La trayectoria deportiva hacia el rendimiento en los deportes colectivos

¿Cómo es la trayectoria seguida por un jugador de fútbol desde que empieza a dar sus primeros pasos con el balón hasta que alcanza el rendimiento que le permita competir en la liga profesional de fútbol?, ¿cómo ocurre en el baloncesto o en el balonmano? Son muchos los factores que influirán sin duda alguna en dicho proceso. Entre dichos factores, en los últimos años, se ha considerado de forma detenida la influencia de la “practica deliberada” en el desarrollo del deportista. Sin embargo, son varios los autores y estudios que explican que no solo influye dicha practica, sino que también es muy importante la influencia del “juego deliberado”, bien en el mismo deporte, bien en otras especialidades deportivas, y que ambos tipos de practica son compatibles formando un continuum en el tiempo. Este artículo tiene como objetivo presentar el estado de la arte en torno a este debate, en el ámbito de los deportes colectivos, analizando si en los deportes colectivos los deportistas se especializan al principio en un solo deporte o bien si practican varias disciplinas deportivas para finalmente dedicarse exclusivamente a un deporte. Los resultados apuntan a que no existe un único camino en el desarrollo del deportista, y que razones de carácter social y cultural son las que realmente condicionan dicho proceso

Using a brief questionnaire to assess the overall perception of basketball spectators

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is twofold. The first aim is to obtain a valid and reliable instrument for the holistic analysis of sporting events, and the second is to test a causal model in which future intentions depend on spectators’ perceptions of quality, satisfaction, and value of these events. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 493 spectators of a professional basketball team in the Spanish ACB league responded to a survey to measure the overall performance of the sporting event service. Exploratory factor analysis and further confirmatory factor analysis using structural equation models provides the methodology for testing the reliability and validity of the instrument. Findings – The scales have adequate reliability and validity indices. The path model explains 35.8 percent of the variance in future intentions, 54.0 percent in perceived value, and 49.5 percent in spectators’ satisfaction. Quality proves a better predictor of perceived value than satisfaction. Both perceived value and satisfaction have a similar weight in predicting spectators’ future intentions. The data indicate that quality has an effect on spectators’ future intentions, by altering their perceptions of value and satisfaction. Research limitations/implications – The research findings are somewhat limited, due to the sample consisting entirely of spectators of a single team in the Spanish ACB league. Practical implications – Managers can use these findings to develop loyalty strategies by creating service value and increasing spectators’ satisfaction through quality improvements. Originality/value – This study contributes to the literature on service quality by providing an overall measure to assess service in professional sporting events in a Latin-American context.

Changes in the mechanical characteristics of the knee musculature in professional female volleyball players

The technical efficiency in volleyball is closely related to the ability to perform displacements or jump (1). Therefore, it is necessary that precise, individualized, and localized evaluation of the muscles frequently involved in volleyball practice be studied (2,3). The aim of this study was to analyze the neuromuscular changes of the knee musculature in professional volleyball players using Tensiomyography (TMG) and jump tests.