The present study aimed to examine the differences in sleep hygiene, balance, strength, agility, and maximum aerobic speed (MAS) between two groups of female handball players aged under 14 (U14) and under 17 (U17) years. Seventy-two female handball players participated and were divided into two groups according to age: U14 (n = 36, age: 13.44 ± 0.5 years) and U17 (n = 36, age: 15.95 ± 0.76 years). Sleep hygiene was evaluated using three questionnaires: Sleep quality and sleepiness via the Pittsburgh (PSQI) and Epworth (ESS) questionnaires, and the insomnia questionnaire via the measurement of the insomnia severity index (ISI). Physical fitness was evaluated with the stork balance tests with eyes open (OEB) and closed (CEB), the vertical jump (SJ), horizontal jump (SBJ), and five jump (FJT) tests, the agility (t-test) and the maximum aerobic speed (MAS) tests. No significant differences were shown between U14 and U17 players in all PSQI, ISI, and ESS scores, and balance and strength performances. Meanwhile, the U17 players’ performances were significant better in agility quality (p = 0.003 < 0.01) and MAS (p = 0.05) compared to the U14 players. Biological gender specificity during the maturation phase may inhibit the improvement of balance, and strength performances between the age of 13 and 17 years, while agility and MAS performances are more affected by age alterations.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20010330 | DOI Listing |
Biol Sport
January 2025
Deporte y Entrenamiento Research Group, Departamento de Deportes, Facultad de Ciencias de la Actividad Física y del Deporte (INEF), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, C/Martín Fierro 7, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
The purpose of this study was twofold: to analyse physical performance fluctuations throughout match play in women's handball; and to investigate whether physical performance fluctuations are affected by contextual factors (i.e., level of the opponent and playing positions).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Sports Act Living
December 2024
Department of Sport Science, Human Performance Research Centre, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.
Background: The physical and mental demands of handball during training or competition often lead to fatigue which can impair performance. Many attempts have been made to assess the level of fatigue in athletes either by objective (neuromuscular performance) or subjective (questionnaires) measures, however, their interplay over short-, mid-, and long-term periods is currently unknown. Knowledge about both types of assessments is important as load management by coaches is traditionally based on direct adjustments following a training session, adjustments of content structure of training weeks between games, as well as adjustments of load management over the entire competitive season.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Funct Morphol Kinesiol
December 2024
Research Unit for Muscle Physiology and Biomechanics (MoB), Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, University of Southern Denmark, 5230 Odense, Denmark.
: Team handball involves a high number of rapid and forceful muscle actions. Progressive heavy-load resistance training is known to enhance mechanical muscle function; however, its transfer into functional performance in team handball athletes remains largely unknown. The current study aimed to analyze the effects of eight weeks undulating heavy-load resistance training on lower limb mechanical muscle function and sports-specific performance in elite female team handball players.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSports Health
December 2024
Faculty of Rehabilitation Sciences, Universidad Andres Bello, Las Condes, Santiago de Chile, Chile, and Department of Physical Education and Sports, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Spain.
Background: Shoulder pain is one of the most common musculoskeletal complaints in overhead athletes. This study investigated the prevalence of the main risk factors and sex differences related to the development of shoulder pain in a cohort of amateur overhead athletes.
Hypothesis: The external rotation/internal rotation (ER/IR) isometric strength ratio <0.
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