The Impact of Fatigue on Shooting in Young Basketball Players

The aim of study was to investigate the effects of fatigue on shooting skills in young basketball players. The study was carried out on 13 male basketball players at stars category (category under 16-years old). To measure the shooting skills of the players, speed spot shooting and AAPHERD Basketball Test, which was developed by AAPHERD (12), were used. 20- Meter Multi-Stage Shuttle Run test was employed to determine the players’ fatigue level. During the multi-stage shuttle run, the participants were asked to take two pre-determined shooting tests, one at the medium and one at the high fatigue level, and the results obtained from these tests were compared. Significant difference was observed between the basket players’ shooting points at the two levels of fatigue. The findings indicate that the higher the fatigue level, the lower the shooting success for young players. The results reveal that fatigue plays a determinant role on the shooting performance of the athletes; therefore, prior determination of the players’ fitness could contribute to coaches in planning appropriate training and developing match strategies.