(41) KINEMATIC DETERMENTS OF CHANGE OF DIRECTION TASKS IN DIVISION 1 MALE BASKETBALL PLAYERS

Recently, the plant foot contact time (PFGCT) has gained more attention in athletes' change of direction (COD) performance. On the other hand, the COD deficit's importance has made researchers interested. However, none of the studies has examined the associations between those two aspects.

Purpose:   This study aimed to determine the relationships between PFGCT and COD deficit.  

Methods:   14 male collegiate basketball players participated in this study (weight: 84.83 ± 12.26 kg, height: 187.07 ± 8.48 cm). The 10m sprint, 45-degree COD, and 180-degree COD tests were performed, and total time (TT), entry velocity (EnV), and exit velocity (ExV) were recorded and calculated. The COD deficits were then calculated by subtracting the 10m sprint time from the TT of the COD tests. PFGCTs were collected through Optojump photoelectric system. Pearson's correlations were used to examine the relationships between PFGCT, COD deficit, EnV, ExV, and TT of both 45-degree COD and 180-degree COD tests. 

Results:  Significant positive relationships were revealed between 180-degree COD PFGCT and 180-degree COD deficit (r =.554, p < 0.05). 180-degree COD TT and 180-degree COD deficit showed strong positive associations (r =.761, p < 0.01). Furthermore, significant positive relationships appeared between 45 COD TT and 45 COD deficit (r =.633, p < 0.05). 


Conclusions:  The results indicate that the PFGCT deals with the COD task only associated with sharper turns. Using COD deficit might be more appropriate regarding the kinematic determents of COD performance under various angles.  
PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Although it might be out of the scoop of this study, PFGCT may imply athletes' braking capacity. The more significant angle of changing direction requires a higher demand for deceleration abilities. Unsurprisingly, the COD deficit should be seen as a better determent factor regarding COD performance. 

Keywords: change of direction deficit, plant foot, 10m sprint, angle of change of direction, ground contact time, game speed
 

 

Acknowledgements:

Conflicts of Interest and Source of

Funding: The authors report no conflicts of interest and no source of funding.