COMPARISON OF THROWING VELOCITY BETWEEN FIRST AND SECOND OFFENSIVE LINE HANDBALL PLAYERS

摘要

Throwing velocity in handball gains importance as the throwing distance increases, and it is considered a key element in long distance throws to score goals. The main aims of this study were to investigate throwing performance between 1st and 2nd offensive line players from different competition level (i.e. elite, amateur and under-18) and effect of opposition upon maximal ball velocity. 94 handball players (first line: n=49; age 22.5 ± 6.1 years; height 1.85 ± 0.06 m; body mass 87.2 ± 7.5 kg and second line players: n=45; age 23.8 ± 5.3 years; height 1.81 ± 0.04 m; weight 84.1 ± 9.7 kg) were evaluated in running throws from 9 m without and with opposition. The main findings were that second line players (backs and centre backs) throw faster than first line players (wings and pivots) and that throwing performance increased from level to level (U18-amateur-elite). However, differences in maximal ball velocity was much bigger between first and second line players at U18 level than in players at amateur and elite level. In addition, Throwing with opposition always resulted in lower maximal ball velocities than throwing without opposition. It was concluded that the offensive line in handball play was determinant in specific throwing capacity, independently of the competitive level of the players and that opposition has a negative effect upon throwing velocity.Keywords (English)maximal ball velocity, level, elite, running throw