A Comparison of maximal acceleration between the “tic-tac” parkour action, drop jump and lay-up shot in youth basketball players

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to compare acceleration outputs of the parkour-style “tic tac” action with those of the drop jump and the lay-up shot in youth basketball players. A total of 25 participants (17 males, 13.80 ± 1.30 years of age; and 8 females, 15.00 ± 0.80 years of age) completed three trials of each action while wearing a single inertial motion capture unit with a sampling frequency of 200 Hz, positioned at the lumbar spine. All data was captured in a single session, using the same test order for all participants. Maximum resultant acceleration was calculated from the raw data for each action. Using sex and maturation status as covariates, data were analysed using a Bayesian one-way repeated measures ANCOVA. Results revealed the jump + sex model to be the best fitting (BF10 = 9.22 x 105). Post hoc comparisons revealed that the tic tac produced greater maximal acceleration than the drop jump and the lay-up. These findings provide a biomechanical basis for the potential use of the parkour tic tac as an activity that could be used within the athletic development of youth basketball players.