Investigation of the effect of bench throw and bounce force on shooting speed and accuracy in super league level handball players

In this study, the aim was to examine the effect of bench throw on the throwing velocity and accuracy in male handball players at the Super League level. The population of the research consisted of 215 athletes from 12 teams competing in the Turkish Handball Federation's Turkey Super League in the 2022-2023 season, while the sample group consisted of 33 male athletes from Trabzon Metropolitan Municipality Handball team, which participated in the Turkey Super League in the 2022-2023 season. The experimental research design chosen for the study was the post-test only design without a control group, which involves determining the impact of an independent variable on a dependent variable in a controlled and supervised environment. The data obtained from the tests and measurements applied to the sample group during the research process were analyzed using the SPSS (23.0) program. In the analysis of the data, skewness-kurtosis normality analysis was performed initially to determine the distribution pattern and test the normal distribution. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test was used to determine the differences between multiple groups and variables, such as height, body weight, bench throw force value, vertical jump height test values, lateral throwing velocity, throwing velocity, and throwing accuracy. For the variable "years of playing sports," which did not exhibit a normal distribution pattern, the non-parametric equivalent of the ANOVA test, the Kruskal-Wallis test, was applied. All tests were interpreted at a significance level of p<0.05, and the confidence interval of the tests was set at 95%. Post hoc analysis was conducted to determine which variables showed significant differences and the LSD (Least Significant Difference) test was used to identify the effect. As a result of the analysis, a significant difference was not found between the athletes' bench throw and jump force and throwing accuracy (p>0.05). However, a significant difference was found between bench throw force and throwing velocity (p<0.05). In conclusion, it was found that bench throw force affects the throwing velocity in male handball players at the Super League level, but it does not affect the throwing accuracy. Additionally, it was observed that jump force did not significantly affect both throwing velocity and accuracy. Keywords: Bench Throw, Jump, Throwing Velocity, Accuracy.