Influence of the pivot player on the effectiveness of back players in team-handball

Abstract

In handball there is a consensus among the experts on the importance of the pivot player in the team's tactical effectiveness, not only because of his direct participation in the actions to finish off the attack, but also because of his influence on the actions of the rest of the players. In addition, playing in this specific position, most of the actions are carried out without the ball and take place inside the defensive system. These reasons make his influence on the outcome very difficult to analyze. In order to assess it, the present study has been carried out by collecting, through the observational instrument known as Influence of the pivot in the final situation, data from a sample of 1815 offensive sequences given in the medal matches of five top-level masculine tournaments. Different descriptive and correlational statistical analyzes were applied, among which the use of Chaid's decision tree technique stands out. It is concluded that the presence of the pivot in direct relation with the ball holder when the sequences are finished increases the probability that the back players will shoot, as well as increasing their effectiveness. Consequently, the influence of the pivot proves to be decisive for the game outcome.