The Relationship of Speed and Agility Performance with Speed of Linear Direction Change in Handball Players with Hearing Disabilities: Experimental Research

Abstract

Handball is a type of sport, in which speed and agility are important, and it involves continuous explosive sprints, jumps, direction changes, giving passes, and body contact while doing these. This study aimed to analyze the relationship between body compositions, speed, agility performance, and speed of linear-direction change in handball players with hearing disabilities. Material and Methods: A total of 20 athletes who were members of the Turkish National Male Handball Team with hearing disabilities participated in the study. The participants' average age, height, and body weight were 27.00±1.40 years, 180.30±1.50 cm, and 82.50±2.03 kg, respectively. The body compositions of the athletes were evaluated with a BIA analyzer (Tanita BC-418, Tanita Corporation, Tokyo-Japonya). Linear change of direction (Change of Direction and Acceleration Test), agility (Pro-Agility Test) and 20 m sprint tests were evaluated with a Photocell-connected Smartspeed (Fusion Sport, Australia) mat device. The correlation coefficients of the variables and their statistical differences were calculated with the Pearson correlation test. Results: There was a positive correlation between body fat percentages and the speed of direction change (r=0.490, p<0.05). There is a positive correlation between speed and agility (r=0.674, p<0.01) and also between the speed of linear change of direction (r=0.692, p<0.05). Conclusion: In this study, a positive correlation was found between linear chance of direction and body fat percentage, speed, linear chance of direction and agility in hearing impaired athletes. Studies on change of direction, speed, agility and other physical fitness parameters are extremely limited. To improve the performance of athletes with hearing disabilities, it is also necessary to examine other physical components. We consider that the study will contribute to this field.