To investigate the speeches of elite handball coaches about the current strategic-tactical configuration after the rule change that allows the use of the seventh court player in the attack. Methods: Four elite handball coaches were interviewed (semi-structured) with specific questions about the main theme of this study. Coaches' speeches were analyzed using the Qualitative Content Analysis. Results: Three categories of analysis emerged from coaches' discourses: 1) a general overview of the current tactical application of the seventh court player: coaches report that there is no significant change in strategic-tactical structures previously established in handball; 2) main tactical strategies from the use of the rule change: the seventh court player used, mainly, like additional player in exclusion situations to maintain the numerical equality in the offensive phase, and to numerical superiority of the attack in the final minutes by the teams that are losing; and 3) main perspectives of change in the offensive, defensive and transitions systems, in which there is a concern with the restriction of the use of defensive system with open formation. Conclusion: there were no significant strategic changes in handball in attack or defense, and the use of the additional court player was used to maintain the numerical equality in the attack in situations of exclusion and, in some specific cases, aiming at numerical superiority in final and decisive moments of matches.

AimsTo establish normative data for phalangeal quantitative ultrasound (QUS) measures in Brazilian students.MethodsThe sample was composed of 6870 students (3688 females and 3182 males), aged 6 to 17 years. The bone status parameter, Amplitude Dependent Speed of Sound (AD-SoS) was assessed by QUS of the phalanges using DBM Sonic BP (IGEA, Carpi, Italy) equipment. Skin color was obtained by self-evaluation. The LMS method was used to derive smoothed percentiles reference charts for AD-SoS according to sex, age, height and weight and to generate the L, M, and S parameters.ResultsGirls showed higher AD-SoS values than boys in the age groups 7–16 (p<0.001). There were no differences on AD-SoS Z-scores according to skin color. In both sexes, the obese group showed lower values of AD-SoS Z-scores compared with subjects classified as thin or normal weight. Age (r2 = 0.48) and height (r2 = 0.35) were independent predictors of AD-SoS in females and males, respectively.ConclusionAD-SoS values in Brazilian children and adolescents were influenced by sex, age and weight status, but not by skin color. Our normative data could be used for monitoring AD-SoS in children or adolescents aged 6–17 years.

Objective: To perform a systematic review on the practice of physical activity and/or sports in health and its influence on bone geometry of healthy children and adolescents. Data source: The method used as reference was the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). Databases searched for articles published from 2006 to 2016, with “Bone geometry” AND (Sport* OR Exercise* OR “Physical Activity”) as descriptors, were PubMed, BIREME/LILACS and SciELO. Data syntheses: After the selection, 21 articles were included. Most studies stated that practice of physical activity and/or sports was beneficial for bone geometry and bone mineral density. Only two studies presented values of bone parameters for control individuals better than those of swimmers. Physical activities and sports studied were: gymnastics (n=7), rhythmic gymnastics (n=2), tennis (n=1), soccer (n=3), capoeira (n=1), swimming (n=4), cycling (n=0), jumping activities (n=2), studies relating physical activity with isokinetic peak torque (n=1), physical activity measured by questionnaire (n=4), and additional physical education classes (n=2). Conclusions: Among the sports and physical activities found, gymnastics, soccer, and more intense physical activity assessed by questionnaires were mentioned along with better results in bone geometry compared to the absence of physical activity, whereas swimming and jumping exercises did not influence it. Therefore, sports activities with weight bearing and those practiced more frequently and intensively are beneficial for bone geometry.

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Resumo: A competição é um ambiente de aprendizagem cuja participação é um elemento de formação esportiva. Este estudo visa analisar as influências do efeito da idade relativa, em inglês, relative age effect (RAE), sobre as decisões dos treinadores no tocante à oportunidade de participação de atletas do sexo masculino de até 13 anos numa competição de handebol. Foram coletados 254 tempos de participação de 100 atletas em 22 partidas. Agrupou-se os dados em gA para atletas com idade acima do 3º quartil; gB para atletas entre o 3º quartil a mediana; gC para atletas com idades entre a mediana e o 1º quartil e gD para atletas com idades abaixo do 1º quartil. Utilizou-se teste de Lilliefors para verificar a normalidade dos dados e teste de Kruskal-Wallis com post-hoc de Tuckey para verificar diferenças nos tempos de participação. Adotou-se o nível de significância de p < .05. O comportamento das medianas indica que em gA metade dos atletas participaram da partida toda, resultado gradualmente menor para os outros grupos. Além disso o tempo de participação de gA foi estatisticamente superior aos demais grupos e gC foi superior a gD. Os resultados indicam que o RAE influencia as decisões dos treinadores em favor da maior oportunidade de prática competitiva aos atletas com idade relativa superior dentro da categoria e, portanto, reforça a ideia de que atletas com desenvolvimento adiantado possuem maiores oportunidades de aprendizagem no ambiente competitivo.Abstract: Competition is a learning environment, the participation in which is an element of sports training. This study aims to analyze the influences of relative age effect (RAE) on coaches’ decisions about the opportunity of participation of u-13 male athletes in handball competitions. A total of 254 participation lapses were collected from 100 athletes during 22 matches. Data was grouped as: gA athletes aged above the 3th quartile; gB athletes aged between the 3th quartile and median, gC athletes aged between the median and 1st quartile, gD athletes with ages below the 1st quartile. A Kruskal-Wallis test with Tuckey post-hoc was used to determine differences in participation time. The significance level adopted was p < .05. The gA median indicate that 50% of the athletes participated in whole match; that result was gradually lower in the other groups. Also, gA participation time was statistically higher than other groups, and gC participation time was higher than gD. These results indicate that RAE influences coaches’ decisions, as they give more opportunities of competitive practice to athletes with higher relative age. Therefore, our outcomes reinforce the idea that athletes with early development have greater opportunities for learning in a competitive environment.Resumen: La competición es un ambiente de aprendizaje cuya participación es un elemento de formación deportiva. El presente estudio pretende analizar la influencia del efecto de la edad relativa, en inglés relative age effect (RAE), sobre las decisiones de los entrenadores referentes a la oportunidad de participación en partidos de balonmano, de atletas masculinos sub 13. Se recolectaron 254 tiempos de participación de 100 atletas en 22 partidos. Se agruparon los datos en gA los atletas de edades mayores al 3° cuartil; gB para atletas con edades entre el 3°cuartil y la mediana, gC para atletas con edades entre la mediana y el 1º cuartil y gD para atletas con edades por debajo del 1° cuartil. Se utilizó prueba de Lilliefors para comprobar la normalidad de los datos y la prueba de Kruskal-Wallis com post-hoc de Tuckey para verificar las diferencias en el tiempo de participación. La adoptó un nivel de significancia de p < 0,05. El comportamiento de las medianas indica que en gA la mitad de los atletas participaron en todo el partido, resultado que se presentó gradualmente inferior en los demás grupos. Además, el tiempo de participación de gA fue estadísticamente superior a los otros tres grupos y gC fue superior a gD. Los resultados indican que el RAE influye en las decisiones de los entrenadores a favor de una mayor oportunidad de práctica competitiva a los atletas con edad relativa superior dentro de la categoría y, por lo tanto, refuerza la idea de que los atletas con mayor desarrollo tienen mayores oportunidades para el aprendizaje en el entorno competitivo.