Impact of successive basketball matches in psychophysiological response and neuromuscular performance in adolescent players

Purpose This study aimed to analyze the impact of competition with successive basketball matches on mood, stress tolerance, competitive anxiety, total quality of recovery and neuromuscular performance in adolescent basketball athletes. Methods Ten youth basketball players (14.8 ± 0.5 years; 59.4 ± 9.1 kg; 173.7 ± 5.9 cm) were evaluated during a tournament with three matches in two days. Mood (M), stress tolerance (ST), competitive anxiety, total quality of recovery (TQR) and neuromuscular performance were measured before and after the matches. The session rating perceived of exertion (sRPE) was used to evaluate the internal match load (IML) during the competition. The Friedman test was used to compare the mood profile during matches and the Wilcoxon test was used to compare mood subscales pre- and post-matches. Repeated measures ANOVA compared the post-match values of sRPE, TQR, and neuromuscular variables. Results The mood profile was significantly modified during the competition and the anger subscale was different pre- and post-match 3 ( p < 0.05); somatic anxiety decreased in match 3 compared to match 1 ( p < 0.05); ST did not change across the competition ( p > 0.05); QTR reduced in match 3 compared to match 1 and 2 ( p < 0.001); there was also a reduction in speed performance ( p < 0.01), and height of the vertical jump ( p < 0.001). Conclusion The current study demonstrated that there is an impact on mood, anxiety and quality of recovery with successive basketball matches, and they also reduce neuromuscular performance in adolescent basketball players.