Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of maximal aerobic power ([Latin small letter v with dot above]O2peak) level on the ability to repeat sprints (calculated as performance decrement and total sprinting time) in young basketball players. Subjects were 18 junior, well-trained basketball players (age, 16.8 ± 1.2 years; height, 181.3 ± 5.7 cm; body mass, 73 ± 10 kg; [Latin small letter v with dot above]O2peak, 59.6 ± 6.9 ml[middle dot]kg-1[middle dot]min-1). Match analysis and time-motion analysis of competitive basketball games was used to devise a basketball-specific repeated-sprint ability protocol consisting of ten 15-m shuttle run sprints with 30 s of passive recovery. Pre, post, and post plus 3-minute blood lactate concentrations were 2.5 = 0.7, 13.6 ± 3.1, and 14.2 ± 3.5 mmol[middle dot]L-1, respectively. The mean fatigue index (FI) value was 3.4 ± 2.3% (range, 1.1-9.1%). No significant correlations were found between [Latin small letter v with dot above]O2peak and either FI or total sprint time. A negative correlation (r = -0.75, p = 0.01) was found between first-sprint time and FI. The results of this study showed that [Latin small letter v with dot above]O2peak is not a predictor of repeated-sprint ability in young basketball players. The high blood lactate concentrations found at the end of the repeated-sprint ability protocol suggest its use for building lactate tolerance in conditioned basketball players. Verf.-Referat