Small-Sided Game Training Improves Aerobic Capacity and Technical Skills in Basketball Players

Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare the effects of 2 training interventions based on small-sided games (SGG) and high-intensity interval training (HIT) on physical and technical performance of male junior basketball players. A secondary objective was to investigate if these effects were similar in starting and bench players. 18 players participated in a pre-testing session, 6-weeks intervention period and a post-testing session. Pre- and post-sessions involved assessments of aerobic fitness, repeated sprint ability (RSA), defensive and offensive agility, upper and lower body power, shooting and passing skills. Mixed-design analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Bonferroni corrected pairwise comparisons examined the effects of time and type of intervention on physical and technical performances. The main results showed that both interventions resulted in similar improvements in aerobic capacity (+3.4% vs. +4.1%), with greater improvements in bench players compared to starting players (+7.1% vs. +1.1%, P<0.05). However, RSA was unchanged after both interventions. In addition, compared to HIT, SSG resulted in greater improvements in defensive agility (+4.5% vs. -2.7%, P<0.05), shooting skills (+7.4% vs. -2.4%, P<0.05) and upper body power (+7.9% vs. -2.0%, P<0.05). These results suggest that SSG should be prioritized in physical conditioning of junior basketball players during the season. However, when RSA is targeted, more specific training seems necessary.

Effect of different number of players and training regimes on physiological and technical demands of ball-drills in basketball

“…However, the present study analysed only the acute technical responses in relation to the number of players involved, while a possible improvement in pass and shot skills effectiveness could be assessed during a ball-drill training period. In fact, a beneficial effect of SSG training on defensive and shooting skills has been reported in a study focusing on SSG training interventions in basketball (Delextrat & Martinez, 2014), despite those skills being assessed only in time-based skills tests and not in a game-based situation. Therefore, future studies should investigate the effect of SSGs training interventions, verifying their effect in official games or game-based conditioning drills.…”

“…Recently, a number of research papers specifically investigated basketball training in the form of ball-drills (Atli, Koklu, Alemdaroglu, & Unver Kocak, 2013;Castagna, Impellizzeri, Chaouachi, Ben Abdelkrim, & Manzi, 2011;Delextrat & Martinez, 2014). Separately, these researchers reported that ball-drills were useful tools for basketball aerobic training showing how selected variables can influence the ball-drills workload.…”

Physiological Responses to and Athlete and Coach Perceptions of Exertion During Small-Sided Basketball Games

“…Small-sided games (SSGs) are widely used by basketball coaches in an attempt to simultaneously develop technical and tactical skills under high physical loads (Atl, Koklu, Alemdaroglu, & Kocak, 2013;Castagna, Impellizzeri, Chaouachi, Ben Abdelkrim, & Manzi, 2011;Delextrat & Martinez, 2014;Klusemann, Pyne, Foster, & Drinkwater, 2012;McCormick et al, 2012;Sampaio, Abrantes, & Leite, 2009). Previous research suggest that physiological (heart rate, HR) and perceptual (rating of perceived exertion, RPE) demands of SSGs can be manipulated by changing the size of the court and the number of players involved.…”

Propuesta Metodológica del Entrenamiento de la Resistencia en Baloncesto mediante la Modificación de Factores Formales y Estructurales del Juego. [Methodological Proposals for Endurance Training in Basketball by Modifying Structural and Formal Aspects of the Game].

“…La mayoría de estudios fueron llevados a cabo en situaciones de medio campo (15x14m) y todo el campo (28x15m; Atli y col., 2013; Castagna y col., 2011; Conte y col., 2016; Conte y col., 2015; Dehesa y col., 2015; Klusseman y col., 2012; Montgomery y col., 2010), aunque hay algunos estudios (Delextrat y Martinez, 2014;Delextrat y Kraiem, 2013) que también han dividido el campo en dos partes en vertical (28x7.5m; Tabla 1). No obstante, solo se dispone de dos estudios que contrastaron de forma directa la FC y la intensidad del juego en situaciones de oposición en medio y todo el campo (Atli y col., 2013; Klusseman y col., 2012).…”