2026-04-08T10:45:36.711Z http://ezaposleni.singidunum.ac.rs/rest/sciNaucniRezultati/oai

ezaposleni.singidunum.ac.rs/rest/sciNaucniRezultati/oai:2:11278 2025-03-21T16:13:35Z 2

Vertical jump neuromuscular performance of professional female handball players – Starters vs. non-starters comparison 2024 http://ezaposleni.singidunum.ac.rs/rest/sciNaucniRezultati/oai/record/2/11278 https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/sports-and-active-living/articles/10.3389/fspor.2024.1407601/full Radovic, K. Cabarkapa, D. Aleksic, A. Cabarkapa,D.V. Mirkov, D.M. Knezevic, O.M. Fry, A.C. Given the complex nature of the handball as a game, players are required to possess a distinct set of physical and physiological attributes to attain peak performance. With the countermovement vertical jump (CVJ) being widely implemented as a non-invasive and time-efficient testing modality in sports settings, the purpose of the present study was twofold: (a) to establish a CVJ profile of professional female handball players and (b) to examine differences in force-time metrics between starters and non-starters. Forty-two professional female handball players (e.g., SuperLeague) volunteered to participate in this study. Each athlete performed three maximum-effort CVJs with no arm swing while standing on a uni-axial force plate system sampling at 1,000 Hz. Independent t-tests were used to examine differences in each variable between starters and non-starters. The results revealed that starters attained superior performance within the eccentric phase of the CVJ when compared to non-starters, particularly in terms of eccentric peak velocity (−0.957 ± 0.242 vs. −0.794 ± 0.177 m·s−1), eccentric mean power (320.0 ± 77.7 vs. 267.1 ± 75.2 W), and eccentric peak power (929.0 ± 388.1 vs. 684.4 ± 214.2 W). While not reaching the level of statistical significance, moderate-to-large effect sizes were observed for concentric impulse, peak velocity, and mean and peak force and power, all in favor of players included in the starting lineup (g = 0.439–0.655). Overall, these findings suggest that at the top-tier level of handball competition, the ability to secure a spot in a starting lineup may be possibly influenced by the athlete's eccentric performance capabilities. Thus, the development of lower-body eccentric strength and power may positively impact on-court athlete performance and ultimately help the team secure the desired game outcome. article 10.3389/fspor.2024.1407601 6 1407601 2624-9367 Frontiers in Sports and Active Living