The Impact of Coordination Training on Psychomotor Abilities in Adolescent Handball Players: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Handball requires significant psychomotor skills, especially in young athletes, to enhance performance. Coordination training is crucial but under-researched in this context. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of an experimental coordination training program on the psychomotor abilities of young handball players. Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 27 young handball players. Participants were divided into an experimental group (n = 15) receiving additional coordination training and a control group (n = 12) following standard training. Psychomotor skills were assessed before, during, and after the intervention by PNTR (Computer Tests of Coordination Abilities) tests. Statistical analysis included the Mann-Whitney U test for between-group differences and the Wilcoxon test for within-group comparisons, with significance set at p < 0.05. Results: The experimental group showed significant improvements in psychomotor performance, including reaction time and visual-motor coordination, compared to the control group. Specifically, there were statistically significant improvements in simple reaction time, visual-motor coordination, spatial orientation, attention distribution, and perception orientation. Conclusions: Coordination training effectively enhances the psychomotor abilities of young handball players, suggesting that its integration into regular training sessions can optimize performance.