The aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of a specific 12-week HIIT methodology for improving aerobic and anaerobic performance in a group of young basketball players. Twenty-two (n=22) players participated in the study. (age 19.1 ± 1.1; height: 185 ± 5.2; body mass: 70.9 ± 6.0). In the pre-season (4 weeks, from July to August), the players performed Pizzolato's 7-minutes test, to evaluate aerobic and anaerobic performance before the start of the season. After 12 weeks of training (in-season), using the Tabata training methodology, the same players repeated Pizzolato's 7-minutes test to look for improvements in performance and evaluate if the distance covered during the test is better, equal, or worse compared to the pre-season. After 12 weeks of training, in the experimental group we found a significant increase in the values of VO 2 max (p = 0.02) and SAN (p = 0.01) and a significant decrease in the values of HRmax (p = 0.00), such as to be able to attribute them, with a margin of error of 5%, to the benefits produced by a twelve-week mesocycle based on HIIT principles. No differences between groups were found in the control group. The effectiveness of specific High Intensity Interval Training has been revealed in improving aerobic performance in young basketball players.

This study had as its main objective to investigate the difference in training programs carried out in athletes with disabilities practicing 7-a-side football before and after the Covid-19 pandemic. The two sporting seasons taken into consideration concerned the 2018/19 season and the 2020/2021 season. The study was conducted on ten disabled athletes belonging to a football school in Campania, Italy. The comparison between the two sports seasons is given in numerical terms by the statistical comparison of the results of the adapted motor tests concerning aerobic capacity and conditional capacities, which were administered to the athletes at the beginning and at the end of both sports seasons. From this comparison, in both seasons, minor improvements in the 2020/2021 season were found in athletes, between the entry and exit tests. It can be said that the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, concerning social distancing and the interruption of sports activities, have played a primary role in the decline in the improvement of athletes with disabilities for 7-a-side football in the 2020/2021 sports season.

The work presented is important because it allows us to demonstrate the actual benefits, in this case concerning the physical sphere, of motor and sports practice on athletes with various disabilities. The study was conducted on 10 athletes belonging to a football school, each of whom has various types of diagnosed disabilities such as down syndrome, autism spectrum disorder, intellectual-cognitive disability, or motor disability, characterized by low functionality. Considering the problem, which is to adapt the performance level of the athletes to the performance model required for the "Fourth Category" 7-a-side football championship for disabled people, obtained by comparing it with the same, however, referred to 11-a-side football, they underwent an 8-week mesocycle of training, with the administration of motor evaluation tests both at the beginning and at the end of this period. The test results will then be compared with the statistical t test technique for dependent samples. From this comparison, significant differences emerged about endurance and sprint tests, and insignificant differences for the standing long jump. The conclusion therefore leads us to state that, through training, it is possible to increase the parameters of the performance level of disabled athletes to make them conform to the performance model and physiological commitment that the Fourth Category Championship requires.