The Acceleration and Deceleration Profiles of U-18 Women's Basketball Players during Competitive Matches

The ability of a player to perform high-intensity actions can be linked to common requirements of team sports, and the ability to accelerate can be an important factor in successfully facing the opponent. The aim of this study was to determine the acceleration and deceleration profiles of U-18 women's basketball players during competitive matches. This study categorized accelerations and decelerations by playing position and quarter. Forty-eight U-18 female basketball players from the same Spanish league participated in this study. Each player was equipped with a WimuPro^TM inertial device. Accelerations/decelerations were recorded. The number of accelerations and decelerations, intensity category, and type were recorded. These variables varied between quarters (first quarter, second quarter, third quarter, and fourth quarter) and playing positions (Guard, Forward and Center). The shorter but more intense accelerations took place in the last quarter, due to the tight results of the matches. Besides, players in the Guard positions performed more accelerations and their intensity was greater than that of other positions. An acceleration profile was established for the quarters of a basketball game, and was shown to depend on the playing position, being different for Guards, Forwards and Centers in U-18 women's basketball players.