PhD, Professor V.P. Usenko¹
PhD, Professor V.E. Mogilev¹
PhD N.Y. Palchikova¹
Master of Sports of the USSR in bandy V.A. Shestakov^1
1Far Eastern State Academy of Physical Culture, Khabarovsk

Keywords: physical fitness, motor activity, bandy, junior athletes.

Background. The traditional junior bandy training and education process needs to be improved as proved by a few studies. The improvements should be based on detailed functionality tests, physical development and physical fitness rating tests both in an annual training cycle and at every stage of the long-term training process. The overall and special physical fitness rating tests and analyses comprise one of the key elements of an education and training system as demonstrated by a few sport-specific study reports [1, 2, 3]. It should be noted, however, that we could not find any fundamental studies of the junior bandy players’ physical training process and progress.

Our prior studies have identified some aspects of the junior (13-14 year-old) bandy players’ functionality and motor abilities and demonstrated benefits of the education and training system individualisation depending on the playing position and individual qualities and abilities of each player. To contribute to further improvement of the sport education and training system and design an efficient training technology, we undertook further detailed study of the junior bandy players’ psychophysical statuses expecting that the study data may be beneficial for the training process design on a more effective basis. Therefore, we believe this study may be valuable enough for the initiatives to further advance the junior bandy players’ training systems applicable at least in the specific climatic and geographic conditions of the Russian Far East.

Objective of the study was to profile the junior bandy players’ physical progress.

Methods and structure of the study. To analyse the potential resources of the junior bandy players, we studied variations of their overall and special physical fitness rates. Subject to the study were the junior bandy players (n=24, born in 2000-01) from the main string of the Yerofey-2001 Bandy Team. The subjects’ overall physical fitness (OPF) was rated by the following tests: 30/60m sprint tests; 6x9m shuttle sprint test; 1000m race test; and pull-ups on a horizontal bar test. The subjects’ special physical fitness was rated by the following skating tests: 30/60m skating sprint tests; 6x9m shuttle skating sprint test; Figure-of-eight back forward run test; Figure-of-eight 10x220m circle run test; and 5-pole dribbling with a shot on goal test. The subjects’ special physical fitness was tested in the standard indoor conditions on the artificial ice rink of the Yerofey Sport Palace in the city of Khabarovsk.

The special tests gave the means to profile the subjects’ progress with specific physical, technical, tactical and other aspects of the physical fitness being rated at every stage of the annual training cycle of the junior bandy players of the Khabarovsk Krai picked team. We believe that an efficient junior bandy players’ training system should be designed with due consideration for the competitive process specifics and actual game performance requirements including playing positions and individual traits of junior bandy players; with their individual progress paths with a special emphasis on the individual specific physical fitness aspects being developed and employed during competitions.

The guidelines of the junior bandy players’ training process were applied as a basis for the players’ physical skills excelling technology in the long-term training system. The new training model we developed implies the training loads being customised to attain the desired effects of the physical practices with special elements for different playing positions in training micro-cycles and special training goals to develop the playing-position-specific physical qualities in every player. The new training model makes a special emphasis on the special physical qualities developed by specific training loads increased by 10-15%.

Study results and discussion. Every team member was tested to obtain the overall and special physical fitness rates. The repeat combined tests of the subject qualities were performed six months of training. The tests found virtually no progress in the speed qualities rated by the 30/60m sprint tests. The pull-ups tests showed even some regress that may be indicative of some deficiencies of the strength developing component of the body conditioning training period. The tests found a significant progress in the 1000m race test (7% growth) and 3х10m shuttle sprint test (10% growth); and a minor progress in the standing long jump test (4.5% growth).

As for the special physical fitness (SPF) rates, the tests found a significant progress in the 60m skating sprint test; 6x9m shuttle sprint test (by 8.1% and 13.7%, respectively, p<0.05). The highest progress of 16.4% was found in the speed and accuracy rating 5-pole dribbling with a shot on goal test. The 30m sprint test found a progress of 2.9% (p>0.05). The special endurance rating test (Figure-of-eight 10x220m circle run test) found no progress. And the complex coordination ability rating test (Figure-of-eight back forward run test) showed a minor progress of 0.7%.

The junior bandy players’ physical progress tests performed upon completion of the competitive season showed the following significant progress rates. The overall physical fitness tests showed the highest progress in pull-ups on a horizontal bar test (15.38%), shuttle sprint test (10.7%) and standing long jump test (9.78%). The 1000m race and 60m sprint tests found insignificant progress of 3.54% and 2.34%, respectively. Virtually no progress was found in the 30m sprint test.

Analysis of the special physical fitness rating test data showed progress in every aspect of special physical fitness. Therefore, the subjects’ progress in the special and overall physical fitness may be interpreted as indicative of the new training model benefits - attained largely due to the individualized practices designed to develop the special physical fitness as required by the game role of each player.

The study data and analyses made it possible to rate the bandy players’ functional states and physical progress in the playing-position-specific groups i.e. goalkeepers, defenders, halfbacks and forwards. As found by the final tests, the highest progress was made by the halfbacks who were the best in the 30/60/1000m sprints and races, one-leg squats and pull-ups tests. They also showed the best progress in the final skating tests i.e. the 30/60m skating sprints with the average results of 4.37 s and 7.55 s, respectively. The complex coordination Figure-of-eight back forward run test showed the halfbacks’ progress of 9.42% on average versus the goalkeepers and forwards who made no progress in fact. There are reasons to assume that individual progress rates depend on competitive roles of players since defenders and halfbacks need to develop excellent back forward skating skills in their playing positions versus goalkeepers and forwards.

Conclusion. The increasing supply of the indoor ice skating rinks appears to be one of the major reasons for the traditional junior bandy training and education systems being in need of modernisation, particularly in view of the growing volumes of special physical training and numbers of bandy tournaments. The changing sport conditions and new challenges have required new training systems to be developed, with the training loads being efficiently managed and due rehabilitative procedures applied. Therefore, a growing priority in these initiatives is given to the athletes’ functionality and physical progress rating tests.

We have tested and analysed progress of the junior bandy players from the Yerofey-2001 team trained as required by the new training and education model. Based on the players’ progress rating tests, the training model was customised in terms of the training process scopes, intensities and playing positions of the athletes to offer the individual training process designs and progress paths.

The individualised training model was found beneficial as verified by the players’ progress in the overall and special physical fitness tests. The new education and training model efficiency was also confirmed by the practical competitive accomplishments of the team dominated by the following: 1^st place in the Federal Tournament for Junior Players (born in 2001) sponsored by the Russian Bandy Federation, in Krasnoyarsk in November 28 to December 02, 2015; 1^st place in the Russian Junior Bandy Finals in Ulyanovsk, in February 28 to March 06, 2016; and the 1^st place in the World Bandy Cup for Juniors under 16 in Bollnas, Sweden in November 04-06, 2016.

References

1. Evteev S.A. Issledovanie effektivnosti optimizatsii trenirovochnogo protsessa yunykh khokkeistov na obshchepodgotovitelnom etape podgotovitelnogo perioda. Dis. kand. ped. nauk [Study of efficiency of youth hockey training process optimization at preparatory stage of pre-season. PhD diss.]. Moscow, 1998, 170 p.
2. Sergeev A.V. Differentsirovannaya metodika silovoy i skorostno-silovoy podgotovki yunykh khokkeistov raznykh igrovykh amplua na etape sportivnogo sovershenstvovaniya. Dis. kand. ped. nauk [Differentiated technique of strength and speed-strength training of junior hockey players with different playing positions at sports perfection stage. PhD diss.]. Tula, 2010, 158 p.
3. Suchilin A.A. Teoretiko-metodologicheskie osnovy podgotovki rezerva dlya professionalnogo futbola [Theoretical and methodological basics of professional football reserve training]. Volgograd: VSAPC publ., 1997, 237 p.

Corresponding author: dobrovolsky@list.ru

Abstract

The study gives an analysis of the junior bandy players’ overall and special physical fitness progress rates in the annual training cycle in the harsh climatic and geographic conditions of the Russian Far East. It offers an insight into the motor skill excellence process depending on playing positions and age-specific physicality development characteristics. The 6-month training program developed and piloted by the authors – customized to the athletes’ playing positions and individual physical progress – was found beneficial as verified by most of the physical fitness progress test rates. The subjects showed the highest progress in the 1000m race test (7% growth) and 3х10m shuttle sprint test (10% growth). In the special physical fitness tests, the subjects showed the highest progress (16.4%) in the 5-pole dribbling with a shot on goal test. Significant progress was fixed in the 60m skating test and 6x9m shuttle sprint test. No progress was found, however, in the Figure-of-eight back forward run test and the Figure-of-eight 10x220m circle run test.

The overall physical fitness tests upon completion of the season in the annual training cycle showed progress as verified by most of the test rates. The special physical fitness test rates also showed the new education and training model being beneficial. The combined physical fitness test data and analyses were applied to correct individual training programs; improve physical fitness rates and tactical and technical performance rates of each player in particular and the team on the whole – and the progress was proved by the competitive accomplishments in the regional, Russian and international tournaments.