Effect of Situational and Individual Factors on Training Load and Game Performance in Liga Femenina 2 Basketball Female Players

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The article deals with an important topic and reveals interesting experimental results. I have a few important comments about the correction of the article.

1. An introductory sentence about the state of the problem should be added to the Abstract. It should end with a specific application of the results.

2. More sources should be added to the Introduction, which deal with situational and individual factors in training load. Ideally, the literature review should end with a table with an exhaustive set of these factors. I believe it would also help to formulate hypotheses - how would each of the factors affect load?  A qualitative literature review will allow such hypotheses to be formulated.

3. When the authors build a clear logic for the Introduction, they can replicate that logic in the Discussion as well. Then the article will look and feel as logical and structured as possible.

4. I advise authors to make a proofreading of the text. There are incomplete sentences and errors of all kinds in the article. For example, in lines 216-217 there is clearly something wrong with the sentence.

5. The conclusions should be made clearer and more impersonal. I find the use of the pronoun "you" unacceptable.

6. A practical application of the results of the study should be added. Personally for me it is not clear how to apply it in the real training process.

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

The authors of the manuscript respond to all the proposals made in the manuscript.

 

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The article deals with an important topic and reveals interesting experimental results. I have a few important comments about the correction of the article.

1. An introductory sentence about the state of the problem should be added to the Abstract. It should end with a specific application of the results.

Thank you very much for your comment. The following sentence has been included at the beginning:

 

"There is research that has shown how individual characteristics and performance indicators influence the load in basketball, however, it is still insufficient to study the influence of situational variables on performance".

And to conclude, the following sentence has been included:

 

"These results help coaches and physical trainers to better plan training weeks taking into account the situational variables studied."

 

2. More sources should be added to the Introduction, which deal with situational and individual factors in training load. Ideally, the literature review should end with a table with an exhaustive set of these factors. I believe it would also help to formulate hypotheses - how would each of the factors affect load?  A qualitative literature review will allow such hypotheses to be formulated.

(

 

Thank you very much for your comment.

The authors had not developed the introduction section further so as not to make the manuscript too long.

We have taken note of your suggestion and the following paragraphs have been introduced, together with Table 1.

 

“The effect of situational factors on internal and external load have been studied recently with results that help to know more deeply about the training and competi-tion processes. The place of play, phase of the season, result of the game, score and quality of the opponent can explain 45% of the subjective internal load measured through RPE. In addition, it has been identified that female players in basketball have a higher RPE when playing away from home and playing against weaker opponents [29].

Recent studies have shown how loads are affected by variable situations. Fernán-dez-Leo, Gómez-Carmona, García-Rubio & Ibáñez [30] found that in semi-professional basketball players there were differences in the volume of movements, high intensity actions, impacts and jumps depending on the Playing Position. The performance of the players decreased as the playing period increased. In addition, in balanced games there was the highest individual technical performance (PIR), while in unbalanced games more high intensity impacts were observed, however, they did not find differences in both physical and technical performance in terms of high difference in points per quarter. The outcome of the competition also influences the load of the players. Players who lose a match present higher values in kinematic variables, while players who win matches have a higher session RPE. The location of the match also influences the load, with the players playing at home presenting higher values in load (PLayerLoad) and in kinematic, objective internal load (HR) and subjective internal load (RPE) variables. This same trend is seen in matches in which the games are more balanced, with a smaller difference in points on the scoreboard [19]. Along the same lines, Scanlan, Stanton, Sargent, O'Grady, Lastella & Fox [31] identified that, when an extra time pe-riod is played, the internal (RPE, HR) and external (changes of direction, accelerations) load indicators increased with respect to regular matches. On the contrary, the load borne by the players (PlayerLoad) decreased as the quarters progressed.

Sansone, Gasperi, Tessitore & Gomez [9] after following basketball players for one season suggest that several individual characteristics (playing experience, playing po-sition and playing time) and contextual factors (recovery cycle, level of upcoming op-ponent), recovery (playing experience, playing position) and in-game performance (opponent level, weekly training load, pre-game recovery) should be taken into ac-count when monitoring training load. In addition, play actions performed when in possession of the ball and during live playing time in basketball games are affected by playing position [32].

As can be seen, researchers are trying to understand the interactions between the load that athletes receive during competition with individual and situational factors in order to adjust the training processes, which are still in an incipient phase. These stud-ies employ multiple variables, taking into account the needs and material resources of the researchers. For this reason, it is difficult to group research studies by variables. By way of summary, Table 1 graphically presents various studies that have attempted to analyze the influence of situational factors on the indicators of internal and external load, physical performance and technical-tactical performance. It is also possible to observe quantitatively which have been the most used variables in the recorded studies.”

 

In addition, the following paragraph has been included before the objective of the study.

 

“As highlighted in the review of the state of the art, there is a predominance of studies that address the influence of situational factors on male basketball players, and it is necessary to analyze specifically how these factors affect female basketball play-ers. This is one of the first studies of this topic in professional female players. For this reason, it is generally hypothesized that situational and individual factors will have an influence on the training load and game performance of the female players. Therefore the aim of this study is to know the influence of situational and individual variables on training load (weekly load, game load and pre-game recovery) and individual perfor-mance in a team of Liga Femenina 2, LF2, during the competition.”

 

3. When the authors build a clear logic for the Introduction, they can replicate that logic in the Discussion as well. Then the article will look and feel as logical and structured as possible.

 

 

Thank you again for your suggestion.

The authors have organized the discussion in the same order as the results, with the paragraphs related to the weekly load appearing first, then the match load, then the recovery cycle and finally the playing performance.

An epigraph has been placed before each block of contents to facilitate the reading sequence and the order of two paragraphs has been changed..

 

4. I advise authors to make a proofreading of the text. There are incomplete sentences and errors of all kinds in the article. For example, in lines 216-217 there is clearly something wrong with the sentence.

 

Thank you for your comment. You are absolutely right, it is a translation error. The entire first paragraph of the discussion has been modified to read as follows:

 

“The aim of this study was to know the influence of situational and individual variables on the training load (weekly load, game load and pre-game recovery) and individual performance (PIR) of female players in Liga Femenina 2 during competition. The results obtained after the study of this team show that the design of the training load by the coach takes into account these situational and individual variables.”

 

5. The conclusions should be made clearer and more impersonal. I find the use of the pronoun "you" unacceptable.

 

Thank you very much for your comment. Paragraph c) has been modified to read as follows:

 

“If a team play with a high-level opponent, the pre-game recovery value of the next game will be lower.”

 

6. A practical application of the results of the study should be added. Personally for me it is not clear how to apply it in the real training process.

 

Your comment is very interesting and will improve the manuscript.

The following paragraph has been added to the practical applications:

 

"The knowledge that information related to weekly load, game load and pre-game recovery has an impact on the individual performance of female players in basketball should be taken into account by coaches and physical trainers during the planning process. Specifically, they should reduce training sessions as the season progresses, so that in the last weeks of a season they should train less than at the beginning of the season, since the accumulated load at that time will be high. In addition, by knowing which female players give the best performance, coaches will have to plan game sys-tems so that these players can obtain advantages. In the study conducted, these female players were the pivots.."

 

 

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

The authors tap into an important topic in sports science and health in elite female athletes.

This study aims to assess the influence of certain situational and individual 14 variables on the training load (weekly load, game load and pre-game recovery) and the individual 15 performance (statistical game evaluation) of female basketball players of Liga Femenina 2 during the competition. This paper stands out in a positive way when looking at the topic of sports performance in elite female athletes. However, some things need clarifying for the publication that will help in the overall interpretation and understanding of the results.

Did the authors assess the menstrual phase during this investigation? The menstrual phase can influence the performance and some variables of this study (https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18189591; https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.926854/full ).

 

 I suggest to the authors include the menstrual phase in their analysis and re-write the results and discussion sections considering these new analyses. 

 

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

The authors of the manuscript respond to all the proposals made in the manuscript.

 

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The authors tap into an important topic in sports science and health in elite female athletes. (Los autores abordan un tema importante en las ciencias del deporte y la salud en las deportistas de élite.)

This study aims to assess the influence of certain situational and individual 14 variables on the training load (weekly load, game load and pre-game recovery) and the individual 15 performance (statistical game evaluation) of female basketball players of Liga Femenina 2 during the competition. This paper stands out in a positive way when looking at the topic of sports performance in elite female athletes. However, some things need clarifying for the publication that will help in the overall interpretation and understanding of the results. (Este estudio pretende evaluar la influencia de determinadas variables situacionales e individuales 14 sobre la carga de entrenamiento (carga semanal, carga de juego y recuperación pre-partido) y el rendimiento 15 individual (evaluación estadística del juego) de las jugadoras de baloncesto de la Liga Femenina 2 durante la competición. Este trabajo destaca de forma positiva al analizar el tema del rendimiento deportivo en las deportistas de élite. Sin embargo, es necesario aclarar algunas cosas para la publicación que ayudarán a la interpretación y comprensión global de los resultados.)

Did the authors assess the menstrual phase during this investigation? The menstrual phase can influence the performance and some variables of this study (https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18189591; https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.926854/full ). (¿Evaluaron los autores la fase menstrual durante esta investigación? La fase menstrual puede influir en el rendimiento y en algunas variables de este estudio (https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18189591; https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.926854/full ). 

 I suggest to the authors include the menstrual phase in their analysis and re-write the results and discussion sections considering these new analyses. (Sugiero a los autores que incluyan la fase menstrual en su análisis y que vuelvan a escribir las secciones de resultados y discusión teniendo en cuenta estos nuevos análisis.)

Thank you very much for your comment. The researchers took into account the menstrual cycle of the female players. We tried to record this variable, but there were female players who, coming from different sports cultures and countries, did not consent to provide this information to the research team, so we could not include this variable in the study. As it was a single-team study and we were unable to provide information on all the female players, the researchers decided to eliminate this variable, as the n was very small.

The reference you have attached is very current, being of great interest for the study. Therefore, a paragraph has been included in the introduction about the importance of the menstrual cycle.

"Finally, the menstrual cycle has been shown to be a variable to be taken into account in the performance of female athletes [1,2]. Therefore, more and more sports professionals pay special attention to the monitoring of this variable that affects both the performance of female basketball players [3], as well as the occurrence of injuries [4,5]. This is a variable that should be taken into account in studies that analyze the processes of training and sports performance in women, with the active and voluntary participation of female athletes being necessary."

A paragraph on the limitations of the study has been included at the end of the discussion:

"One of the limitations found in this study was the impossibility of analyzing the influence of the menstrual cycle on the performance of the female players, as not all the female players gave their consent to use this confidential personal data. The sports culture of some female players limited this part of the study. Another limitation is that the results should be confined exclusively to the team analyzed, being their generalizability relative." 

In addition, a paragraph has been included at the end of the conclusions on future prospective:

"For future studies, in addition to the variables included in this research, it would be very interesting to be able to have the information related to the menstrual cycle of the female players, since it has already been shown that it can have an influence on sports performance and should be taken into account in the processes of training planning and recovery of the female players."

 

The following references have been included:

 

1. Paludo, A.C.; Paravlic, A.; Dvořáková, K.; Gimunová, M. The Effect of Menstrual Cycle on Perceptual Responses in Athletes: A Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis. Frontiers in Psychology 2022, 13, doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.926854.
2. Carmichael, M.A.; Thomson, R.L.; Moran, L.J.; Wycherley, T.P. The Impact of Menstrual Cycle Phase on Athletes’ Performance: A Narrative Review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 2021, 18, 1667, doi:10.3390/ijerph18041667.
3. Yapici-Oksuzoglu, A.; Egesoy, H. The effect of menstrual cycle on anaerobic power and jumping performance. Pedagogy of Physical Culture and Sports 2021, 25, 367-372, doi:10.15561/26649837.2021.0605.
4. Shultz, S.J.; Sander, T.C.; Kirk, S.E.; Perrin, D.H. Sex differences in knee joint laxity change across the female menstrual cycle. Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness 2005, 45, 594-603.
5. Belanger, M.J.; Moore, D.C.; Crisco, J.J.; Fadale, P.D.; Hulstyn, M.J.; Ehrlich, M.G. Knee laxity does not vary with the menstrual cycle, before or after exercise. American Journal of Sports Medicine 2004, 32, 1150-1157, doi:10.1177/0363546503261360.

 

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Dear authors. Thank you so much that you followed my comments. I really like the new table. All the other revisions are fine.

I consider more proofreading to make the text perfect.

Reviewer 2 Report

Thank you for your response. 

I´m clarified. The authors did a good job.

I do not have further questions.

Regards