Strength and speed, as motor abilities are a crucial part of modern basketball, and it is mandatory for the teams or players that wish to be on the top, to lay stress upon mentioned motor abilities. Speed needed to execute in basketball, has increased significantly during the last few decades and has consequently increased the demand for strength as well. Therefore, strength in basketball is a necessity in order to enable basketball player decelerate or accelerate his movements. In order to be able to execute movements with increased acceleration , a prerequisite is a high level of explosive strength and speed, while both of them are mostly dependent on neural factors. One of the most recognized and widely accepted tools to improve speed and especially explosive strength, are Olympic weightlifting exercises. Mechanical properties of weightlifting exercises are similar to these significant for basketball movements, whether with or without the ball and on the ofensive and defensive end of the court. Nowadays, we can witness use of training methods and approaches suitable for adults in youth sport and basketball is unfortunately not an exception. We can face youth, even the youngest, confronted by demands of adulthood; for example execution of movements, which are not mastered at highest speed. Most of the youth is unprepared for such actions, which can in combination with insufficent and improper resistance training lead to overuse injuries at a low age. Plasticity of the nervous system in prepubertal period allows youth to master new skills and has an significant effect on explosive strength and speed. Therefore, involving weightlifting exercises such as squats, lungees and other complex movements (snatch, clean, jerk), can have a benefit on these abilities, as well as prepares the young athlete for a demanding strenght and conditioning process and also on basketball training in adolescence and adulthood. In case of taking into account the above mentioned recommendations, chances, of achieving maximal genetic potential of an individual become way higher. Otherwise, a young athlete, especially in intensive growth age period, may risk an exposure to structural imbalances in his body, which lead to compensatory movement patterns, causing injuries that can affect a premature conclusion of their career.
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