Vol. 54 - No. 5 THE JOURNAL OF SPORTS MEDICINE AND PHYSICAL FITNESS 581 cular system to generate maximal power output is a critical aspect in technical-tactical acts. 1 In particular maximal power is a fundamental as- pect in ball games such as volleyball and basketball, because, in this sports, repeated maximum efforts including throwing, dashing and jumping, are fre- quently required. Indeed, volleyball players com- pete by adapting skills of spiking and blocking high above the head; while basketball ones aim to drive the ball by passing and dribbling among a group of opponents and teammates and score goals in a hoop located above the head. 2 Since both games require handling the ball above the head during several tech- nical-tactical actions, an elevated explosive strength appears to be one of the main physical components that are needed to train. Therefore, much time is spent during both the off-season and in-season train- ing periods attempting to enhance power production in players regardless of competition level. Advanced training programs combine resistance training, plyo- metric exercise, and playing simulations in order to maximize a player’s ability to generate power. 3-5 Generally, jumps are used when players make cer- tain important technical acts such as the shot at bas- ket in basketball or the shot or block in volleyball, which require not only a high jump but also the cor- 1 Dipartimento di Scienze Giuridiche della Società e dello Sport Università degli Studi di Palermo, Italia 2 Scuola Regionale dello Sport, CONI Sicilia, Italia 3 Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche Università degli Studi di Padova, Italia J SPORTS MED PHYS FITNESS 2014;54:581-7 G. BATTAGLIA 1,2 , A. PAOLI 3 , M. BELLAFIORE 1,2 , A. BIANCO 1,2 , A. PALMA 1,2 Inluence of a sport-speciic training background on vertical jumping and throwing performance in young female basketball and volleyball players Aim. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the inluence of 3 years of sport-speciic training background (SSTB) on vertical jumping and throwing performance in young female basketball and volleyball players. Methods. Thirty-one healthy adolescent girls, of which 11 age-matched control subjects [C], 10 basketballers (BP) and 10 volleyballers (VP) participated to the study. The throwing performance was assessed by seated backward overhead ball throw (SBOMBT) and seated chest pass throw (SCPT) using a 3-kg rubber medicine ball. Instead, the vertical jumping performance was evaluated by squat jump (SJ) and coun- termovement jump with (CMJ-AS) and without arm swing (CMJ) using Optojump system (Microgate srl, Italy). Results. During SJ and CMJ with and without arm swing VP group showed a higher vertical jump performance than BP and C ones. In particular we showed that VP exhibited a higher light time and jump height than C (P<0.05) in SJ, CMJ and CMJ-AS tests. Players showed higher performanc- es than C in SCPT and SBOMBT. However, we found only a signiicant difference (P<0.05) in the comparison between BP and C during SCPT. Moreover, we found signiicant cor- relations between SBOBMT performances and CMJ-AS jump heights in C (r= 0.60; p= 0.02) and VP (r= 0.81; p<0.01) groups compared to BP one (r= -0.47; p= 0.08). Conclusion. These data suggest that 3 years of SSTB might be able to promote signiicant neuromuscular adaptations in volleyball and basketball athletes’ maximal power compared to age-matched control subjects. Key words: Volleyball - Basketball - Exercise. S ports games require optimal combinations of muscle strength and speed to maximize athletic performance. Therefore, the ability of the neuromus- Corresponding author: G. Battaglia, Scienze Giuridiche, della Società e dello Sport, Università degli Studi di Palermo, via Eleonora Duse 2, 90146 Palermo, Italy. E-mail: giuseppe.battaglia@unipa.it MINERVA MEDICA COPYRIGHT® This document is protected by international copyright laws. No additional reproduction is authorized. It is permitted for personal use to download and save only one file and print only one copy of this Article. It is not permitted to make additional copies (either sporadically or systematically, either printed or electronic) of the Article for any purpose. It is not permitted to distribute the electronic copy of the article through online internet and/or intranet file sharing systems, electronic mailing or any other means which may allow access to the Article. The use of all or any part of the Article for any Commercial Use is not permitted. The creation of derivative works from the Article is not permitted. The production of reprints for personal or commercial use is not permitted. It is not permitted to remove, cover, overlay, obscure, block, or change any copyright notices or terms of use which the Publisher may post on the Article. It is not permitted to frame or use framing techniques to enclose any trademark, logo, or other proprietary information of the Publisher.