Assessment of development of adolescent volleyball players’ jumping ability

The aim of the study was to find the influence of Prof. A. Belyayev and L. Bulykina’s a month-and-a-half vertical jumping ability development programme on adolescent volleyball players aged 12–14 years. The subjects in the experimental group were 15 adolescent volleyball players whose mean age was 12.9 years – 7 boys whose initial mean running jump result was 52.9 cm and 8 girls whose mean running jump result was 36.9 cm. The control group consisted of 13 players – 3 boys whose initial mean running jump result was 54.3 cm and 10 girls whose mean running jump result was 47 cm. The study consists of three parts; in the first part, the subjects’ anthropometric variables and running and standing jump ability were measured. Thereafter, the volleyball players of the experimental group attended a programme that lasted for 54 days, after which the children’s anthropometric variables and jumping ability were measured again. The results showed that the vertical jumping ability development programme proved effective. It improved girls’ and boys’ mean vertical standing jump result by 6.8 cm and vertical jump from attack steps by 6.5 cm. Boys improved their vertical standing jump result by 6.2 cm and vertical jump from attack steps by 7.8 cm. Girls’ vertical standing jump result improved by 7.4 cm and vertical jump from attack steps by 5.1 cm; the changes were statistically significant. In the control group, jumping ability did not change statistically significantly, considering the mean results of the groups. A. V. Belyayev and L. Bulykina’s jumping ability development programme proved to be suitable to be used in an adapted version for developing 12–14-year-old volleyball players’ vertical jumping ability.