Changes in Flying Shot Performance Following a 4-Week Circuit Training Programme among University Handball Athletes
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53905/Activein.2613162Keywords:
handball, athletes, circuit training, shooting accuracy, resistance training, physical conditioningAbstract
Background and Purpose: Flying-shot accuracy in handball requires coordinated lower-limb power, upper-body force production, approach movement, and whole-body control. Although resistance, plyometric, and ballistic training can improve selected throwing outcomes, evidence concerning short, multi-component circuit training and flying-shot accuracy in university athletes remains limited. This study examined changes in flying-shot performance following a 12-session, four-week circuit training programme in male university handball athletes.
Materials and methods: A pre-experimental one-group pretest–posttest design was used. Thirty-two male university handball athletes (19–23 years) from Universitas Islam Riau participated through total sampling. The intervention comprised three sessions per week for four weeks and included push-up, squat jump, 20-m shuttle run, medicine-ball chest throw, and bounding, with progressive loading across adaptation (Sessions 1–4), development (Sessions 5–8), and intensification (Sessions 9–12). Flying-shot accuracy was assessed using a standardized three-trial target-scoring test (maximum score = 12). Descriptive statistics, Shapiro–Wilk testing of change scores, Wilcoxon signed-rank testing, and a paired-sample t-test as sensitivity analysis were used. Effect sizes were estimated using r and Cohen’s dz.
Results: Mean performance increased from 4.25 ± 0.92 at pretest to 8.88 ± 1.52 at posttest, with a mean paired change of 4.625 ± 1.755 points (95% CI, 3.992–5.258) and a 108.82% increase based on group means. All 32 participants improved. Change scores were non-normally distributed (Shapiro–Wilk W = 0.901, p = 0.0065). The Wilcoxon signed-rank test showed a significant pretest-to-posttest change (W = 0, p < 0.001, r = 0.877). The sensitivity paired t-test was also significant, t(31) = 14.906, p < 0.001, Cohen’s dz = 2.635.
Conclusions: The findings provide preliminary evidence of substantial improvement in flying-shot performance following a brief, progressively structured circuit training programme in male university handball athletes. The study extends international evidence by examining a sport-specific accuracy outcome in an Indonesian university context. However, the absence of a control group limits causal attribution and generalization.
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