Influence of time on throwing performance (ball velocity and accuracy) in female
team handball players during a simulation of gaming exercises
1
2
1
2
Zapartidis Ilias , Gouvali Marina , Bayios Ioannis , Boudolos Konstantinos
1
Department of Games and Sports, Faculty of Physical Education and Sports Science, University of Athens, Greece
2
Sports Biomechanics Laboratory, Faculty of Physical Education and Sports Science, University of Athens, Greece
Introduction
Overarm throwing with high velocity and at the same time accurately to the target is essential in team handball.
Therefore, it is crucial for an athlete to have the ability to maintain velocity and accuracy of throwing under the
influence of the load and fatigue deriving from the game circumstances. The purpose of the study was to investigate
if and to what extend throwing performance (i.e. ball velocity and accuracy) is influenced during a simulation of
gaming exercises.
Methods
Six female team handball players (first division of the Greek
National League) volunteered as subjects (age: 20.6±1.8yrs,
stature: 1.67±0.07m, body mass: 63.8±4.2kg). After warming
up they performed 3 throws on the spot from 7m against a
2
specially made wooden target of 1m (IM: Initial Measure).
Afterwards, they followed a 60min circuit (2 halves x 30min)
where they reproduced the most common handball activities
and movement patterns (figure 1). Three throws were
performed every 10min. The second throw/trial was always
selected for analysis. Ball velocity was captured with a motion
analysis system (2 Redlake cameras sampling at 125Hz) and
analysed with the Peak Motus (v8.0). Ball accuracy was
measured as the deviation (mm) from the centre of the target
from videotape data with the Logger Pro3 (v3.2).
Fig. 1: Circuit used to simulate common
Reliability of maximum velocity calculation was tested against
handball gaming exercises
a gun radar system and was found relatively high (r=0.795,
a=0.866, p<0.001). The effect of time on ball velocity and deviation was tested by multivariate analysis of variance
with repeated measures (p<0.05). Correlation between ball velocity and deviation was tested by Pearson coefficient
(p<0.05).
Discussion/Conclusion
Accuracy in throwing proved to be the lowest at the end of each
half. As it requires precise control of joint rotations (Hore et al,
1996), fatigue seems to affect the movement organization
(Forestier et al, 1998). Ball velocity seems to be generally
stable, especially at the second half. At the first half, ball
velocity coincides with the inverted “U” theory (Tomporowski et
al, 1986). Athletes need efficient warming before they maximize
their accuracy performance. Concluding, throwing accuracy is
maximized at the middle of each half of the game, while velocity
is improving at the beginning of the game and is stabilized at
the second half.
References
Forestier N et al (1998). Neuroscience Letters 252: 187-90
Hore J et al (1996). J Neurophysiology
Tomporowski P et al (1986). Psychol. Bull. 99: 338-46
a. 16.0
Velocity (m/s)
15.5
15.0
14.5
14.0
13.5
Time
Interval
b.
1
IM
2
3
1
A
2
3
B
500
400
Deviation (mm)
Results
The main effect of time in ball velocity and accuracy was found
significant (F=3.065, p=0.018). Univariate tests revealed a
significant effect of time only on ball deviation (F=2.687,
p=0.033). Deviation of the ball was relatively low at the IM.
Accuracy was the highest (lowest deviation) at the second
measure of each half and was generally better at the second
half (figure 2). Velocity was very low at the initial measure, was
improved during the first half and stabilized during the second
half. The highest value was noticed at the middle of the first
half. Significant positive correlation between velocity and
deviation was found only in the last measure (r=0.815, p<0.05),
revealing that accuracy is negatively affected by ball velocity.
300
200
100
0
Time
Interval
1
IM
2
A
3
1
2
3
B
Fig. 2: Ball velocity (a) and deviation
(accuracy) (b) (mean and std error) for IM and
the (1-2-3) intervals of the two halves (A-B).
Straight line and shadowed area represent
total mean and std error