THE EFFECT OF THE INITIAL SHOULDER ANGLE AND ARM ANGULAR VELOCITY ON BALL SPEED DURING THE JUMP SERVE IN MALE HIGH-SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL STUDENTS AGED 16–18 YEARS IN BAGHDAD
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61841/frtqcg17Keywords:
Volleyball, jump serve, speed of the ball, angle of the shoulders, rotation speed, adolescent athletes, biomechanics, Baghdad.Abstract
Background: One of the main factors of how effective the volleyball jump serves is the speed of the ball. Previous biomechanical studies indicate that serve performance is influenced by coordinated upper-limb kinematics, including shoulder position, arm swing velocity, and proximal-to-distal transfer of momentum.
Objective: This study examined the effect of the initial shoulder angle and arm angular velocity on ball speed during the volleyball jump serve among male high-school students aged 16–18 years in Baghdad, Iraq.
Methods: A cross-sectional biomechanical study was conducted during the 2025–2026 academic year in the sports hall of the Directorate of Education, Baghdad Al-Karkh. Fifty male secondary-school students aged 16–18 years participated. Each student performed three valid jump serves. Ball speed was measured using a radar-based method, while the initial shoulder angle and arm angular velocity were obtained through two-dimensional video motion analysis. Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression were used to determine the relationships between biomechanical variables and ball speed.
Results: The mean ball speed was 19.84 2.31 m/s. Inverse shoulder angle was moderately correlated with ball speed and arm angular velocity was strongly positively correlated. For multiple regression, the initial shoulder angle and arm angular velocity were significant predictors of ball speed and accounted for 56.4 of the variance. Angular velocity of the arm was a better independent predictor.
Conclusion: For male secondary school volleyball players, ball speed during the jump serve was related to arm angular velocity and the initial shoulder angle (optimum) in the jump serve. Technically safe arm acceleration, shoulder positioning, trunk-arm coordination and progressive strength development should be the focus of training programmes.
References
1. Bota, A. (2018). Subliminal stimulation in the case of young people practising systematic physical activities.
2. Hussein, A. A. (2019). Effects of Using Mental Imagery and Mental-Physical Methods in Acquisition and Retention of Long Jump Skill (Master's thesis, University of Malaya (Malaysia)).
3. Epstein, D. (2013). The Sports Gene: What makes an athlete This pioneering study redefines elite performance. Random House.
4. Sahin, M., Sagirkaya, A., Peker, A. T., Bademli, K., Lok, N., & Lok, S. (2017). Relationship with parental psychological control and stress levels in national sports. Ser. Phys. Educ. Sport Sci. Mov. Health, 7(480).
5. Glass, S. M. (2015). Strength, balance, and range of motion as modifiers of the effect of external load-bearing on functional movement behaviors in the military recruitment population. The University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
6. Hussein Al-Saadi, E. S., & Ameen Shalsh, M. J. (2024). The Impact of Mechanical Training in Accordance with Regulating the Optimal Stride Length in the First and Second Straight Phases on the Achievement of 400 Meter Events for Men. Journal of Physical Education (20736452), 36(1).
7. Ali, E. (2014). The effect of practice schedule manipulation on the acquisition and retention of tennis skills (Doctoral dissertation).
8. Saleh, W. A., Saleh, W. M., & Jassim, O. L. (2025). A Three-Dimensional Analytical Study of the Spike Skill in Volleyball According to Certain Biomechanical Motion Variables and Performance Technique Among the University of Tikrit Team Players.
9. Levinson, D., & Christensen, K. (Eds.). (1999). Encyclopedia of world sport: from ancient times to the present. Oxford university press.
10. Stamm, R. (1999). Methods for Testing Individual Abilities of 13–16-Year-Old Female Volleyball Players and Assessment of Their Proficiency in the Game. International journal of volleyball research, 1(1), 50-56.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
You are free to:
- Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format for any purpose, even commercially.
- Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.
- The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.
Under the following terms:
- Attribution — You must give appropriate credit , provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made . You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
- No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
Notices:
You do not have to comply with the license for elements of the material in the public domain or where your use is permitted by an applicable exception or limitation .
No warranties are given. The license may not give you all of the permissions necessary for your intended use. For example, other rights such as publicity, privacy, or moral rights may limit how you use the material.
