THE EFFECT OF SHOE WEAR ON THE DROP STEP

Peak jump height and the efficiency of the closed kinetic chain in basketball can contribute to the success of an individual player or team (Dowling, Vamos, 1993). This performance can be altered as shoe structure is compromised, possibly leading to a decrease in performance. The purpose of this study was to determine if angular velocity at the knee and hip as well as jump height performance were compromised with shoe deterioration. In this study, 12 male members of an NCAA Division III basketball team performed a drop step movement with a vertical jump. Subjects were filmed with a digital video camera filming at 60 Hz and vertical force (Fz) data was recorded using a force plate. Knee angles increased significantly (&#945; < 0.05) over the eight weeks of testing. Additionally, total time and peak height decreased while vertical force at toe-off increased. Although total time for performing the drop step movement was decreased throughout the study, peak jump height was compromised with shoe deterioration