The Explosive Power And Speed Abilities Of Lower Extremities Of Young Basketball Players

Abstract

The authors compared selected somatic data and test results in 20 m sprint and countermovement jump (CJM) of 14-year-old Lithuanian players from Sabonis Center (LT, n=143; body height: 173.7 ± 8.99 cm; body mass: 59.30 ± 11.40 kg), and Slovenian (SLO, n=84; body height: 172.8 ± 9.96 cm; body mass: 60.10 ± 12.49 kg) and Slovak national team players (SVK, n=42, body height: 177.5 ± 9.07 cm; body mass: 63.32 ± 11.36 kg). The SVK players were divided into the narrow pick (A-team, n=16) and broader roster (B-team, n=26). Within the SVK groups, significant differences between the A-team and B-team have been found in terms of body height (p<0.05) and body mass measurements (p<0.01), and in the test 20 m sprint (p<0.05). In CMJ results, the differences of the A-team and B-team have not been statistically significant. In the international comparison SVK players were taller than SLO and LT players (p <0.05). In the test 20 m sprint SVK players have achieved significantly better results (LT p <0.05, SLO p <0.01). On the contrary, in CMJ test the results (height of the jump) of SVK players were significantly worse than SLO and LT players (p<0.01).