Vol. 7, Issue 1, Part B (2025)

Purpose: This study aimed to analyze and compare motor fitness components-speed, agility, and explosive leg power-among school-level handball players based on their playing positions.
Methods: A total of 100 male handball players, aged 16-18 years, were divided equally into four positional groups: Wings, Backcourt Players, Pivots, and Goalkeepers (n=25 each). Standardized motor fitness tests were administered: the 30-meter sprint (speed), Illinois Agility Test (agility), and Standing Broad Jump (explosive power). Descriptive statistics and One-Way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s HSD post hoc tests were used to assess group differences.
Results: Significant differences were found across all motor fitness components (p<0.001). Wings recorded the fastest sprint times (4.47±0.19 s) and greatest agility (16.54±0.72 s), while Pivots had the highest explosive power (227.55±18.92 cm). Goalkeepers consistently performed lowest across all tests. Post hoc analysis confirmed that Wings outperformed all other groups in speed and agility (p<0.01), while Pivots had superior power compared to Wings and Goalkeepers (p<0.05).
Conclusion: The findings highlight the need for position-specific training in school-level handball to optimize performance and guide early talent development.