LAUSR

CONTEXT A detailed analysis of wheelchair basketball skills in beginner wheelchair basketball players (WBP) can provide practitioners with important indications regarding the selection and prospective development of potential sports talents. A comprehensive WBP evaluation can be very time consuming, mainly during the initial phases of the training processes, which could be a barrier in clinical and practical settings. Moreover, the large number and the turnover of beginner WBP attending rehabilitation centers make the applicability of field and strength tests unfeasible. OBJECTIVE To verify the relationships between the medicine ball throw (MBT) and wheelchair basketball mobility performance field tests and the shoulder and trunk peak torque in male and female beginner WBP. DESIGN Cross-sectional study. SETTING Rehabilitation Hospital Network, Paralympic Program. PARTICIPANTS Thirty-seven female and male beginner WBP. MAIN OUTCOMES MEASURES Participants performed wheelchair basketball field tests (speed, agility, strength, and power tests) and the maximum strength test in the isokinetic dynamometer. The outcomes were correlated with the MBT results. RESULTS The MBT presented significantly very high and perfect correlations with all wheelchair basketball field tests assessed (5-m sprint, 20-m sprint, and zig-zag agility test with and without a ball), and peak torque (R2 ranging from .810 to .995; P ≤ .05) for male and female athletes. CONCLUSIONS The MBT, a simple and feasible test, can be used for estimating and determining the wheelchair mobility performance of female and male beginner WBP. It is suggested to measure the distance of a 5-kg medicine ball thrown by athletes during training and testing routines to follow the players' progression.