The effects of six weeks of in-season specific training on young Swedish division 2 basketball players

Sammanfattning: Abstract Aim: This study aims to evaluate the physiological effect of periodized specific strength training on young Swedish division 2 basketball players.   Method: 13 male basketball players of 14-21 years of age were assessed before and after a six week specific training intervention of squats, plyometrics and repeated shuttle sprints. The test battery was made up of jump and sprint tests. The jump tests included the Squat jump (SJ), Counter movement jump (CMJa), Drop jump (DJ) 20, 40, 60 cm, five jump for distance test (5JT), weighted jump squats (JS) with 50, 100, 200 % of body weight. Run test battery consisted of the T-test, repeat shuttle sprint ability test (RSSA) and the Yo-Yo intermittent recovery test level 1 (YY IR1). Seven of the subjects made up the intervention group (IG) and six made up the control group (CG). Both groups participated in their regular sports practice, additionally the IG performed two weekly sessions incorporating specific training.   Results: The IG improved significantly in SJ, CMJa, DJ 20, T-test, RSSA and the YY IR1 (p < 0,05). The CG results decreased in all test parameters except in JS and T-test although the increases in the test results were not found to be significant.   Conclusions: The conclusion to the study was that an intervention of specific training yields positive results in young basketball players. The results garnered from the intervention verify that this type of training may influence in season progress as well as being a time effective training tool for strength and conditioning specialists.