Change-of-Direction Ability, Linear Sprint Speed, and Sprint Momentum in Elite Female Athletes: Differences Between Three Different Team Sports

Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare the performance of elite female players from 3 different sports in linear sprint and change-of-direction (COD) tests and examine their efficiency for changing direction through the calculation of the COD deficit (i.e., the difference in velocity between a linear sprint and a COD task of equal distance). One hundred fifty-four elite players (rugby, n 5 40, national team members; soccer, n 5 57 and handball n 5 57, first division players from the respective Brazilian National Championships) were assessed in the 20-m linear sprint and Zigzag COD tests. A one-way analysis of variance with a Tukey post hoc was used to detect between-sport differences. Female rugby sevens players achieved faster sprint velocities than handball (20‐m: 6.21 6 0.24 m·s21 ; 6.07 6 0.27 m·s21 , respectively; p , 0.05) and soccer players (5‐m: 4.71 6 0.26 m·s21 vs. 4.51 6 0.20 m·s21 ; and 20‐m: 6.08 6 0.19 m·s21 ; p , 0.05) and exhibited the greatest COD deficits (2.95 6 0.25 m·s21 ; 2.69 6 0.19 m·s21 ; 2.82 6 0.17 m·s21 , for rugby, handball, and soccer, respectively; p , 0.05). Handball players outperformed all other athletes in the Zigzag test (3.38 6 0.15 m·s21 ; 3.26 6 0.10 m·s21 ; 3.26 6 0.10 m·s21 , for handball, rugby, and soccer, respectively; p , 0.05) but presented the lowest COD deficits (p , 0.05). Furthermore, soccer players displayed inferior sprint momentum when compared with the other sports (p , 0.05). Linear sprint and COD ability differ significantly among elite female athletes from different team sports, with handball players exhibiting a greater COD speed and efficiency to change direction, with respect to their maximum sprint velocity. The between-sport differences observed suggests that specific training and game demands may affect both sprint and COD performance.