PhD, Associate Professor A.V. Kornev¹
PhD, Associate Professor V.G. Medvedev²
Dr.Hab., Professor M.A. Pravdov^3
1Russian State Social University, Moscow
²Russian State University of Physical Culture, Sports, Youth and Tourism (SCOLIPE), Moscow
³Ivanovo State University, Shuya branch, Shuya

Keywords: technical and tactical training, Paralympic sports, movement biomechanics, motor skills, competitive performance.

Background. Modern Paralympic sports communities report a growing need for a sound theoretical and practical research provisions, with a special demand for the basic technical and tactical training  provisions for the popular Paralympic team sports. A special priority is given to the movement biomechanics research to perfect every motor skill in the adaptive team sports. These efforts are expected to secure new quality for our theoretical and practical understanding of the individual motor skill formation logics and help form a foundation for the technical and tactical progress in every adaptive sport [5].

Goalball is a Paralympic team sport discipline for blind and visually impaired athletes, with the competitive progresses, wins and losses governed by basically the same competitive standards and rules as any other goal-scoring sport [6], with the goalball techniques naturally and traditionally classified into the defenses and attacks. The defenses are further classified into stands, blocks, belays, rebounds, footwork and penalty taking; and the attacks classified into shots on goal, passes, ball control, feints, footwork/ positioning and penalty shots [3].

Objective of the study was to classify the goalball motor skills by the key types and movement algorithms.

Methods and structure of the study. We sampled for the study the 17-38 years old Goalball players (n=41) of both sexes and different skill levels. The research method was geared to rate the key competitive performance elements using the relevant quantitative and timing criteria, on a skill-level-specific basis. Based on these data, we further classified the key motor skill in the ball control context. Having identified and classified the motor skill, we counted them in the competitive performance sequences to find the motor skill time viewed as the key success criterion [1]. The ball control/ handling skills were classified [4] into the ball controls, passes and shots.

We analyzed the match videos to catch the motor skill starting and finishing points and, knowing the video shooting frequency, compute the motor skill time. The competitive performance analyses were made to rate every individual player’s competitive performance and goalball team competitive performance in every match on the whole. We sampled for the competitive performance analyses 6 formal top-ranking Federal Goalball events (finals and championships) and 12 teams (6 men’s and 6 women’s ones) with the following skill levels: (1) beginner teams with little if any competitive experiences; (2) mid-level teams with good practical competitive experiences; and (3) professional teams ranked with the top-three competitors.

Results and discussion. Subject to our analysis in the 2018 Russian Goalball Championship matches were 994 motor skill of the beginner-level teams (Table 1). We found the ball controls and shooting times virtually the same in the beginner men’s and women’s teams; with the ball controls estimated at 50% of the total motor skill per match and shots making up 47% and 43.9% of the totals in the women’s and men’s teams, respectively. It should be noted that the beginner men’s teams made twice more passes than the women’s. It terms of the total time demand, shots were prevailing in the motor skill toolkit. Thus the ball control times were 44.5% and 36.7% shorter than the shooting times in the women’s and men’s teams, respectively. On the whole, the shooting time was on average triple as long as the ball control and pass time.

Table 1. Beginner teams’ motor skill statistics in the 2018 Russian Goalball Championship

Table 2. Mid-level teams’ motor skill statistics in the 2018 Russian Goalball Championship

Table 3. Top-level teams’ motor skill statistics in the 2018 Russian Goalball Championship

Comparative analyses of the motor skills versus the skill levels found that the higher is the skill level, the higher are the numbers of passes and the lower are the shooting attempts; whilst the ball control times tend to grow with the mastery, as underlined by the shorter decision-making and shooting times. This progress is obviously attributable to the excellent technical and tactical training of the top-professional teams.

Conclusion. The study data and analyses made it possible to classify the goalball motor skills in the temporal and quantitative terms depending on the teams’ skill levels. The study data and findings are recommended being taken into account by the motor skill training and test system designers and coaches for the special skills-specific technical and tactical fitness rating and perfection purposes, and for the motor skill biomechanics research in the modern goalball sport.

References

1. Davydov A.P., Medvedev V.G. Video analysis of technical and tactical actions in team game sports (case study of hockey. Kafedralnaya nauka RGUFKSMiT [Faculty science of RSUPCSYT].  Proc. final research practical conference of faculty on December 20, 2018. M.: RSUPCSYT publ., 2018. pp. 43-47. ISBN 978-5-604-1526-4-5.
2. Kornev A.V., Pravdov M.A. Goalball game techniques and tactics. Teoriya i praktika fiz. kultury, 2017, no. 4, pp. 20-22.
3. Kornev A.V., Pravdov M.A. Shots in goalball: specifications and classification. Teoriya i praktika fiz. kultury. 2018. no.5. pp. 97-99.
4. Medvedev V.G. Technique category in conceptual apparatus of theory of sports and physical education. Fundamental and applied research of physical education, sports, Olympism: traditions and innovations. Proc.  I national research -practical conference May 24-25, 2017 / ed. A.A. Peredelsky. M.: RGUFKSMiT, 2017. pp. 467-472. ISBN 978-5-905760-78-5.
5. Medvedev V.G. Research methods of motor actions technique in pedagogical and sports biomechanics. Proc. III national research -practical conference on sports science. PDF Moscow: TsSTiSK Moskomsport publ., 2018. pp. 6-10. ISBN 978–5–9905252–7-6.
6. Smirnov O.S., Kornev A.V. Origin and development of team sports for the blind and visually impaired. Adaptivnaya fizicheskaya kultura. 2013. No. 4 (56). pp 33-34.

Corresponding author: av-kornev@mail.ru

Abstract

Objective of the study was to classify the goalball motor skills by the key types and movement algorithms.

Methods and structure of the study. We sampled for the study the 17-38 years old Goalball players (n=41) of both sexes and different skill levels. The research method was geared to rate the key competitive performance elements using the relevant quantitative and timing criteria, on a skill-level-specific basis. Based on these data, we further classified the key motor skill in the ball control context. Having identified and classified the motor skill, we counted them in the competitive performance sequences to find the motor skill time viewed as the key success criterion. The ball control/ handling skills were classified into the ball controls, passes and shots.

We analyzed the match videos to catch the motor skill starting and finishing points and, knowing the video shooting frequency, compute the motor skill time. The competitive performance analyses were made to rate every individual player’s competitive performance and goalball team competitive performance in every match on the whole.

Conclusion. The study data and analyses made it possible to classify the goalball motor skills in the temporal and quantitative terms depending on the teams’ skill levels. The study data and findings are recommended being taken into account by the motor skill training and test system designers and coaches for the special skills-specific technical and tactical fitness rating and perfection purposes, and for the motor skill biomechanics research in the modern goalball sport.