*2.3. Procedures*

#### 2.3.1. Anthropometric and Body Composition Measurement

Prior to physical performance measurements on the first testing day, anthropometric and bioimpedance measurements were obtained according to the international guidelines [33]. Body height and weight were measured while standing barefoot using a SECA 763 stadiometer with electronic scale (Seca Instruments Ltd., Hamburg, Germany) to the nearest cm and kg, respectively. The wingspan was measured using a horizontal wall-mounted scale to the nearest cm, with arms abducted at 90◦ from a neutral position and back facing towards the wall, and thigh circumference was measured using a tape

measure while standing at 2/3 of the distance between the lateral epicondyle of the knee and the greater trochanter on the dominant leg. Skeletal muscle mass and fat mass measurements were obtained using a Biospace Inbody 720 bioimpedance device (Inbody Co., Leicester, United Kingdom). Participants were asked to place toes and heels on the anterior and posterior electrodes of the weighting platform, and to firmly grasp the hand grip with both hands. Measurements were taken early in the morning, and participants were advised to avoid any moderate to vigorous physical activity a day before the measurement [34].

#### 2.3.2. Sprint Performance Measurement

After the general 15-min warm-up (10 min running, and 5 min of whole-body dynamic mobility exercises) and an additional three repetitions of progressive acceleration from faster to sprint running, participants performed two 20 m sprints, with 3 min of rest between each exertion. Prior to testing, four photocell gates (Polifemo Radio Light, Microgate, Bolzano, Italy) were placed at the start, at 5 m, at 10 m, and at 20 m. The dominant foot (lead-o ff foot) [35] was placed one meter behind the first photocell. The time recording was automatically initialized when a participant crossed the first photocell gate and stopped when the participant crossed the last photocell gate at 20 m distance. Participants were instructed to sprint at least 25 m in order to reach the highest maximum sprinting speed. The fastest of the two split times on 5 m, 10 m, and 20 m distances was used in the final analysis [4]. All measurements were performed indoors.

#### 2.3.3. Vertical Jump Performance Measurement

Vertical jump performance, measured as jump height (cm), was evaluated from the CMJ and SJ using an OptoJump infrared timing system (Microgate, Bolzano, Italy). The participants first performed three trials of CMJs followed by three trials of SJs [15]. One minute of rest was given between two trials. Prior to performing both jumps, participants were instructed about the jumping technique and later performed at least two submaximal familiarization repetitions of CMJs and SJs to learn proper jumping techniques [4]. The CMJ was performed by flexing the knee to a squat position (approximately 90◦ of knee flexion) from an upright position and then immediately extending the hips and the knee into a vertical jump, whereas the SJ was performed by jumping to vertical from squat position (90◦ of knee flexion) [20]. When approaching the landing position, participants were advised to land with extended knees to avoid any measurement error resulting from prolonged flight time. Both jumps were performed with hands placed on hips and with legs straightened during the flight. The jump height was calculated from the recorded flight time (height = [gravitational acceleration (9.81 m/s2) × flight time2] × 8 – 1) [4], and the highest jump was used in the final analysis.

#### 2.3.4. Handball Shooting Performance Measurement

Handball shooting performance was evaluated by measuring the ball velocity of a three-step set shot from the ground and the ball velocity of a three-step jump shot from the 9-m line, using the Bushnell Radar (Bushnell, Overland Park, KS, USA) with a measurement error of ±1.60 km/h (www.bushnellspeedster.com). The investigator measured ball velocity while standing at the 9-m line within 1 m of the participant performing the throw. After the warm-up, each participant performed one familiarization shot and two test shots of each shot type, with one minute of rest between shots [14,15].

#### 2.3.5. Maximal Isokinetic Strength Measurement

Isokinetic concentric torque of knee extensors and flexors was measured using an isokinetic dynamometer Biodex Pro 4 (Biodex Medical Systems, Shirley, New York, NY, USA) at 60◦/s and 180◦/s according to previous guidelines and studies [18,36]. Prior to testing day, the machine was calibrated according to manufacturer guidelines, using a long shoulder attached to the axis of the apparatus, generating a standard torque of 67.8 Nm.

Prior to testing, each participant completed a standardized warm-up protocol consisting of 10 min of light jogging, followed by short dynamic stretching exercises for lower limbs, and ending with a single 8-repetition set of squat and hip thrust exercises. After the general warm-up, the participants were seated upright in the dynamometer chair with restraining belts fastened across the chest, pelvis, and leg thigh to minimize body movement or any potential compensation of synergist muscles. Later, we aligned the dynamometer axis of rotation to the participant's knee joint axis of rotation using the lateral epicondyle as the anatomic mark. Additionally, gravitation torque error was measured prior to each trial, and the starting leg was randomly selected for each participant. The range of motion was set at 80◦, from 90◦ to 10◦ of knee flexion.

Prior to measuring maximal e ffort, each participant first performed a specific warm-up on the dynamometer consisting of 10 submaximal concentric contractions of knee flexion and extension at 60◦/s. The maximal test was conducted after 2 min of rest, with participants performing five maximal concentric knee extensions and flexions. Verbal encouragemen<sup>t</sup> was given by the investigator during the test to ensure participants performed at their maximal e ffort. The maximal value out of five measurements was normalized to body weight (N/kg) and used in the final statistical analysis. In addition, bilateral di fferences between left and right maximal isometric torque (left leg/right leg maximal isometric torque × 100%) and unilateral hamstring-to-quadriceps maximal isometric torque (hamstring/quadriceps maximal isometric torque × 100%) [37] was calculated prior to further statistical analysis.

#### *2.4. Statistical Analysis*

Categorical variables are presented as frequencies and percentages, and numeric variables are presented as means and standard deviations, unless otherwise stated. All numeric variables were firstly screened for assumptions of normality of distribution and homogeneity of variances using the Shapiro–Wilk test and the Levene's test, respectively. This was screened for the whole sample and according to each playing position. The di fference between playing positions was calculated using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) for normally distributed variables and homogeneous variances, otherwise, the Kruskal–Wallis test was applied. When one-way ANOVA detected significant di fferences between playing positions, an additional post hoc analysis was performed using the Tukey's honest significance test or pairwise comparisons, depending on the dispersion of variances between playing positions. Correlations between anthropometric, physical, and handball performance were assessed using Spearman's rank correlation coe fficient. All statistical analyses were performed using IBM SPSS version 21 (SPSS Inc., Armonk, New York, NY, USA), and the level of significance was set at *p*-value < 0.05.
