Training on Sand or Parquet: Impact of Pre-Season Training on Jumping, Sprinting, and Change of Direction Performance in Professional Basketball Players

Abstract

This study examined the effects of combined change of direction (CoD) and plyometric training on sand in basketball players’ jump, sprint, and CoD performances. In total, twenty-five male professional basketball players (age, 24.1 ± 4.2 years; height, 192.5 ± 8.0 cm; body mass, 92.6 ± 11.6 kg) participated in a pre-season intervention study over seven weeks, where two teams completed an identical speed training protocol, either on sand or on a hard surface, while a third team served as the control. All participants followed their regular pre-season training, while the intervention groups additionally performed the training protocol twice weekly. A repeated-measures ANOVA (rANOVA) showed significant interaction effects on the countermovement jump (F = 14.90, p < 0.001), pivot–step–jump test (F = 8.09, p = 0.002), 10 m sprint time (ST) (F = 4.18, p = 0.050), and 20 m ST (F = 8.49, p = 0.002). Moreover, an rANOVA showed significant interaction effects for the CoD performance regarding total time (F = 5.70, p = 0.010) and average velocity prior to the CoD (F = 8.40, p = 0.002) and after the CoD (F = 3.89, p = 0.036). As such, the findings suggest that sand-based training elicits kinematic adaptations, increased muscle activation, and a shift towards concentric force development that all contribute to enhanced athletic capabilities.