Movement Patterns in Young Volleyball Athletes

Optimizing Body and Movement Specific Characteristics in Volleyball Players to Reduces Injuries in Young Athletes.

This project is a consequence of the research chair project studying the same phenomenon in adult volleyball players. The project will make use of and be part of the routine medical screening that is taken by the young players of the first degree of the Leuven Volleyball School, Belgium. All young players must undergo a routine medical investigation and movement screening. This is obliged by the law. The current project will use these data. Outcome parameters will be used to advice the trainer staff of the school to adjust their training interventions. This is normal routine too as the involved medical department has been advising the school for many years. Players will be followed up for 6 weeks. After those 6 weeks, the movement screening will be repeated to evaluate the change in the different outcome parameters. This last screening is not part of a normal routine as players normally are investigated more in a subjective way. The medical team and school want to change that routine.

Data will be used to further improve training modalities and sports performance and reduce injury risk in these young athletes.

Inclusion Criteria:

• All students from the first degree of the Volleyball school will participate
• Male and female athletes will be included
• Signing of an informed consent and assent form (for young kids) to use data for research
• Agreement given by the medical staff to use data and allowing the kids to be accepted by the school

Exclusion Criteria:

• When inclusion criteria are not met