Correlation between linear speed, change of direction speed and dribble deficit in male handball players

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between linear sprint and change of direction (COD) speed using the novel approach of the Dribble Deficit (DD) among professional handball players. This study included 14 male professional handball players (age = 23.1 ± 3.43). Each player performed the following tests: a 10, 20 and 30 meter linear sprint; a zig-zag test; a slalom test and 4 × 5 agility test with and without a ball. A significant correlation was found between the DD at 10 m and the 10 m sprint with the ball (p < 0.05, r = 0.575). Additionally, the results showed that the values of dribble deficit during slalom test were related (p < 0.01) to the 20-m sprint with the ball (r = 0.767), the 30-m sprint with a ball (r = 0.765) and the slalom with a ball (r = 0.938). Regression analyses showed significant influence of the linear sprint at 10 m on DD (p = 0.02, R2 = 0.373), and the zig-zag test without ball on the DD (p = 0.004, R2 = 0.514). The results suggest that the linear sprint and zig-zag test used to evaluate COD movement speed are associated with and influence DD in professional handball players. Further research on DD is necessary in order to determine that DD is not influence by physical performance and how we can use it in the future to calculate the time required for dribbling.