Enhancing Coordination Skills and Upper-Limb Symmetry Through a Mobile-Application-Based Training Program in...

Background: Smartphones are an integral part of young people's everyday lives and offer an interactive digital environment that can be incorporated into sport training to support engagement and skill development. Methods: A total of 40 male basketball players aged 12-14 years participated in this quasi-experimental study. Participants were allocated by existing school teams, with one team assigned to the experimental group (n = 20) and the other to the control group (n = 20). Both groups completed a six-month training period consisting of three sessions per week. Hand-eye coordination and dribbling-related performance were evaluated using two standardized mobile-application-based field tests with both hands during initial and final assessments. The data were analyzed using mixed-design repeated-measures ANOVA, with time as the within-subject factor and group as the between-subject factor. Results: The mixed-design repeated-measures ANOVA showed significant time × group interactions for all assessed outcomes, indicating greater improvements in coordination performance and bilateral upper-limb performance in the experimental group compared with the control group. Conclusions: These results indicate that mobile-application-based training can be a practical and effective approach for developing coordination and supporting bilateral upper-limb performance in youth basketball players.