Effect of proposed training program on the change curve of legs power and agility of young basketball players in the West Bank

Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of the training program using free weights and plyometric exercises on the changing curve of legs’ power and agility of the basketball young players, where the study was conducted on a sample of 15 young players. Countermovement jump test (CMJ), Squat Jump test (SJ), Standing Long Jump test (LJ), 30m-sprint test, agility T-test, and 505-agility test were all used. Sayers equation (Sayers etal,1999) was applied on the results of the (CMJ) test to predict the absolute and relative power. The training program was applied for 8 weeks, 3 times a week for a period of 40 minutes each time. All tests were conducted and the data was collected before the start of the program and then every two weeks after the application of the program. Statistical data analysis was conducted by applying Analysis of Variance on repeated measures using Wilks Lambda test and sidak post hoc test. The results showed that the training program affected the curve of change for all variables of the study with statistical significance level (α <0.05). The improvement was(11.7) cm in(CMJ) test,(15.2) cm in (SJ) test,(13.3) cm in (LJ) test, a decrease of (0.49) s in 30m-sprint test, (1.02) s in agility T-test,( 0.3) s in 505-agility test, and an improvement of (712) watts in absolute power, and to (10.2) watts/ kg in relative power. The researcher had several recommendations, the most important of them was to give more attention to the resistance exercises and plyometric exercises in order to develop the legs power and agility in basketball players.