A.G. Belyaev
Velikie Luki State Academy of Physical Culture and Sport, Velikie Luki

Keywords: basketball players, competitive activity, training process.

Introduction. Nowadays there are some difficulties in domestic basketball related with maintaining the national prestige on the world stage. Being a part of the Russian National Team is not compulsory and prestigious for some players of the top sports clubs, and the team head boards and sports fans are not happy with it. Interest, motivation, and popularity of basketball in the country and its regions directly depends on the national team's performance. It is notorious that the leading basketball development centers are based in big cities and regional centers whereas the regions and provincial towns have a secondary position. The Russian Basketball Federation (RBF) implemented a number of projects to enhance prestige and promote amateur and professional basketball in the country. The Student Basketball Association (SBA), established in 2007 at the initiative of Justice Minister Alexander Konovalov, is one of the projects aiming to support and develop amateur basketball.

The purpose of the study was to examine competitive activity of basketball players and promote basketball among athletes.

Materials and methods. The men's basketball team of Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Professional Education “Velikie Luki State Academy of Physical Culture and Sport” (VLSAPCS) was subject to the study. The team has been participating in the SBA championship since its establishment. The subjects aged 17-23 years old having I and II categories were involved in the research. The competitive activity was analyzed on the basis of the recaps of SBA official games starting from 2010. Within the scope of research the main statistical values were examined: field goal percentage, free throw percentage, defensive rebounds, offensive rebounds, fouls, offensive assists, steals, blocked shots and turnovers [1, 2]. The individual performance, and team defensive and offensive strategies were analyzed using the method of detailed post game video analysis using a multimedia projector. At the premises of VLSAPCS Research Institute of Sports Problems and Recreational Physical Education the basketball players had their calf muscles subject to rhythmic magnetic stimulation using the simulator “Magstim 200” to correct their strength abilities.

It was estimated that the optimization of the training process with the necessary adjustments would enable the VLSAPCS men’s basketball team to compete with the teams of major cities and regional centers at the SBA championship.

Research results. Over a period of the research in 4 game seasons of the SBA championship we have analyzed 58 official games and conducted 26 theoretical classes using post game video analysis. The analysis of the research results enabled us to reveal the trends of competitive performance improvement of the men’s basketball team on the basis of the played games in the SBA championship over 4 game seasons (Table 1).

Table 1. Competitive activity statistics of the VLSAPCS men’s basketball team

Notes: FGP – field goal percentage, FTP – free throw percentage, DREB – defensive rebounds, OREB – offensive rebounds, OF – offensive fouls, DF – defensive rebounds, AST – assists, TO – turnovers, STL – steals, BS – blocked shots.

The performance results of the VLSAPCS men’s basketball team at the SBA championship of 2010-2011 season showed low number of two and three point shots, average realization of free throws, and high number of turnovers and defensive fouls. Therefore, there were only two games won out of 14 games of the SBA championship, and as a result the seventh place in the division of the Northwestern Federal District (NWFD). The analysis of the competitive activity of the VLSAPCS men’s basketball team of 2011-2012 season showed average performance of 2 point shots and good performance of free throws, high number of rebounds, offensive fouls, assists, steals and turnovers. The given statistics resulted from the chosen for the season tactics of early offense, quick transition between offense and defense, and focused defense [3, 4]. Final season results showed 10 victories out of 18 games and the fourth place in the division of the Northwestern Federal District (NWFD). The competitive activity statistics of the 2013-2014 season given in Table 1 shows good performance of 2 point shots and free throws, reduced number of turnovers in comparison with the previous seasons. The expected performance improvement resulted from the tactics of the centered offense [5]. The number of offensive rebounds from close range was reduced due to the play at center (height 200±5 cm). The chosen tactics allowed moving the defense closer to the hoop thus clearing the three-point area for ball handlers throws. This statistics is supported by the number of victories – the VLSAPCS men’s basketball team won 11 games out of 13 and became the overall winner of the SBA championship in the division of the Northwestern Federal District.

After graduating from the University the leading basketball players did not take part in the SBA championship of the 2013-2014 season, thus lowering the statistics results. However, the success of the previous season had a positive effect on the motivation of the team members. The euphoria of victory, competitive aspiration to prove the status of the strongest team of the Northwestern Federal District, and the changes in the training process helped to conquer the field in 11 out of 13 games of the 2013-2014 season. The VLSAPCS men’s basketball team has managed to repeat the success of the 2012-2013 season making it in the top ten student teams of the country.

Conclusion. The suggested changes of the training process were instrumental in reaching and in many respects excelling the results of basketball teams from big cities and regional centers. In such a manner, the VLSAPCS men’s basketball team of the University with 1000 students from the city with the population of less than 100 thousand people has managed to reach high results in the SBA championship in 4 game seasons. High performance of the VLSAPCS men’s basketball team spiked the interest in basketball in the region. Unfortunately, the rotation changes in the team caused by graduation of its members from the University and potentially limited choice of new players in a small town have a great impact on the team performance, making it the major problem for basketball coaches working with SBA teams.

References

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​Corresponding author: gorodnichev@vlgafc.ru