TY - JOUR
T1 - The kinematic differences between skill levels in the squash forehand drive, volley and drop strokes
AU - Williams, Benjamin K.
AU - Sanders, Ross H.
AU - Ryu, Joong Hyun
AU - Graham-Smith, Philip
AU - Sinclair, Peter J.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors would like to thank squash Head Coach Stewart Boswell for his assistance with the data collection and the athletes who volunteered to participate in the study. The publication of this article was funded by the Qatar National Library.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
PY - 2020/7/2
Y1 - 2020/7/2
N2 - Knowledge of the kinematic differences that separate highly skilled and less-skilled squash players could assist the progression of talent development. This study compared trunk, upper-limb and racket kinematics between two groups of nine highly skilled and less-skilled male athletes for forehand drive, volley and drop strokes. A 15-camera motion analysis system recorded three-dimensional trajectories, with five shots analysed per participant per stroke. The highly skilled group had significantly (p< 0.05) larger forearm pronation/supination range-of-motion and wrist extension angles at impact than the less-skilled. The less-skilled group had a significantly more "open" racket face and slower racket velocities at impact than the highly skilled. Rates of shoulder internal rotation, forearm pronation, elbow extension and wrist flexion at impact were greater in the drive stroke than in the other strokes. The position of the racket at impact in the volley was significantly more anterior to the shoulder than in the other strokes, with a smaller trunk rotation angular velocity. Players used less shoulder internal/external rotation, forearm pronation/supination, elbow and wrist flexion/extension ranges-of-motions and angular velocities at impact in the drop stroke than in the other strokes. These findings provide useful insights into the technical differences that separate highly skilled from less-skilled players and provide a kinematic distinction between stroke types.
AB - Knowledge of the kinematic differences that separate highly skilled and less-skilled squash players could assist the progression of talent development. This study compared trunk, upper-limb and racket kinematics between two groups of nine highly skilled and less-skilled male athletes for forehand drive, volley and drop strokes. A 15-camera motion analysis system recorded three-dimensional trajectories, with five shots analysed per participant per stroke. The highly skilled group had significantly (p< 0.05) larger forearm pronation/supination range-of-motion and wrist extension angles at impact than the less-skilled. The less-skilled group had a significantly more "open" racket face and slower racket velocities at impact than the highly skilled. Rates of shoulder internal rotation, forearm pronation, elbow extension and wrist flexion at impact were greater in the drive stroke than in the other strokes. The position of the racket at impact in the volley was significantly more anterior to the shoulder than in the other strokes, with a smaller trunk rotation angular velocity. Players used less shoulder internal/external rotation, forearm pronation/supination, elbow and wrist flexion/extension ranges-of-motions and angular velocities at impact in the drop stroke than in the other strokes. These findings provide useful insights into the technical differences that separate highly skilled from less-skilled players and provide a kinematic distinction between stroke types.
KW - Swing mechanics
KW - accuracy
KW - racquet
KW - elite athlete
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85082493168&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/02640414.2020.1747828
DO - 10.1080/02640414.2020.1747828
M3 - Article
SN - 0264-0414
VL - 38
SP - 1550
EP - 1559
JO - Journal of Sports Sciences
JF - Journal of Sports Sciences
IS - 13
ER -