title: Effect of contact and no-contact small-sided games on elite handball players.
abstract: This study aimed to investigate the effect of contact (C-SSG) and no-contact (NC-SSG) handball small-sided games (SSGs) on motion patterns and physiological responses of elite handball players. Twelve male handball players performed 10 C-SSG and 10 NC-SSG while being monitored through the heart rate (HR) and rate of perceived exertion (RPE) as physiological responses and time-motion activities profile using video-match analysis. Both game conditions resulted in similar HR responses (P > 0.05), but the NC-SSG led to a higher RPE scores. The time-motion activity analysis featured NC-SSG with a greater amount of walking (855.6 ± 25.1 vs. 690.6 ± 35.2 m) and backward movements (187.5 ± 12.3 vs. 142.5 ± 8.7 m) combined with fast running (232.3 ± 8.5 vs. 159.7 ± 5.7 m) and sprinting (79.5 ± 4.7 vs. 39.7 ± 3.7 m) activities (P < 0.001). Conversely, C-SSG had a higher percentage of jogging and sideway movements associated with greater frequency of jumping (0.87 ± 0.09 vs. 0.31 ± 0.06 nr) and physical contact (1.82 ± 0.55 vs. 0.25 ± 0.03 nr) events (P < 0.001). No between-regimen differences were found for the number of throws (P = 0.745). In addition, the RPE was significantly correlated with fast running relative distances (r = 0.909, P < 0.001) and sprinting relative distances (r = 0.939, P < 0.001). In conclusion, this investigation showed that both C-SSG and NC-SSG in team handball can effectively represent specifically oriented exercises, according to the sport-task and the performance demands.
authors.affiliation: a Zinman College of Physical Education and Sport Sciences , Wingate Institute , Tel Aviv , Israel.|b Sport Science Department , Maccabi Tel Aviv FC , Tel Aviv , Israel.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0204-0957
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dello Iacono
authors.affiliation: c Department of Movement Sciences and Wellness (DiSMEB) , University "Parthenope" , Naples , Italy.
authors.forename: Domenico
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Martone
authors.affiliation: d São Paulo State Universitário (UNESP), School of Sciences , Department of Physical Educacional , Bauru , SP , Brazil.
authors.forename: Alessandro Moura
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Zagatto
authors.affiliation: a Zinman College of Physical Education and Sport Sciences , Wingate Institute , Tel Aviv , Israel.
authors.forename: Yoav
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Meckel
authors.affiliation: a Zinman College of Physical Education and Sport Sciences , Wingate Institute , Tel Aviv , Israel.
authors.forename: Mahmood
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sindiani
authors.affiliation: e Faculty of Kinesiology , University of Split , Split , Croatia.
authors.forename: Mirjana
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Milic
authors.affiliation: e Faculty of Kinesiology , University of Split , Split , Croatia.|f University eCampus , Novedrate , Italy.
authors.forename: Johnny
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4254-3105
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Padulo
mesh_terms: D054874:Athletic Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D003163:Competitive Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010465:Perception / Q000502:physiology; D064797:Physical Conditioning, Human; D005082:Physical Exertion / Q000502:physiology; D013177:Sports / Q000502:physiology*; D013996:Time and Motion Studies; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Notational analysis; heart rate; metabolic demand; rating perception effort; team sport