spot), with top-5 accuracies of 98.2% and 91.8%, respectively. Furthermore, we visualize prediction outcomes alongside known stroke data, providing a novel perspective for tactical analysis. This visualization facilitates intuitive understanding for coaches and players, offering a valuable tool for performance evaluation and strategic development in professional table tennis.
Poor sleep quality and insufficient sleep can adversely affect cognitive and physical health, potentially impairing athletic performance and overall well-being. This study investigates sleep quality, duration and daytime sleepiness among collegiate athletes from Bangladesh. A cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study was conducted across 18 universities in Bangladesh, involving 258 athletes from 9 different sports. Participants provided data on demographics, diet, sports activity, academic performance and self-reported health. Sleep quality was assessed using the validated Modified Bangla Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), a 19-item tool measuring seven sleep components with a total score range of 0 to 21, where scores above 5 indicate poor sleep quality. The athletes had an average PSQI score of 5.52 +/- 2.75 reflecting a high prevalence of poor sleep quality, particularly among cricket, football players and male athletics athletes. The average duration of nocturnal sleep on campus was 6.66 +/- 1.04 hours. A significant positive association was found between PSQI scores (beta = 0.140, 95% CI: 0.036 to 0.395, p = 0.019) and the duration of time it takes to fall asleep after dinner (beta = 0.140, 95% CI: 0.080 to 0.872, p = 0.019) with BMI after adjustment for age and sex using linear regression analysis. Gender was significantly associated with napping patterns with weekly nap frequency (p<0.0001) and nap duration (p<0.05). This study emphasizes the prevalence of poor sleep quality among collegiate athletes in Bangladesh, its association with greater BMI and the importance of specific strategies to enhance sleep, sport performance and overall well-being.
Possession games are among the most commonly used training drills by women's association football coaches worldwide. However, they overlook a relevant feature of the game: directionality. This study compares the effects of introducing scoring targets in possession games on the game's dynamics, the players' tactical and physical performance, and their enjoyment and perceived competence. Eighteen female footballers (age: 17.0 +/- 1.4 years; playing experience: 9.8 +/- 2.1 years) from the third team of a Spanish women's first division club played three 3 x 5-minute nine-a-side possession games on a 52 m long x 33 m wide pitch with no, two and four scoring objects. Game dynamics (total effective playing time and duration of ball possessions) from observational analysis, tactical (central tendency and entropy measures of collective and individual pitch-positioning-derived variables and synchronisation) and physical (total distance travelled and distances at different speeds) responses from GPS data, and players'perceptions of enjoyment and competence were assessed. The main findings indicate that the effective playing time and average duration of ball possession did not vary between the training scenarios (p>0.05); the inclusion of four targets led players to occupy less space (p<0.05; Cohen's d>1.12), positioning themselves near the targets, and to play in a more synchronised manner longitudinally (p<0.05; Cohen's d=0.61) than in the non-directional game; and the physical demands and players' perceptions of enjoyment and competence did not differ between the possession games (p>0.05). Placing targets to provide possession games with directionality encourages players to occupy less space and play more centred and synchronised, without impairing game dynamics, external load or their perceptions of enjoyment and competence.
Technological instruments and methods for monitoring, observation, and analysis have become increasingly important for gaining insights into basketball performance. Thus, this literature review aimed to compile information about methods and instruments for observational analysis in Basketball. Previous studies have applied several valid methods for physiological, technical, and tactical analysis in Basketball, specifically: Instrument for evaluating individual technical-tactical performance in Basketball (IAD-BB); Team Sports Assessment Procedure (TSAP); Game Performance Assessment Instrument (GPAI). Also, this type of analysis can be supported by time-motion analysis (TMA) analysis using analysis software with emphasis on Match Vision (software Studio 3.0, International Basketball Federation). In conclusion, the application of observation and analysis instruments in Basketball is valid, and repeatableObservational analysis can be applied in Basketball insights for talent identification; training design and management; technical and tactical performance analysis. Future challenges and research issues will be to compare observation strategies that combine instruments, integrating physical, technical, and tactical factors in Basketball performance analysis.
