Letter to the Editor YOUTH BASKETBALL SPECIFIC EFFORT TEST

Basketball requires specific abilities. It compels precise movements and particular muscular actions at different speeds during competition and training. This is due to abrupt and frequent changes in direction as well as decelerations and jumps (Gerodimos et al., 2003). On its own, the practice of basketball does not have any beneficial effect on strength performance (Amiridis et al., 1997). The athletic preparation for a basketball player, therefore, requires more physical conditioning than actually used in competition. In order to better manage the physical condition of the players, evaluation must be an integral part of training. With the goal of using performance evaluation as an almost daily tool, the measurements must be quick and explore the principle physical qualities required for high level practice of this activity. The objective of this study is to evaluate certain physical aspects by a simple protocol so that the physical shape of the athletes is preserved without disturbing the training schedule. A population of 21 basketball players with 10 ‘minims’ (height: 176.9 ± 11.4 cm, weight: 66.7 ± 13.2 kg, body fat percentage: 11.8 ± 6.3 % and age: 13.2 ± 0.7 years) and 11 ‘cadets’ (height: 185.6 ± 5.1 cm, weight: 74.4 ± 11.1 kg, body fat percentage: 12.1 ± 3.8 % and age 16.4 ± 0.7 years) participated in the study. The players were equipped with cardiofrequency meters. The effort was measured for a period of 2 minutes with 15 second intervals of 15 seconds of high jumps and 15 seconds of passive recuperation between the bars of an Optojump. The use of this protocol reveals different indicators, marks of performance. The evolution of these performances and the cardiac adaptation can give consequential information about the state of the athlete’s physical shape. The indicators taken into consideration during the test are the following: