CENTRE OF PRESSURE DURING COUNTERMOVEMENT JUMP: IS IT RELATED TO EXPERTISE OR PERFORMANCE?

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate how specific variables related to the centre of pressure (CoP) trajectory during a countermovement jump (CMJ) carry information related to expertise and performance. The variables investigated were: lengths and average velocities during eccentric (Ecc) and concentric (Con) phases, medio-lateral (ML) and antero-posterior (AP) ranges of movement, and ML bias. In terms of expertise, the curves were tracked and compared over four jump sessions conducted by both experienced and inexperienced jumpers to investigate adaptive changes towards a more efficient way of jumping. Links between performance and those characteristics were also investigated. Our study indicated that no useful information related to either expertise or performance can be extracted from the CoP trajectory during a CMJ.