This study (1) investigated the effects of age, maturity status, anthropometrics, and years of training on 11–14-year-old male basketball players’ physical performance and technical skills development, and (2) estimated the contribution of maturity status and training years on players’ physical and technical performances. The sample consisted of 150 participants, average age 13.3 ± 0.7 years, grouped by early, average, and late maturation. Biological maturation, anthropometry, and training data were collected using standard procedures. Measures of physical performance assessed included: aerobic fitness, abdominal muscular strength and endurance, static strength, lower body explosive power, upper body explosive power, speed, and agility and body control. Basketball-specific technical skills were also recorded. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) were used to compare group differences. Results indicated that early maturers were taller, heavier, and had greater strength, power, speed, and agility (p < 0.05). When controlling for age, height, and body mass, early maturers remained stronger, quicker, and more agile (p < 0.05). They were also more skillful in the speed shot shooting test (p < 0.05). Apart from tests of aerobic fitness, abdominal muscular strength and endurance, and lower body explosive power, maturity status was the primary contributor to the variance in the physical performance tests. Years of training was the primary contributor to the variance in the technical skills tests. Whilst physical performance was dependent on maturity status, technical skills were influenced by years of training. Since both biological maturation and years of training play an important role in basketball performance, we recommend that coaches consider the effects of these two confounders when recruiting and selecting youth basketballers.

Variability analysis has been used to understand how competitive constraints shape different behaviours in team sports. In this study we analysed and compared variability of tactical performance indices in players within complex I at two different competitive levels in volleyball. We also examined Results showed differences between elite and national teams for all variables, which were co-adapted to the competitive constraints of set type and set periods. Elite teams exploited system stability in setting conditions and block opposition, but greater unpredictability in zone and tempo of attack. These findings suggest that uncertainty in attacking actions was a key factor that could only be achieved with greater performance stability in other game actions. Data suggested how coaches could help setters develop the capacity to play at faster tempos, diversifying attack zones, especially at critical moments in competition.

This systematic review aimed to examine the main findings concerning to the investigations focused on compare, within Physical Education context, the influence of Sport Education (SE) and Traditional Teaching (TT) on students’ learning outcomes. A literature search was conducted on nine electronic databases (PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science, SCOPUS, Academic Search Ultimate, ERIC, Education Source, APA PsycINFO and APA PsycARTICLES). Inclusion criteria were defined before the selection process. Accordingly, were only included articles that (i) were published in peer-reviewed international journals indexed in Journal Citation Reports or Scientific Journal Rankings; (ii) were available in full-text; (iii) were published in English, Portuguese or Spanish; (iv) were performed within Physical Education context; and (v) provided specifically a comparison between the effects of SE and TT on students’ learning outcomes. Globally, twenty-eight studies met the inclusion criteria. The manuscripts’ methodological quality was assessed through Downs and Black checklist, with all studies displaying moderate quality. Results showed that comparisons among SE and TT tend to analyze team sports activities sampling high-school students via quasi-experimental designs, with more than half of them were published over the past five years. Also, these investigations typically focused on the differences between both models on the development of personal and social skills, as well as its impact on the motor and cognitive domains. In this respect, although the results tend to point out increases in both SE and TT, superior values are achieved when SE is implemented. The analysis of the teaching-learning process using alternative research methods and designs (i.e., experimental studies, qualitative data, longitudinal analysis, action-research and case studies), longer units with appropriate planning, and the report of model’s fidelity so that robust findings can endorse the teachers’ praxis, must be a concern in future studies.

This study analysed and compared the influence of match status and final team rankings on variability of tactical performance behaviours within complex I, in female volleyball teams of different competitive levels. Performance data were analysed from matches (n=8 in each level) in the 2012 Olympic women's volleyball competition (elite level) and the Portuguese women's league (national level) in the 2014-2015 season, with a total of 1496 rallies observed. Variability of setting conditions, attack zone, attack tempo and block opposition was assessed using Shannon entropy measures. Magnitude-based inferences were used to analyse and compare values of selected variables. Results showed that current match status had no influence on tactical performance of elite teams showing that they adapted their collective organization without losing their game patterns. Analysis of final team rankings showed that, at national level, the highest ranked teams revealed greater unpredictability in all tactical performance measures (mainly in attack tempo and block opposition), emphasizing the importance of the setter to differentiate performance of national teams. These findings may guide coaches in designing practice contexts for developing specific game patterns (setting conditions) and in seeking greater variability in other game actions (in attack), regardless of competitive level of performance.

Using an action-research design, this study examined the impact of combining concepts from two contemporary pedagogical approaches, the Constraints-led Approach (CLA) and Step-Game Approach (SGA), on the development of youth volleyballers' tactical knowledge, as expressed in performance, throughout a full competitive season. Method: Fifteen players and one coach participated in this study, which involved three action-research cycles, each including the processes of planning, acting and monitoring, reflecting, and fact-finding. The first author, who had the role of coach-researcher, collected data using a reflexive diary and field notes between September 2017 and June 2018, as well as eight semi-structured focus-group interviews. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis, in which inductive procedures deepened understanding of the development of the participants' tactical knowledge. Results: Findings suggested that combining CLA with SGA improved tactical knowledge in specific ways. Players progressed from a starting point where they were only able to describe game scenarios, and act without tactical criteria or considering contextual game constraints, to a point where their intentions during tactical actions were shaped by their ability to think strategically and guide their attention to recognize and interpret different constraints. Conclusions: Results suggested that the development of players' tactical knowledge benefited from a mutual integration of different, yet complementary, pedagogical approaches. By integrating SGA and CLA it was possible to enhance players' adaptable thinking using learning tasks involving the manipulation of meaningful constraints that afforded variable repetition and the resolution of tactical problems.

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Implementing an action-research design throughout a competitive season in which Constraint-led and Step-Game approaches were combined, this study investigated the impact of increased complexity on synchronisation tendencies in team players, at different set moments. Youth volleyball team players (n=15) were studied across three action-research cycles, with performance in one competitive match analysed per cycle.Team synchronisation tendencies were assessed through the cluster phase method and a 3 (matches) x 2 (set moments) x 2 (field direction) repeated-measures ANOVA was used to calculate differences in cluster amplitude mean values. Results revealed a reduction in team synchrony when tactical complexity of counterattacking play increased (second AR-cycle). Nevertheless, similar levels of team's synchrony emerged between the first and third AR-cycles. Results also revealed the final moments of a set as a significant environmental constraint that shaped synchronisation processes.Evidence suggested that the (re)achievement of functional synchrony was realised through integration of Constraint-led and Step-Game approaches during practices designed to enhance tactical awareness in players. Finally, the insider action-research design provided relevant contextualised insights on the planned development of a team's synchronisation tendencies.

This study characterized developmental sporting activities undertaken by volleyball players between ages of 6 to 12 years. Highly skilled (n = 30) and less skilled (n = 30) players participated in retrospective interviews to identify the nature of their formative enrichment experiences (formal adult-led and informal child-led activities) and types of sports practised (team or individual sports). All participants reported involvement in multiple formal sport activities and informal child-led activities, confirming that they did not specialize early in volleyball. Highly skilled male players reported being involved in more formal, adult-led activities, generally, and more formal team sports. In contrast, highly skilled and less skilled female players participated in equal amounts of formal adult-led and informal child-led activities. Results partially supported the value of an early diversified sport involvement to develop functional behavioural adaptability needed to specialise later in sports like volleyball. Findings highlighted the importance of considering the nature and types of early enriching play and practice activities to better understand possible complementary transfer of training effects during specialization. Data also emphasized relevance of considering sex differences in future analyses of player developmental pathways.