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Advances in Water-Based Team Sports: Performance, Training Strategies, and Athlete...
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Advances in Water-Based Team Sports: Performance, Training Strategies, and Athlete Development

A special issue of Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology (ISSN 2411-5142). This special issue belongs to the section "Athletic Training and Human Performance".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2026 | Viewed by 3404

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Tea Galic

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Medicine, University of Split, Split, Croatia
Interests: water-based sports; water polo; youth athletes; elite athletes; talent development; sport injuries; orofacial injuries; cognition; executive functions; sleep
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In the last decade, there has been growing interest for participation in water-based team sports worldwide, for both men and women, youth and adults. The scientific literature identifying performance indicators and other factors related to success in the game, particularly in youth athletes, is scarce. Water-based team sports take place in water, an unnatural medium for humans, making movements more challenging than in other court sports, while adopting technical–tactical rules and game strategies. Therefore, athletes’ development and training strategies in water-based team sports are challenging while requiring specific anthropometric characteristics and functional capacities. Thus, this Special Issue focuses on different advances in training strategies in water-based team sports including various factors influencing success in the game, such as nutrition, injuries, sleep and recovery, psychological aspects, and the overall well-being of an athlete, in an attempt to understand their role in enhancing sports performance and promote long-term athletic growth. It will feature up-to-date research offering new insights and evaluations of innovative practices and emerging technologies for training and performance strategies in water-based team sports in different age populations, from youth to professionals, for male and female athletes. Additionally, we welcome research exploring the interaction between different success factors, the development of sports-specific skills, and how they can be enhanced through targeted training interventions. Authors are invited to submit original research, longitudinal studies, review papers, and applied field-based investigations to offer new insights into water polo performance and key factors to success. We welcome submissions that provide profound and original perspectives, contributing valuable insights to the scientific literature with practical and effective approaches applicable to the sports field. These submissions should encourage a critical, forward-looking perspective, addressing the future challenges faced by water polo players, coaches, and researchers alike, while fostering a comprehensive and interdisciplinary approach to the promotion of water-based team sports.

Dr. Tea Galic
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • water-based sports
  • swimming
  • water polo
  • youth athletes
  • elite athletes
  • training load
  • talent development
  • team sports performance
  • training strategies
  • sports injuries
  • sports nutrition
  • recovery

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 624 KB  
Article
Monitoring Treadmill Physical Exercise and Recovery in Elite Water Polo Players with Local Muscle Oxygen Saturation Measurements—Regional and Sex Differences
by Máté Babity, Márk Zámodics, Éva Kovács, Ágnes Bucskó-Varga, Panka Kulcsár, Dóra Boroncsok, Regina Benkő, Alexandra Fábián, Márton Horváth, Dorottya Balla, Bálint K. Lakatos, Attila Kovács, Hajnalka Vágó, Béla Merkely and Orsolya Kiss
J. Funct. Morphol. Kinesiol. 2025, 10(4), 464; https://doi.org/10.3390/jfmk10040464 - 28 Nov 2025
Viewed by 935
Abstract
Background: Despite numerous data on whole-body responses, we have less information about local muscular changes during physical exercise in athletes. Oxygen saturation (SmO2) changes in the working muscles follow phases of load and are useful, as local metabolism could influence [...] Read more.
Background: Despite numerous data on whole-body responses, we have less information about local muscular changes during physical exercise in athletes. Oxygen saturation (SmO2) changes in the working muscles follow phases of load and are useful, as local metabolism could influence physical fitness. Methods: A total of 100 asymptomatic elite water polo players (63% male, age: 17.2 (interquartile range: 16.1–18.9) years) were examined using near-infrared spectroscopy to measure SmO2 in both vastus lateralis and left deltoid muscles during continuous uphill running treadmill exercise. Results: Differences were observed between upper and averaged lower limb resting SmO2 (82.1% (77.0–89.0%) vs. 68.3% (59.2–73.6%), p < 0.001). During exercise, the relative decrease in averaged lower limb SmO2 was greater compared to the upper limb at the anaerobic threshold (−0.371 (−0.539–−0.200) vs. –0.224 (−0.340–−0.099), p < 0.001) and at maximal exercise (−0.557 (−0.750–−0.411) vs. –0.420 (−0.556–−0.271), p < 0.001). Higher averaged lower limb relative SmO2 was recorded compared to the upper limb after 5 min cool-down (+0.081% (−0.046–+0.195%) vs. –0.047% (−0.140–+0.000), p < 0.001). No differences were found between males and females in resting lower limb SmO2. Both sexes showed a monotonic decrease in SmO2 during exercise, with differences in the relative values at the anaerobic threshold and at maximal intensity. Females exhibited a rebound in SmO2 after a 5 min cool-down. Conclusions: We provide insights into SmO2 alterations during maximal-intensity exercise and recovery through the measurements of elite water polo athletes, also highlighting sex differences in SmO2. Measuring local SmO2 changes is a promising additional method in physical fitness follow-up. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Water-Based Team Sports: Performance, Training Strategies, and Athlete Development)
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9 pages, 461 KB  
Article
Assessment of Youth Water Polo Players’ Swimming Sprint Potential: A New Approach to Building an International Model
by Andrea Perazzetti, Antonio Tessitore, Mehmet Zeki Özkol, Nebojša Novoselac and Milivoj Dopsaj
J. Funct. Morphol. Kinesiol. 2025, 10(2), 200; https://doi.org/10.3390/jfmk10020200 - 31 May 2025
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1890
Abstract
Background: To cope with their horizontal swimming phases, water polo players use different swimming techniques, such as specific variants of the crawl swimming style. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the swimming skills of young water polo players. Methods: An all-out [...] Read more.
Background: To cope with their horizontal swimming phases, water polo players use different swimming techniques, such as specific variants of the crawl swimming style. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the swimming skills of young water polo players. Methods: An all-out 25-m sprint swimming test in crawl style was completed by 273 international youth water polo players (age = 14.0 ± 0.8 yrs) in two modalities: basic crawl with the head in the water (25CHeadIN), and a crawl performed while dribbling the ball (25CBall). Results: We registered an average time of 14.79 and 15.64 s for 25CHeadIN and 25CBall, respectively, in which the ball dribbling increased to 5% of the swimming time. A swimming skill index (25CSIC) was calculated to account for differences in ball dribbling speeds, which, considering our international sample and in the absence of previous data, we could speculate as the first international standard value for 14-year-old male water polo players competing at international level. The averaged values for 25CSI and 25CSIC were 0.94 ± 0.04 (a.u.) and 1.52 ± 0.15 (a.u.), respectively. Factor analysis indicated that swimming with and without the ball are structurally distinct technical skills, highlighting the specificity of these water polo players’ abilities. Moreover, the study shows significant differences (p < 0.05) between players from different countries and despite some limitations, its results provide valuable insights for the assessment and development of sprint swimming skills in youth water polo players. Conclusions: In summary, the findings of this research provide practical implications for training, player selection, player development and the optimization of youth water polo player performance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Water-Based Team Sports: Performance, Training Strategies, and Athlete Development)
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