PHYSICAL AND TECHNICAL PREPAREDNESS OF SQUASH PLAYERS AT THE STAGE OF INITIAL PREPARATION

Abstract

Background and Study Aim. The search for gifted, capable, promising children, who are able to achieve high sports results at the national and international level, is one of the directions for improving the training system in modern high-achievement sports. Purpose – to reveal the level of physical and technical preparation of squash players at the stage of initial training. Material and Methods. The study was conducted on the basis of the “Inter Athletics” fitness club in Lutsk. 20 squash players (20 boys) aged 9–13 years (4 squash players of each age group) took part in the research. All athletes belonged to the main medical group. All were assigned the same experimental task. In this experiment, informed consent was obtained from all participants. For the purpose of qualitative organization of experimental and research work the following methods were chosen: theoretical analysis of educational and methodological literature, methods of monitoring the organization of the educational and training process, methods of pedagogical testing, methods of mathematical statistics. To determine the level of physical fitness, we conducted the following tests: 30 m run, standing long jump, 6x8 m “shuttle” run, catching a stick, jumping to the “Hexagon Test” coordination, running to 6 “Ghosting” marks. To determine the level of technical preparation, we conducted the following control exercises: a “Drive” shot and a “volley-drive” shot. Results. The results of movement tests at the stage of initial training showed that the majority of young squash players had a low and average level of physical fitness. The motor test “Run for 30 m” showed that more than half of the study participants have satisfactory results. The “standing long jump” and “shuttle” test showed a low level of this skill among the test participants. The result of the stick catch test showed that 75% of all tested squash players had a satisfactory result. Also, a low level of physical development of coordination was revealed after the “Hexagon Test”, which revealed even unsatisfactory results of the exercise, which was 10% of the total number of participants. The technical training of young squash players is directly proportional to their physical fitness, but without developing squash skills. So the following movement tests in the initial training phase provided us with a reference point to improve during the research period. It is possible to abstractly assess the initial level of development of the “Strike Drive” test by paying attention to the areas in which young squash players most often hit. Most of their shots are hitting the first and second scoring zones, front wall and bounce length. Only two participants managed to get into the zone of the highest score several times, which indicates a rather low level of technical skills of the participants at the initial stage of training. The analysis of the results of the volley drive test showed that the average result of all participants was approximately 53 forehand and 44 backhand strokes during 3 minutes, which is 17 and 15 strokes / min, respectively. Conclusions. All the results of the experiment conducted at the stage of initial training reveal the need to improve the physical and technical preparation of athletes. They proved that young squash players who do not systematically engage in any sports have an average and low level of general physical fitness. Technical skills were better in several children who had previously played racquet sports, which once again proves that muscle memory and physical fitness affect the result of professional skills and abilities of a squash player.