<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>In sports biomechanics and motor control, a thorough study of coordination variability is important to understanding how the human movement system is organized. From a more applied sport science perspective, knowledge about performance variability is essential regarding the evaluation of true sport specific effects of any intervention. While there are many reports of intervention studies in team-handball, no description of the amount of normal variability is available. This study investigated variability of two important throwing techniques in team-handball within elite junior players over a 4-month period during a competitive season. To evaluate ball speed variability, the intra-individual coefficient of variation was calculated. The 95<sup>th</sup> percentile of ball speed variability over all players was 7%, which can be used as an effect size estimate in future research. For coordination variability, a qualitative description based on the output of neural networks was used. All participants presented multiple coordination patterns, representing multi-stability on a month-to-month timescale and switched between stable states without the manipulation of any control variable. Some limitations in the methodology and applications of neural networks in the present study and in biomechanics and motor control in general are highlighted. When more researchers adopt these methodologies, a more coherent framework for their application can emerge.</p></abstract>

In sports biomechanics and motor control, a thorough study of coordination variability is important to understanding how the human movement system is organized. From a more applied sport science perspective, knowledge about performance variability is essential regarding the evaluation of true sport specific effects of any intervention. While there are many reports of intervention studies in team-handball, no description of the amount of normal variability is available. This study investigated variability of two important throwing techniques in team-handball within elite junior players over a 4-month period during a competitive season. To evaluate ball speed variability, the intra-individual coefficient of variation was calculated. The 95th percentile of ball speed variability over all players was 7%, which can be used as an effect size estimate in future research. For coordination variability, a qualitative description based on the output of neural networks was used. All participants presented multiple coordination patterns, representing multi-stability on a month-to-month timescale and switched between stable states without the manipulation of any control variable. Some limitations in the methodology and applications of neural networks in the present study and in biomechanics and motor control in general are highlighted. When more researchers adopt these methodologies, a more coherent framework for their application can emerge.

Intra-seasonal Variability of Ball Speed and Coordination of Two Team-Handball Throwing Techniques in Elite Male Adolescent Players.

Vrije Universiteit Brussel, dept. of Biomechanics (Belgium)

Thim Van Der Laan University College Physiotherapy (Switzerland)

Scuola Universitaria Professionale della Svizzera Italiana (Switzerland)

Universiteit Antwerpen, dept. of Electronics and ICT (Belgium)

International Journal of Computer Science in Sport

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

In sports biomechanics and motor control, a thorough study of coordination variability is important to understanding how the human movement system is...

Intra-seasonal Variability of Ball Speed and Coordination of Two Team-Handball Throwing Techniques in Elite Male Adolescent Players.

Published Online: Jul 27, 2016

Page range: 1 - 21

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/ijcss-2016-0001

Keywords
TEAM-HANDBALL, BIOMECHANICS, COORDINATION DYNAMICS, ATTRACTOR DIAGRAM, SELF-ORGANIZING MAPS

© 2016 Serrien, B. et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Intra-seasonal Variability of Ball Speed and Coordination of Two Team-Handball Throwing Techniques in Elite Male Adolescent Players.

Published Online: Jul 27, 2016

Page range: 1 - 21

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/ijcss-2016-0001

KeywordsTEAM-HANDBALL, BIOMECHANICS, COORDINATION DYNAMICS, ATTRACTOR DIAGRAM, SELF-ORGANIZING MAPS

© 2016 Serrien, B. et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
TEAM-HANDBALL, BIOMECHANICS, COORDINATION DYNAMICS, ATTRACTOR DIAGRAM, SELF-ORGANIZING MAPS