(15) DIFFERENCES IN COUNTERMOVEMENT JUMP KINETICS BEFORE AND AFTER A COLLEGIATE BEACH VOLLEYBALL SEASON

Differences in Countermovement Jump Kinetics Before and After a Collegiate Beach Volleyball Season

M.S. Ward¹, J.H. Patel^1,2

¹University of South Carolina, ²Prisma Health, Columbia, SC

Competitive beach volleyball incorporates motion through all planes with an emphasis on vertical jumps for spikes and blocks. Working towards developing strength and conditioning programs that best benefit these athletes is vital in performance on and off the court to prevent injury. The countermovement jump (CMJ) test is widely used with athletes to look at factors of performance, neuromuscular fatigue, and injury prevention. Combined, these metrics allow strength and conditioning professionals to see progress throughout a season, and alter programming based on individualized results.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to retrospectively analyze CMJ data pre and post a competitive season.

Methods: Twenty Division I collegiate beach volleyball student-athletes (20.25 ± 1.3 yrs, 1.75 ± .06 m, 66.12 ± 4.94 kg) performed a series of 3 bilateral CMJs prior to the start of the season and following the end of the season on force plates. Each athlete was instructed to stand still to calibrate and obtain current body weight in kg, then to jump as high as possible with a moment to rest and reset before the next jump. The following metrics were included in this analysis: Jump height (JH), peak power (PP), eccentric braking impulse left and right (EBIL and EBIR), positive takeoff impulse left and right (PTIL and PTIR).  

Results: Paired sample t-tests were completed to determine significant effects when comparing pre and post season data for JH, PP, EBI, and PTI. Mean and standard deviation for these metrics are found in Table 1. There were statistically significant increases in JH (p=.02) and PP (p=.03). On the other hand, there were no statistically significant differences noted in EBI on either left or right sides (p=.21 and p=.07, respectively) or in PTI on either left or right sides (p=.21 and p=.07, respectively).

Conclusions: These results suggest that strength and conditioning coaches should emphasize concentric power movements for collegiate beach volleyball players to increase their jump height, compared to the eccentric movements. EBI and PTI both decreased throughout the season which adds to jump efficiency by reducing time and maximizing force in the stretch-shortening cycle. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Understanding the effects of a season on force production during countermovement jumps is an integral component to monitoring athlete readiness, performance, risk of injury and fatigue. Incorporating CMJs and techniques that maximize jump efficiency while increasing power could provide additional information to strength and conditioning professionals and athletes about their readiness and performance. Limiting eccentric movements and working more in the realm of concentric power, power and jump height should both see an increase for these athletes in the future.

Acknowledgements: None