Correlation between tactical performance and physical fitness in basketball during physical education classes using a multivariate training programme

Abstract

Multivariate training programmes are widely recognised as an effective strategy for developing the skills necessary for good performance in the collective modalities addressed in physical education. The aim of this study was to verify the correlation between tactical performance and physical fitness levels in young secondary school students during the teaching of the didactic unit of basketball using a multivariate training programme. A group of forty-seven students from a Portuguese school volunteered to participate in the study. A correlational study was used to verify the association between tactical performance and physical fitness while teaching the Basketball Didactic Unit based on TGFU (i.e., 6 weeks) in two different moments. All subjects were randomly divided into two groups (control and experimental) and assessed at two different moments: before the teaching of the didactic unit (pre-test) and at the end of the teaching of the didactic unit (post-test). Tactical performance in basketball was assessed using the Game Performance Assessment Instrument (GPAI), while physical fitness was assessed using some physical tests from the FitEscola battery. Overall, the multivariate training programme did not differentiate the magnitudes of the correlations between the variables analysed. However, it is confirmed that the multivariate training programme seems to emerge as a positive and differentiating pedagogical strategy that should be integrated into physical education classes.