Purpose: To examine the effect of caffeine supplementation on dribbling speed in elite female and male basketball players.
Methods: A double-blind, counterbalanced, randomized, crossover design was utilized. Elite basketball players (n = 21; female, n = 10; male, n = 11; age = 18.3 ± 3.3 yr) completed placebo (3 mg·kg-1 of body mass of dextrose) and caffeine (3 mg·kg-1 of body mass) trials 1 week apart during the in-season phase. During each trial, players completed 20-m linear sprints with and without dribbling a basketball. Performance times were recorded at 5-m, 10-m, and 20-m splits. Dribbling speed was measured using traditional (total performance time) and novel (Dribble Deficit) methods. Dribble Deficit isolates the added time taken to complete a task when dribbling compared to a non-dribbling version of the same task. Comparisons between placebo and caffeine conditions were conducted at group and individual levels.
Results: Non-significant (P > 0.05), trivial-small (effect size = 0.04-0.42) differences in dribbling speed were observed between conditions. The majority (20 out of 21) of players were classified as non-responders to caffeine, with 1 player identified as a negative responder using Dribble Deficit measures.
Conclusions: Results indicate caffeine offers no ergogenic benefit to dribbling speed in elite basketball players. The negative response to caffeine in one player indicates caffeine supplementation may be detrimental to dribbling speed in specific cases and emphasizes the need for individualized analyses in nutrition-based sport science research.
Keywords: ergogenic aid; nutrition; pharmaceutical; skill; team sport; technique.