The transition from junior to senior in handball: estimating throwing acceleration with a portable device

nderstanding the upper-arm-specific acceleration in handball is critical for both game performance and career transitioning. The transition from junior to senior status is regarded as a watershed moment in an athlete's career. The trajectory of a young athlete's sports career is determined by how well they respond to the demands of this process. The number and speed of throws have a large impact on the upper-arm-specific acceleration. However, due to technological limitations, it is difficult to quantify the impact the number and speed of throws in handball has over career transitioning. The trajectory of a young athlete's sports career is determined by how well they respond to the demands of this process. As a result, the goal of this research was to identify a novel method for estimating throwing speed in handball using a low-cost accelerometer-based device. A total of 70 handball players across 6 teams performed throws while wearing the accelerometer to measure wrist acceleration and throwing speed. The statistical analysis showed consistency and visual differences in data between teams. These detected differences mean that the device can be used to compare the current performance of a youth player to a senior and, if major differences are observed, to modify, correct or alter the training of the player in such a way to ensure a development that would raise the youth player to the values of the senior, therefore allowing for a successful transitioning.