To evaluate the association of the weekly countermovement jump (CMJ) performance with injuries during an entire season of high-performance youth volleyball and basketball players. An observational prospective study. Private practice within a high-performance sports center. Forty-nine youth high-performance volleyball and basketball players were enrolled (female volleyball, n = 12; female basketball, n = 17; male basketball, n = 20). All players were monitored weekly during an entire season by performing a maximal CMJ test 48 hours after every competition. All the sports injuries per 1000 Ae (athlete exposure) were registered. Authors hypothesized that lower CMJ performance would be associated with a higher incidence of injuries during the season. The rate of injuries was 1.61 per 1000 Ae, with ankle (63.33%) being the most frequently affected region. Female basketball players showed a higher injury rate than the rest of the players (2.54 per 1000 Ae, P = 0.045). Binary logistic regression analysis demonstrated that week-to-week reductions in CMJ performance predicted lower limb injuries ( P < 0.001, 95% CI = 0.86-0.95, Nagelkerke R 2 = 11.4%). When considering CMJ during preseason, it did not show any significant association with injuries sustained during the rest of season ( P > 0.05). Reductions in weekly CMJ performance (>8.2%) can help predict lower limb injuries in youth volleyball and basketball players. An isolated CMJ performance evaluation during preseason is not enough to predict injuries during the sports season.

Harry, JR, Agnew, C, and Park, S. Momentum-based load prescription profiling for weighted jumps in men's and women's collegiate basketball players. J Strength Cond Res 40(7): e746-e754, 2026-The jump squat exercise is a useful exercise for stimulating jump-related adaptations in basketball players. However, it is difficult to determine the ideal load an athlete should use during jump squats. The momentum-based approach for jump squat load selection is promising, but different populations present with different momentum profiles across jump squat loads, challenging application of empirical data to basketball players. The purpose of this technical report was to explain the utility and practical implications of momentum-based profiling and provide jump squat momentum profiles for 22 NCAA Division 1 Men's ( n = 12; 20 ± 1 year; 1.93 ± 0.08 m; 91.45 ± 14.00 kg) and Women's ( n = 10; 21 ± 2 years; 1.78 ± 0.08 m; 76.67 ± 10.04 kg) basketball players. Each player performed three jump squat trials on a dual force platform system with a hexagonal barbell using the following loads relative to their estimated 1 repetition maximum (1RM) back squat: 0, 15, 30, 45, and 60%. The data indicated on average that men's and women's players should consider using 45% of the 1RM back squat when performing jump squats, as 58% of the men's players and 83% of the women's players created the most momentum with that load (men's: 245 ± 70.42 kgm·s -1 ; women's: 192 ± 73.13 kgm·s -1 ). The 15% load coincided with the greatest momentum created in three men's players. One men's and one women's player did so with 30%. Eight men's and one women's player did so with the 45% load, whereas one men's and one women's player did so with the 60% loaded jumps. Each of the loads explored here should produce positive jump adaptations because each player created more momentum with those loads compared with their 0% jumps. For practitioners without access to appropriate tracking technologies, jump squats with a load equal to 45% of the 1RM back squat seems to be an ideal starting place for the average men's and women's basketball player. However, the inconsistency across player-specific momentum profiles suggests that each player's ideal training load can only be determined by assessing their own profile instead of the group average results.

Strategic adaptations to deceptive actions in sports: The anticipation-response-inhibition-accuracy trade-off.

Retraction: Physical fitness characteristics and comprehensive physical fitness evaluation model of basketball players based on association rule algorithm

This study develops a machine learning-based decision support system for offensive and defensive tactical analysis in basketball games within an Internet of Things (IoT) environment. By integrating multi-source data collection, spatiotemporal feature encoding, and the Multi-Task Attention Long Short-Term Memory (MT-AttLSTM) model, the system simultaneously addresses offensive-defensive state classification and shooting percentage prediction. The system is evaluated using NBA SportVU tracking data from the 2018-2023 seasons. The results demonstrate that MT-AttLSTM achieves a test set accuracy of 0.897 in offensive-defensive state classification and significantly outperforms traditional baseline models in shooting percentage prediction, as reflected by a lower Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE). These findings highlight the system's high accuracy and strong generalization capability. Moreover, the system facilitates real-time data processing and tactical decision support, offering coaches scientific insights and a technical framework for optimizing game strategies and personalized training.

Background: Morphological characteristics influence physical performance in youth basketball, but their effects may differ by developmental stage. This study compared the predictive role of morphological variables on motor performance between U13 and U15 male players. Methods: Male youth basketball players (N = 89) were assigned to U13 and U15 groups. Morphological variables included height, body mass, body fat percentage, and fat-free mass (FFM). Motor tests evaluated squat jump (SJ), countermovement jump (CMJ), 10 m and 20 m sprints, T-test, Y-test and Stop-and-Go change-of-direction speed and reactive agility (RA). Pearson correlations and multiple linear regressions assessed relationships and predictive effects. Results: In U13 players, several morphological variables correlated with performance: height and FFM were positively related to jumping and sprinting, while body fat was negatively associated with most measures (p < 0.05). Regression models explained substantial variance in sprint (ranging up to AdjR2 = 0.44) and jump performance (ranging up to AdjR2 = 0.32), though individual predictors were not always significant (p > 0.05). In U15 players, fewer associations emerged as body fat remained a significant negative predictor of jumping and agility, and greater body mass was associated with improved sprint performance (p < 0.05). No significant morphological predictors were found for RA in either group (p > 0.05). Conclusions: Morphological traits exert a stronger, multifactorial influence on performance in younger athletes, whereas body composition and particularly body fat are more influential in older adolescents. These results underscore the need to consider the developmental stage when assessing and training male youth basketball players.

This study examined developmental trajectories of vertical jump performance in young female basketball and volleyball players using Bayesian multilevel modeling. Eighty-one Brazilian female athletes (basketball: n = 46; volleyball: n = 35) aged 11-18 years were assessed between 2016-2024 in a mixed longitudinal design. Models examined longitudinal age-related changes in countermovement jump performance, sport-specific differences, and body size effects. Results showed non-linear developmental patterns with accelerated improvement during early-to-mid adolescence followed by deceleration. Sport differences emerged in baseline performance levels rather than timing. Age effects strengthened after adjusting for body size ( β age = 0.25, 68% credible interval [CI]: 0.17, 0.34; β age 2 = -0.18, 68% CI: -0.28, -0.08), indicating neuromuscular adaptations distinct from increases in body size. Body mass negatively associated with jump performance ( β body mass = -0.35, 68% CI: -0.44, -0.25), while stature positively associated ( β s t a t u r e = 0.20, 68% CI: 0.10, 0.29). Volleyball players demonstrated lower baseline performance than basketball players ( β v o l l e y b a l l = -0.35, 68% CI: -0.43, -0.27). Substantial between-athlete variability in baseline performance ( σ i n t e r c e p t = 0.31) suggests limited predictive validity of early assessments. Our findings provide substantial female-specific evidence for developmental patterns in youth team sport athletes and demonstrate the utility of Bayesian methods for handling incomplete longitudinal data.

Decision-making is a critical component of basketball performance. Within the framework of Reinforcement Learning (RL), understanding the environment and task structure can facilitate model-based (MB) behavior. This study tested whether domain-specific contexts promote MB decision strategies by using the two-stage task in a 2 (Group: basketball players vs. novices) × 2 (Condition: abstract symbols vs. basketball tactical diagrams) mixed design. Thirty-five national basketball players and twenty-seven novices completed both conditions. A hierarchical one-trial-back logistic regression estimated intercept, reward, transition, and reward × transition coefficients; two-factor repeated-measures ANOVAs assessed coefficients, reaction times, and subjective evaluations. Compared to novices, basketball players exhibited a more MB decision-making strategy across all condition, accompanied by higher subjective understanding. Novices exhibited higher reward coefficients indicated a more model-free (MF) tendency. For basketball players, MB strategies were associated with longer RTs, yet longer RTs in novices did not necessarily indicate MB strategies use. These findings show that expertise facilitates the integration of outcome feedback with the task's structure, thereby leading to MB decision-making. Incorporating sport-specific displays into training may enhance decision-making performance without relying on explicit structural instruction.

This research examines the coaching expedition and results of Sumedang Regency's student basketball teams in the Regional Student Sports Week (POPWIL) competition, addressing the limited historical selection and the limited global mapping of student-level sports coaching systems. The research framework is based on the importance of POPWIL as a marker of the effectiveness of regional sports coaching and as a bridge to larger competitions. The research aims to reconstruct Sumedang's student basketball coaching model, identify supporting and inhibiting factors, and analyze how the changes that have occurred in an integrated manner have resulted in improved results in POPWIL. Using a descriptive qualitative approach with a problem-solving approach, information was obtained through in-depth simulation interviews, monitoring of coaching areas, and analysis of documents related to Sumedang's participation in POPWIL. The research results indicate that Sumedang's basketball coaching progresses through three main stages: incidental, structured change, and networked coaching, which gradually improve the physical readiness, technical-tactical abilities, and psychological resilience of athletes. Improved coaching management, improved facilities, and strengthened coordination between schools, clubs, Perbasi (Indonesian Association of Indonesian Basketball Associations), and the Youth and Sports Agency (Dispora) contributed significantly to this development. This research concludes that Sumedang's improved results in the 2024 POPWIL (Regional Sports Week) were the result of a comprehensive, analytical, and collaborative coaching approach, not simply the result of one-off interventions. These findings provide effective links for the development of sustainable student sports coaching in other regions with similar characteristics.

Radial shockwave therapy (rSWT) is widely used for musculoskeletal conditions, but its use and efficacy in athletic recovery are relatively unexplored. Multi-day basketball tournaments result in repeated physical stress on players, leading to muscle soreness that can impair recovery. The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility and possible efficacy of rSWT in applied sports. Specifically, to examine the feasible effectiveness of post-match rSWT in reducing muscle soreness and improving perceived recovery, fatigue, and sleep quality in master's basketball players during a tournament. Using a parallel group design, 61 male and female basketball players allocated to intervention or control, either a rSWT treatment group (N.=30) or a control condition (N.=31) during an international tournament. The participants in the rSWT group received treatment within four hours after each game to quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves of both legs. Participants in the control group received no treatment. Daily self-report questionnaires before the tournament (baseline) and on each day of competition for muscle soreness (Likert Scale), perceived recovery (PRS), fatigue (VAS-F), and quality of sleep (Consensus Sleep Diary) were completed. Fifty-six participants completed the study. The rSWT group showed lower muscle soreness than controls (P<0.001), with a 35% reduction compared to control by Day 4. Perceived recovery was improved in the rSWT group compared to the control (P<0.004). No differences were found between groups for fatigue or sleep quality. Post-game rSWT is a feasible and effective approach to reduce muscle soreness and improve perceived recovery during fixture congestion experienced during international competition. Although fatigue and sleep were not affected and the underlying mechanisms remain to be elucidated, these observations support the potential for rSWT in a new application as a tool to facilitate exercise recovery.

Basketball requires repeated high-intensity actions such as sprinting, jumping, and change-of-direction (COD) movements. Therefore, repeated sprint training incorporating COD actions may be an effective strategy to improve basketball-specific physical performance. This study aimed to investigate the effects of a 6-week COD repeated sprint training program on explosive power, sprint performance, and COD performance in U19 basketball players. Twenty male U19 basketball players were randomly assigned to either an experimental group (n = 10) or a control group (n = 10). The experimental group performed COD repeated sprint training three times per week for six weeks in addition to regular basketball training, while the control group continued regular training only. Performance assessments included countermovement jump (CMJ), squat jump (SJ), 30-m sprint, and T-test measures before and after the intervention. The experimental group demonstrated significant within-group improvements in CMJ, SJ, 30-m sprint, and T-test performance following the intervention. Between-group comparisons revealed significant improvements in CMJ and SJ performance in favor of the experimental group, whereas no significant between-group differences were observed for 30-m sprint or COD performance. A 6-week COD repeated sprint training program may be effective for improving lower-limb explosive power in U19 basketball players. However, its effects on sprint and COD performance appear limited when compared with regular basketball training. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT07477379. Registered on 10.03.2026. Retrospectively registered.

AimUnderstanding the physical and physiological demands of female youth basketball is essential for optimizing training and performance monitoring. However, evidence describing match demands in elite U-19 female players, particularly in African contexts, remains limited. Existing profiles are largely derived from male or adult cohorts and may not accurately reflect youth competition. This study aimed to examine the physical and physiological demands of elite North African U-19 female basketball players, considering differences by playing position (guards, forwards, centers) and competitive level (national vs. international).MethodsThirty elite Tunisian U-19 female players (age 18.3 ± 0.2 years, height 1.78 ± 0.05 m, mass 82.9 ± 4.8 kg; 15 national-level, 15 international-level) were monitored during eight playoff games. Video-based time-motion analysis quantified activity frequency and duration across nine movement categories (standing, walking, jogging, running, sprinting, jumping, low/moderate/high-intensity shuffling). Physiological responses included heart rate (HR) monitoring (four intensity zones: <75%, 75–85%, 85–95%, >95% HRmax) and capillary [La] sampling. Two-way ANOVA (position × level) examined main and interaction effects.ResultsInternational-level players performed significantly more high-intensity activities than national-level players (224.0 ± 5.1 vs. 214.1 ± 5.4; p < 0.001, d = 1.95) and spent more time in maximal HR zones (16.1 ± 0.3% vs. 12.1 ± 0.3%; p < 0.001, d = 13.33), indicating greater fatigue resistance. Guards executed more high-intensity shuffling actions than forwards and centers (p < 0.001, η2 = 0.92), whereas centers performed more static high-intensity actions and exhibited higher [La] concentrations (5.22 ± 0.15 vs. 4.93 ± 0.13 and 4.64 ± 0.12 mmol L−1; p < 0.001, η2 = 0.76). High-intensity activity declined from the first to the fourth quarter in both groups (p < 0.001, η2 = 0.94), with a greater reduction in national-level players (37.0% decline) than international players (31.9% decline). Intra-observer reliability was excellent across all movement categories (ICC ≥ 0.91; CV ≤ 4.6%).ConclusionU-19 female basketball imposes distinct position-specific demands (guards: high-intensity lateral movements; centers: static exertions and elevated metabolic load) and competitive-level differences (international players: superior fatigue resistance). These findings provide the first quantitative profile of elite African female youth basketball, establishing reference benchmarks for position-specific conditioning and competitive-level progression assessment.

Insufficient physical activity remains a major public health concern among adult women, highlighting the need to identify structured activity contexts that can contribute meaningfully to recommended weekly physical activity levels. Official masters basketball may represent one such context; however, the amount of physical activity accumulated during female masters basketball match play remains insufficiently quantified. This study quantified the physical activity profile of official tournament match play among female masters basketball athletes and described the associated external physical demands. This observational study included 52 female master basketball athletes aged 37-63 years who competed in a three-day national masters tournament. Match demands were monitored using tri-axial microsensors. Physical activity was classified from processed raw tri-axial acceleration data into intensity zones, and differences in time spent across zones were examined using one-way repeated-measures ANOVA. External load during active play was quantified using total distance, distance across speed zones, accumulated acceleration load (AAL), mechanical load (ML), jump load (JL), and Physio Load. Significant differences were observed across physical-activity intensity zones, with more time accumulated in light physical activity (LPA) and vigorous physical activity (VPA) than in moderate physical activity (MPA), whereas MPA accounted for the least time overall [F (1.98, 101.16) = 47.57, p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.48]. Descriptively, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) amounted to 42.78 min, calculated as the sum of MPA (9.41 ± 3.82 min) and VPA (33.37 ± 14.49 min). During active play, athletes covered 59.19 ± 17.26 m·min-1, with most distance accumulated in the low- and medium-speed zones and limited very-high-speed running; AAL, ML, and JL averaged 8.32 ± 2.31 AU·min-1, 22.35 ± 5.53 AU·min-1, and 31.26 ± 28.35 J·min-1, respectively. Official female masters basketball appears to provide a meaningful intermittent physical-activity stimulus within a single monitored match exposure and may contribute substantially to weekly aerobic physical-activity accumulation in adult women.

Body composition and anthropometric characteristics are considered relevant factors in youth basketball performance, yet evidence in early adolescence remains limited. This study aimed to analyze the influence of these characteristics on competitive performance in U14 male basketball players from Portuguese regional selection teams. Ninety-six athletes were assessed during a national youth tournament using a cross-sectional, descriptive, and correlational design. Body composition variables (weight, height, BMI, muscle mass, fat mass, fat-free mass, bone mass, and total body water) were measured using a Tanita MC-780MA bioelectrical impedance analyzer. Competitive performance was evaluated through the Performance Index Rating (PIR), normalized per minute of play. Spearman's correlations showed moderate positive associations between PIR and height (ρ = 0.296), muscle mass (ρ = 0.280), fat-free mass (ρ = 0.280), bone mass (ρ = 0.274), and total body water (ρ = 0.262). Although multivariable regression analyses did not identify significant individual predictors due to severe multicollinearity, principal component analysis revealed an "overall body size" factor, mainly reflecting lean and bone mass, that significantly predicted PIR (β = 0.046, p < 0.001). Physically more developed players tended to demonstrate higher competitive effectiveness. Monitoring body composition may support youth development programs when combined with functional and technical assessments to inform individualized training and talent identification strategies.

Jumping through hoops: (How) does basketball help develop young female athletes?

A new international cadre of social scientists is revisiting male-to-female violence in sport-related contexts (SRC), a social problem that received much scholarly attention in the 1980s and 1990s. However, the bulk of the current empirical and theoretical work on woman abuse in SRC today focuses on the gendered harms caused by U.S. football and basketball players. Recently, though, due in large part to the significant international media attention given to the Spring 2025 sexual assault trial involving five former members of Canada's 2018 World Junior hockey team, some academics are generating new data strongly suggesting that elite male hockey players are just as, if not more, abusive than men who play in elite basketball and football leagues. The main objective of this article is to review the current state of social scientific knowledge about hockey players' violence against women. Recommendations for further research and theoretical development are also provided.

Due to the ignorance and underestimation of Magnesium(Mg)'s position and the threat of Mg deficiency to athletes, this article collects and summarizes the previously conducted studies that are of reference value aiming to illustrate the effect of Mg on ball-game players' performance. The current process of research is quite abundant and original, particular in Mg's physiologic mechanism within cell and the risk of Mg deficiency among patients and normal people. However, only a small number of researches focus on the relationship between Mg and ball-game players performance on different ball games and the concrete supplementation of Mg in different ball games are unclear. This systematic review summarizes the physiological functions of Mg and the adverse effects of Mg deficiency on the nervous system (stroke), circulatory system (sudden cardiac death), and bone health (osteoporosis). It then focuses on ball-game players, showing that Mg supplementation (240–413 mg/d) can prevent muscle damage in basketball players, enhance neuromuscular performance in volleyball players, and improve strength in handball players. The review also discusses that athletes have higher Mg requirements than the general population, and factors such as dosage, bioavailability, and a faster dosing strategy may influence supplementation effectiveness. This systematic review provides a theoretical basis for nutritional support in this athletic population.

Cabarkapa, D, Cabarkapa, DV, Comfort, P, and Fry, AC. NBA-drafted vs. non-drafted basketball players: A comparative analysis of neuromuscular performance characteristics. J Strength Cond Res 40(6): 689-694, 2026-The purpose of this investigation was to examine differences in lower-body neuromuscular performance characteristics between National Basketball Association (NBA)-drafted and non-drafted professional male basketball players. Eighty-six athletes volunteered to participate in this study, from which 10 were NBA first or second round draft picks, and the remaining 76 were nondrafted athletes playing at various professional basketball leagues across Europe. Each athlete performed 2 countermovement vertical jumps (CMJs) with no arm swing while standing on a dual uniaxial force plate system sampling at 1,000 Hz. Twenty-four force-time metrics were included in the analysis, within both braking (i.e., eccentric) and propulsive (i.e., concentric) phases of the CMJ. Independent-sample t -tests were used to determine statistically significant between-group differences ( p < 0.05), whereas Cohen's d was used to determine difference magnitudes. Overall, the findings indicate that NBA-drafted athletes displayed considerably greater force and power-producing capabilities when compared with their non-drafted counterparts, when expressed in absolute terms, such as mean braking force (1,016.4 ± 79.6 vs. 913.8 ± 93.1 N), peak braking power (2,151.7 ± 576.1 vs. 1,709.9 ± 525.9 W), mean propulsive force (2,183.2 ± 275.7 vs. 1,977.3 ± 215.5 N), and peak propulsive power (5,719.3 ± 699.3 vs. 5,139.9 ± 607.2 W). However, when expressed relative to body mass, no differences were observed in any of the aforementioned metrics, with no difference in jump height (37.3 ± 5.3 vs. 37.2 ± 4.8 cm) and reactive strength index-modified (0.554 ± 0.078 vs. 0.536 ± 0.099). In addition, time-to-takeoff, countermovement depth, and braking and propulsive phase durations were all similar in magnitude between the groups ( d = 0.019-0.148), suggesting that both used similar jump strategies.

Complex training combines high-load resistance exercises with plyometric actions and can be implemented using different exercise sequences. Given that neuromuscular adaptations are specific to the force-velocity characteristics and fatigue conditions under which training stimuli are applied, exercise order may influence the expression of training adaptations. This study compared the effects of ascending (ACT; plyometrics before resistance exercises) and descending (DCT; resistance before plyometrics) complex training methods on athletic performance in national-level male basketball players. Twenty athletes (ACT: n=8; DCT: n=12) completed an 8-week training program performed twice weekly during the off-season. Both protocols included matched training volumes (sets × repetitions × load) and intensities but differed in exercise sequencing: DCT prioritized resistance exercises before plyometrics, while ACT followed the opposite order. Primary outcomes were change of direction (5-10-5, CODAT) and countermovement jumps without and with arm swing (CMJ, CMJ-A; respectively), squat jumps (SJ). Secondary outcomes included drop jumps from 40 and 60 cm (DJ-40, DJ-60), linear sprint times (5 m, 10 m), and force output during isometric mid-thigh pull (IMTP). After adjustment for baseline performance, no consistent between-group differences were observed for jumping performance during CMJ, CMJ-A, SJ, or DJ, nor for sprinting or change-of-direction performance (all p ≥ 0.05). A significant between-group effect favoring DCT was observed only for CMJ-A peak velocity (p = 0.015) and early-phase isometric force production at 100 ms during the IMTP (p = 0.011). These findings indicate that both ACT and DCT can be effectively implemented during the off-season in national-level basketball players. Exercise sequencing appears to act as a fine-tuning variable that may influence specific neuromuscular qualities, rather than producing broad performance advantages across athletic tasks.

Progressive tendon-loading eccentric exercise therapy in athletes with patellar tendinopathy improves postural control, quadriceps strength, and pain: A randomized clinical trial.