Step-Level Characteristics of Pickup Acceleration Performance in Team-Sport Athletes

Background/Objectives: Pickup acceleration refers to acceleration initiated from a non-static start and can be described as a function of Approach, Transition, and Pickup steps. Given the forward-leaning posture adopted during the Transition and Pickup steps, it was hypothesized that estimated step horizontal force (SFh) production would be a key determinant of pickup acceleration ability. Methods: Forty-eight male athletes performed four 30 m pickup sprints at LED-guided entry velocities of 1.5 m/s (walking) and 3.0 m/s (jogging), with spatiotemporal data collected via a horizontal linear position transducer. Athletes were grouped as “fast” or “slow” based on maximal acceleration (amax) and were compared at time points/steps using Bonferroni-adjusted independent t-tests. Results: Across both entries, faster athletes achieved significantly higher amax (~13–17%) and maximum velocity (vmax; ~7–8%). At 1.5 m/s, the faster group produced significantly greater SFh during the Transition and Pickup steps (~33–34%), resulting in longer step lengths (SL; ~12%), higher step acceleration (Sa; ~16–23%), and higher step velocities (Sv; ~4–9%). At 3.0 m/s, SFh and Sa remained greater (adjusted p ≤ 0.01) in the faster group (~23–41%; 25–32% respectively) but produced fewer significant kinematic differences. It would seem that “faster” pickup acceleration is likely associated with greater SFh across the transition and first pickup steps; this increase in force may influence kinematics during a walking entry, but its influence is less apparent during a jogging entry. It is possible that at higher entry velocities, other technical/mechanical factors may become more important, necessitating a more advanced technological approach to studying pickup acceleration than that used in this study.