Acute Effects of Verbal Encouragement and Listening to Preferred Music on Maximal Repeated Change-of-Direction Performance in Adolescent Elite Basketball Players—Preliminary Report

Raouf Hammami,Sime Versic,Patrik Drid,Damir Sekulic,Ammar Nebigh,Mohamed Amine Selmi,Tatjana Jezdimirovic,Haithem Rebai

doi:10.3390/app11188625

Abstract

Verbal encouragement (VE) and listening to preferred music (PM) are considered effective ergogenic methods in strength and conditioning, but studies examining the effectiveness of these two methods simultaneously are lacking. This study analyzed the influence of PM and VE on repeated change-of-direction performance (R-CoD) in elite young basketball players. On alternate days, 18 elite young basketball players (17.2 ± 0.61 years; 189.8 ± 7 cm; 71.6 ± 6.7 kg; body fat: 12.3 ± 2.5%) were assessed on R-CoD under three randomized conditions: team-selected PM, VE, and control condition. Total time (TT), peak time (PT), and fatigue index were registered and compared across conditions. Significant differences across conditions were evidenced for TT and PT (F-test = 6.96 and 4.15, p < 0.05; large effect size), with better results in VE and PM than in the control condition and no significant differences between VE and PM. No correlations were evidenced between changes that occurred as a result of VE and those which occurred as a result of PM, indicating individual responsiveness of the players to VE and PM. The results evidenced positive acute effects of VE and PM on R-CoD performance, indicating the usefulness of these training methods in the conditioning of youth basketball players. Future studies should evaluate the applicability of VE and PM in the training of other conditioning capacities and the individual responsiveness of players toward VE and PM.

Highlights

It is well acknowledged that repeated bouts of high-intensity exercise are an important fitness component in basketball [1,2,3]
This study investigated the acute effects of three repeated maximal CoD speed protocols using verbal encouragement (R-CoD-Verbal encouragement (VE)) or preferred music (R-CoD-PM) in comparison to a control protocol (R-CoD-CON) on subsequent repeated change-of-direction performance (R-CoD) performance (TT, peak time (PT), and fatigue index (FI)) in young male elite basketball players
Strength and conditioning coaches working with young basketball players must consider the effectiveness of these training methods in improving the respective capacities and apply these methods in the conditioning of young basketball players

Summary

Introduction

It is well acknowledged that repeated bouts of high-intensity exercise are an important fitness component in basketball [1,2,3]. In this context, the high-intensity, intermittent nature of basketball suggests that players are repeatedly required to perform rapid accelerations and decelerations with sudden changes in direction [4,5]. I.e., verbal encouragement [6,7]—and internally—i.e., pacing strategy [8] In this context, pacing strategies, referring to the pattern in which athletes distribute work and energy throughout an exercise task, can depend on specific factors, including outer stimuli such as music [9,10,11]. Music’s properties in multiple areas are widely acknowledged with benefits that may be less visible, taking into account physical characteristics or abilities, including neuronal plasticity or the better response shown towards multi-sensorial actions [13]

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