| Despite
the acknowledged importance of fatigue on performance in sport, ecologically
sound studies investigating fatigue and its effects on sport-specific
skills are surprisingly rare. The aim of this study was to investigate
the effect of moderate and high intensity total body fatigue on passing
accuracy in expert and novice basketball players. Ten novice basketball
players (age: 23.30 ± 1.05 yrs) and ten expert basketball players
(age: 22.50 ± 0.41 yrs) volunteered to participate in the study.
Both groups performed the modified AAHPERD Basketball Passing Test
under three different testing conditions: rest, moderate intensity
and high intensity total body fatigue. Fatigue intensity was established
using a percentage of the maximal number of squat thrusts performed
by the participant in one minute. ANOVA with repeated measures revealed
a significant (F 2,36 = 5.252, p = 0.01) level of fatigue by level
of skill interaction. On examination of the mean scores it is clear
that following high intensity total body fatigue there is a significant
detriment in the passing performance of both novice and expert basketball
players when compared to their resting scores. Fundamentally however,
the detrimental impact of fatigue on passing performance is not as
steep in the expert players compared to the novice players. The results
suggest that expert or skilled players are better able to cope with
both moderate and high intensity fatigue conditions and maintain a
higher level of performance when compared to novice players. The findings
of this research therefore, suggest the need for trainers and conditioning
coaches in basketball to include moderate, but particularly high intensity
exercise into their skills sessions. This specific training may enable
players at all levels of the game to better cope with the demands
of the game on court and maintain a higher standard of play.
KEY
WORDS: Squat thrusts, ecological validity, anaerobic.
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