Abstract
Deceleration ability is fundamental to basketball performance, influencing change of direction, defensive positioning, and movement efficiency. While linear deceleration is commonly assessed, rotational deceleration’s role in basketball-specific agility remains relatively underexplored on the high-school level. Overlooking the unique force demands, joint angles, and neuromuscular control required to stop and change direction rotationally, may hinder athlete preparation, injury prevention, and training effectiveness. PURPOSE: To determine the relationship between rotational deceleration (505 Left/Right), linear deceleration (5m/10m Decel), and lateral agility (5-5 Lateral Shuffle Left/Right) in high-school basketball players and identify the key determinant of agility performance. METHODS: Thirty-three male high-school basketball athletes from two teams (n1=19, n2=14) completed a series of six deceleration and agility tests: (1) 5m Decel: A 5-meter sprint followed by a controlled stop (deceleration).; (2) 5-5 Lateral Shuffle Left: Side-stepping or shuffling to the left for 5 meters, then returning another 5 meters; (3) 10m Decel: A 10-meter sprint followed by a controlled stop; (4) 505 Left: Run forward, then perform a 180° turn off your left foot after 5 meters, and sprint back 5 meters.; (5) 505 Right: Same as the 505 Left, but pivoting on the right foot.; and (6) 5-5 Lateral Shuffle Right: Similar to the left shuffle, but moving to the right first, then back 5 meters. Data were collected using Speed 1 (1080 Motion, Sweden). Statistical analyses included correlations, multiple regression, principal component analysis (PCA), and k-means clustering in MATLAB. RESULTS: The 505 Left showed the strongest association with lateral shuffle performance (r = .72, p < .01), identifying rotational deceleration as a primary contributor to agility in basketball. The 5m Decel emerged as the strongest predictor of rotational deceleration (β = .67, p = .0015, R2 = .38), whereas the 10m Decel was not significant (β = −.02, p = .97), reinforcing the sport-specific importance of short-distance stopping ability. PCA confirmed 505 Left as the dominant deceleration metric, explaining 59.6% of variance across all movement tasks. Additionally, k-means clustering of 5m Decel and 505 Left data revealed three distinct performance subgroups, reinforcing the practical value of these measures for individualized training approaches. CONCLUSION: These findings highlight rotational deceleration as the key performance differentiator in basketball agility, with 5m Decel serving as the best predictor of rotational stopping ability. Training programs should emphasize rotational control and short-distance braking mechanics over longer deceleration distances to enhance lateral agility and defensive movement efficiency. Clustering outcomes further underscored the practical value of these measures for tailoring training strategies to each athlete’s unique profile. Future research should validate these findings in larger samples/higher-level basketball players and implement machine learning models for individualized profiling.
Recommended Citation
Hsu, Eric; Petway, Adan; and Stamatis, Andreas
(2025)
"Short-Distance and Rotational Deceleration as Key Determinants of High-School Basketball Agility: A Preliminary Clustering Analysis,"
International Journal of Exercise Science: Conference Proceedings: Vol. 2:
Iss.
17, Article 136.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/ijesab/vol2/iss17/136
Included in
Health and Physical Education Commons, Medical Education Commons, Sports Sciences Commons
