Training load and match-play demands in basketball based on competition level: A systematic review

Abstract

Basketball is a court-based team-sport that requires a broad array of demands (physiological, mechanical, technical, tactical) in training and competition which makes it important for practitioners to understand the stress imposed on the basketball player during practice and match-play. Therefore, the main aim of the present systematic review is to investigate the training and match-play demands of basketball in elite, sub-elite, and youth competition. A search of five electronic databases (PubMed, SportDiscus, Web of Science, SCOPUS, and Cochrane) was conducted until December 20 th , 2019. Articles were included if the study: (i) was published in English; (ii) contained internal or external load variables from basketball training and/or competition; and (iii) reported physiological or metabolic demands of competition or practice. Additionally, studies were classified according to the type of study participants into elite (20), sub-elite (9), and youth (6). A total of 35 articles were included in the systematic review. Results indicate that higher-level players seem to be more efficient while moving on-court. When compared to sub-elite and youth, elite players cover less distance at lower average velocities and with lower maximal and average heart rate during competition. However, elite-level players have a greater bandwidth to express higher velocity movements. From the present systematic review, it seems that additional investigation on this topic is warranted before a "clear picture" can be drawn concerning the acceleration and deceleration demands of training and competition. It is necessary to accurately and systematically assess competition demands to provide appropriate training strategies that resemble match-play.

Training and Competition Load in Female Basketball: A Systematic Review

“…Only 14.81% of the studies have analysed training and competition together. This is a problem, since examining the demands imposed on the players, from both training and competition, provide a context to create an optimal training environment [16].…”

“…Therefore, the types of training situations have been evaluated in order to compare them with demands generated by competition and in an attempt to try to match them. However, it has only been found that the demands of training equal or exceed those in matches or conditioning exercises (11,12,13,16). Depending on the type of game situation used (small-sided games or full game), the load supported by the players is different.…”

“…Depending on the type of game situation used (small-sided games or full game), the load supported by the players is different. In women's basketball, kinematic demands, as well as the more intense cardiac values, depend on the type of playing situation and competition is the most demanding condition (12,16). The loads more similar to the competition are given in the 5 vs. 5 training tasks; however, higher values were always recorded in competition.…”

“…Men's basketball is the most investigated; thus, there is an important gap in the available research that does not allow us to conclude whether women's basketball has the same needs. For example, in the last review published, one of the exclusion criteria was that the sample be women [16]. In this context, the purpose of the present study was to provide a systematic review to analyse the state of art on the loads supported by female basketball players, according to competition level, type of load, training or competition, variables analysed and instruments used.…”

Influence of Dynamic Balance on Jumping-Based Asymmetries in Team Sport: A between-Sports Comparison in Basketball and Handball Athletes

“…Team sports are characterized by high-intensity unilateral actions such as sprints, jumps or changes of direction (COD) [ 1 ]. On-court sports such as basketball and handball are two different team sports; however, given their characteristics and rules, many game actions, physiological demands and movement patterns are similar [ 2 , 3 ]. Speed actions, lateral movements, jumps or COD are skills common to both modalities and determinants of their athletic demands [ 2 ].…”