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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 uniaxial 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 forcetime 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between external workload exposure and changes in countermovement jump force-time characteristics over the course of an entire basketball season, in a sample of National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I, female, basketball players. Data for 12 players were retrospectively analyzed, with external workload being quantified by means of an exponentially weighted, acute, and chronic workload, as well as an acute:chronic workload ratio derived from an inertial measurement unit--based system worn by athletes for all practices and games during the regular season. Countermovement jumps were performed on a total of 26 test days over the span of the in-season competitive period. To statistically analyze these relationships, and to account for multiple observations of the same athletes in a data set, linear mixed-effects models with athlete identity (ID) intercept as the random effect were used. Study findings suggested that associations between external workload exposure and respective force-time characteristics after controlling for the random effect of athlete ID were dependent on the specific metric or metric subgroup used, as well as the type of workload exposure (e.g., acute vs. chronic). Force-time signatures from the braking phase (e.g., average braking force) seemed to be particularly associated with higher degrees of acute workload exposure, whereas strategy-based metrics such as countermovement depth showed significant associations with chronic workload exposure. Furthermore, model results suggested the importance of analyzing neuromuscular responses to external workload on an individual basis, rather than across an entire team. Findings might help practitioners in their selection process related to metrics of interest in monitoring neuromuscular fatigue and readiness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cabarkapa, DV, Cabarkapa, D, Philipp, NM, and Fry, AC. Competitive season-long changes in countermovement vertical jump force-time metrics in female volleyball players. J Strength Cond Res 38(2): e72-e77, 2024--Although force plates remain one of the most widely used tools for neuromuscular performance assessment in applied sports-specific settings, there is still a lack of scientific literature focused on studying changes in countermovement vertical jump (CVJ) performance in team sports such as volleyball, especially within the female athlete population. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to examine season-long neuromuscular performance changes in volleyball players. Eighteen National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Division-I collegiate female athletes performed 3 maximal-effort CVJs while standing on a uniaxial force plate system sampling at 1,000 Hz at 5 different testing timepoints throughout a competitive season span (;11 weeks). The testing sessions were separated 2-3 weeks apart and performed at the approximately same time of the day (12:00 hours). Repeated-measures analysis of variance revealed that both concentric and eccentric force-time metrics remain relatively unchanged throughout a regular season span (e.g., concentric peak force and power, eccentric impulse and duration). However, the eccentric metrics such as peak and mean power and peak velocity displayed a slight improvement after a brief tapering period purposely implemented before the post-season competition to optimize the athlete's recovery (;15, 18, and 14% increase, respectively). In addition, the outcome metrics such as vertical jump height and reactive strength index-modified did not display notable fluctuations across the competitive season span. These findings can help coaches, sports scientists, and strength and conditioning practitioners to obtain a deeper insight into collegiate female athletes' force-time characteristics that may aid with developing adequate training regimens targeted toward optimizing on-court performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lower-body strength and power are commonly measured performance qualities across a number of sports. In recent years, more attention has been given to relationships, primarily between lower-body strength and linear speed performance. While still limited, evidence is in agreement that lower-body strength positively contributes to linear speed performance. However, what is less well understood is if there comes a point in an athlete's development, at which, further working on increasing maximal strength may not fully compliment additional gains in speed performance. Within this study, authors aimed to provide practitioners with lower-body strength and power thresholds that can discriminate between slow and fast performers, within a group of collegiate American football players. The sample was further divided into a high-body and low-body weight group, and authors hypothesized that by using logistic regression, supplemented with receiver operator curve analyses, optimal cut-off points (i.e., relative lower-body strength thresholds) that are able to significantly discriminate between slow and fast linear speed performers may be identified. Findings indicate that optimal cut-off scores differed between the groups of athletes, as well as the lower body strength and power tests. All models were able to significantly distinguish between slower and faster performers, and area under the curve values ranged from 0.695 to 0.903. Although thresholds will likely vary based on factors such as sex, training age, and sport, findings from this investigation may be used to benchmark athletes and to further individualize training aimed at improving linear speed performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cabarkapa, D, Cabarkapa, DV, Philipp, NM, Knezevic, OM, Mirkov, DM, and Fry, AC. Pre-post practice changes in countermovement vertical jump force-time metrics in professional male basketball players. J Strength Cond Res 37(11): e609-e612, 2023--Despite the countermovement vertical jump (CVJ) being one of the most popular noninvasive and time-efficient methods for monitoring neuromuscular status, there is a lack of scientific literature focused on examining fatigue-induced alterations in performance in elite athletes. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine changes in force-time metrics pre-post practice in professional male basketball players. Seventeen athletes competing in first-tier and second-tier national basketball leagues in Europe participated in this study. While standing on a uniaxial force plate sampling at 1,000 Hz, each athlete completed 3 CVJs pre-practice and post-practice. The practice consisted of individual and team shooting drills, position-specific player development drills, 5-on-0 offensive actions, and 5-on-5 play, including full-court transition (;2 hours). The findings reveal that pre-post practice changes in force-time metrics seemto be phase specific. Despite a trivial increase in eccentric mean force (920.4 6 100.2, 929.4 6 100.0 N), most changes were observed within the concentric phase of the CVJ. The concentric phase duration increased pre-post practice (0.233 6 0.027, 0.242 6 0.033 seconds), whereas concentric impulse (262.9618.8, 258.6621.6 N·s), peak velocity (2.9360.22, 2.8660.22m·s21), mean force (2052.46179.2, 2002.76188.2 N), mean power (3,165.56269.5, 3,030.96326.8W), and peak power (5,523.46607.3, 5,246.6 6663.7W) experienced a significant decrease. Moreover, alongside longer contraction time(0.66360.065, 0.68660.074 seconds), lower vertical jump height (41.0 6 6.8, 38.9 6 6.6 cm) and reactive strength index-modified (0.634 6 0.113, 0.579 6 0.111 m·s21) values were observed post-practice. Overall, these findings may allow practitioners to detect fatigue-induced changes in CVJ forcetime metrics in professional male basketball players that can ultimately improve the acute and longitudinal training-adaptation monitoring process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to examine acute changes in salivary testosterone (T), cortisol (C), and testosterone-to-cortisol ratio (T/C) during a simulated 5-on-5 basketball game. Seven professional male basketball players volunteered to participate in this study. Repeated-measures analysis design was used to examine changes in hormonal concentrations across 8 testing time points: immediately upon arrival to the gymnasium- baseline (BS); post-warm-up (PW); post-first (P1Q), second (P2Q), third (P3Q), and fourth quarter (P4Q); and 30 (P30) and 60 minutes (P60) postgame. The findings of this study indicate that a simulated 5-on-5 basketball game provoked significant changes in salivary T, C, and T/C. When compared to the BS levels (... ± SD [nmol⋅L-1]; 6.72 ± 2.53), salivary C concentration experienced a notable increase P3Q (16.20 ± 7.70) and remained elevated throughout the rest of the sampling periods, with values failing to return to BS levels P60 (11.88 ± 5.58). Conversely, a significant increase in salivary T occurred P1Q (0.76 ± 0.21) when compared to the BS levels (0.58 ± 0.12) and remained elevated up to P30 (0.75 ± 0.20), with values returning to BS levels P60 (0.63 ± 0.14). In addition, despite no significant intragame alterations, T/C exhibited a notable decrease P30 (0.06 ± 0.02) and P60 (0.07 ± 0.04), when compared to BS values (0.10 ± 0.04). Overall, these findings provide additional insight into the physiological stress that basketball players are exposed to during 5-on-5 competitive play and can be used to appropriately adjust and monitor training loads to optimize recovery and on-court basketball performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]