Situational Analysis and Tactical Decision-Making in Elite Handball Players

Situational analysis and decision-making represent key elements of elite sports performances, but few studies have investigated which player’s skills related to these aspects are relevant in elite handballers. The aim of this study was to address differences among handballers belonging to two tiers in processing situational probabilities information related to offensive and defensive situations. A total of 38 handballers (male = 22, female = 16, age: 25.6 ± 6.5 years, first-tier = 11, second-tier = 27) saw videos about different offensive and defensive actions. According to the temporal occlusion paradigm, each handballer provided a response about the best action a selected player had to perform according to the game’s context. The time, accuracy, and technical correctness of each player’s response were assessed. MANOVA revealed moderate-to-high skills differences between first- and second-tier players. First-tier players provided higher scores in response time and accuracy; they also obtained higher technical correctness scores in the most complex situation. The members of the first tier seemed to mainly depend on the accuracy of responses, even if the technical correctness also resulted in a predictor in the most complex situation. Playing in the best tier seems to require the development of very good skills related to processing situational probability information; therefore, training these elements seems to be necessary for determining the differences among elite handballers.