Activity profiles and demands of seasonal and tournament basketball competition

Authors

Markus J. Klusemann
David B. Pyne
Will G. Hopkins
Eric J. Drinkwater, Edith Cowan UniversityFollow

Document Type

Journal Article

Publisher

Human Kinetics

Faculty

Faculty of Health, Engineering and Science

School

School of Exercise and Health Sciences / Centre for Exercise and Sports Science Research

RAS ID

16732

Comments

Accepted author manuscript version reprinted, by permission, from Klusemann, M., Pyne, D., Hopkins, W., & Drinkwater, E. J. (2013). Activity profiles and demands of seasonal and tournament basketball competition. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 8(6), 623-629. © Human Kinetics, Inc. Article available here. © Human Kinetics, Inc.

Abstract

Competition-specific conditioning for tournament basketball games is challenging, as the demands of tournament formats are not well characterized. Purpose: To compare the physical, physiological, and tactical demands of seasonal and tournament basketball competition and determine the pattern of changes within an international tournament. Methods: Eight elite junior male basketball players (age 17.8 ± 0.2 y, height 1.93 ± 0.07 m, mass 85 ± 3 kg; mean ± SD) were monitored in 6 seasonal games played over 4 mo in an Australian second-division national league and in 7 games of an international under-18 tournament played over 8 days. Movement patterns and tactical elements were coded from video and heart rates recorded by telemetry. Results: The frequency of running, sprinting, and shuffling movements in seasonal games was higher than in tournament games by 8–15% (99% confidence limits ± ~8%). Within the tournament, jogging and low- to medium-intensity shuffling decreased by 15–20% (± ~14%) over the 7 games, while running, sprinting, and high-intensity shuffling increased 11–81% (± ~25%). There were unclear differences in mean and peak heart rates. The total number of possessions was higher in seasonal than in tournament games by 8% (± 10%). Conclusions: Coaches should consider a stronger emphasis on strength and power training in their conditioning programs to account for the higher activity of seasonal games. For tournament competition, strategies that build a sufficient aerobic capacity and neuromuscular resilience to maintain high-intensity movements need to be employed. A focus on half-court tactics accounts for the lower number of possessions in tournaments.

DOI

10.1123/ijspp.8.6.623

Access Rights

free_to_read