Stanganelli, L. (2009). Effects of volleyball training on junior athletes in preparation for the world championship. A paper presented at the 14th Annual Congress of the European College of Sport Science, Oslo, Norway, June 24-27.

"The Brazilian volleyball teams have obtained great performances at international level. Recently Brazil won The Junior World Championship for Male Volleyball held in Morocco. The athletes followed a very strong program of training for this competition. During this period and according to the macrocycle, a battery of tests is applied in order to verify the level of training-induced adaptations on variables important to perform this game."

This study assessed how the male national junior volleyball players (N = 10) adapted after eight weeks of training developed before a world championship. A battery of tests was applied eight weeks apart and included anthropometric measures, medicine-ball throw, shuttle-run test, squat jump, countermovement jump, and two specific tests for height of spike and block reach.

Squat jump and countermovement jump decreased significantly over the training period. Medicine-ball throw, the shuttle-run test, the height of spike reach, and height of block reach did not change in the specialized period of training.

Implication. A specific period of volleyball training of elite athletes as part of the preparation for a world championships is unlikely to alter any performance factor.

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