IDENTIFICATION OF MOVEMENT STRAGEGIES IN VERTICAL JUMPS

Abstract

The primary aim of this study is to compare the ability of three commonly used clustering techniques to identify movement strategies within countermovement jumps. A secondary aim is to interpret the identified movement strategies. A hierarchical, k-means using nonand normalized subject scores and an Expectation-Maximization approach using normalized subject scores were examined. The ability to identify movement strategies was measured using the r2-value of a regression model to describe jump height. Clusters of the best clustering solution were examined for differences. Hierarchical clustering utilizing normalized subject scores to generate 4 clusters appears to be the most suitable technique. The generated clusters demonstrated clear defining characteristics.