Changes in countermovement jump force-time characteristic in elite male basketball players: A season-long analyses

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 18; no. 9; p. e0286581
• Main Authors: Philipp, Nicolas M, Cabarkapa, Dimitrije, Nijem, Ramsey M, Fry, Andrew C
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: San Francisco Public Library of Science 27.09.2023; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Analysis; Athletes; Basketball; Basketball (College); Basketball players; Biology and Life Sciences; Computer and Information Sciences; Force plates; Human mechanics; Longitudinal studies; Males; Medicine and Health Sciences; Motor task performance; Performance evaluation; Physical Sciences; Physiological aspects; Players; Seasons; Social Sciences; Sport science; Warm up (exercise); United States
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0286581

Basketball is a sport that is characterized by various physical performance parameters and motor abilities such as speed, strength, and endurance, which are all underpinned by an athlete’s efficient use of the stretch-shortening cycle (SSC). A common assessment to measure SSC efficiency is the countermovement jump (CMJ). When performed on a force plate, a plethora of different force-time metrics may be gleaned from the jump task, reflecting neuromuscular performance characteristics. The aim of this study was to investigate how different CMJ force-time characteristics change across different parts of the athletic year, within a sample of elite collegiate male basketball players. Twelve basketball players performed CMJ’s on near-weekly basis, combining for a total of 219 screenings. The span of testing was broken down into four periods: pre-season, non-conference competitive period, conference competitive period, and post-season competitive period. Results suggest that basketball players were able to experience improvements and maintenance of performance with regards to various force-time metrics, transitioning from the pre-season period into respective later phases of the in-season period. A common theme was a significant improvement between the pre-season period and the non-conference period. Various force-time metrics were subject to change, while outcome metrics such as jump height remained unchanged, suggesting that practitioners are encouraged to more closely monitor how different force-time characteristics change over extended periods of time.