Ali Jabbar Murhij (1)
General Background: Competitive handball requires rapid information processing and appropriate tactical responses under constantly changing playing situations. Specific Background: During fast-break attacks, young players must interpret teammates’ and opponents’ positions and select an appropriate response within limited time, while psychological strain may reduce concentration and adaptive thinking may support tactical selection. Knowledge Gap: The combined contribution of these two cognitive and psychological variables to tactical choices among Iraqi youth players remains insufficiently examined. Aims: This study assesses their individual relationships with fast-break decision performance and constructs a regression model explaining tactical response quality. Results: A descriptive correlational predictive design included all 16 youth players from Al-Kufa Sports Club during the 2025–2026 season. Data were collected using a mental fatigue scale, the Cognitive Flexibility Inventory, and an expert-rated fast-break decision test. Psychological strain was negatively correlated with tactical response scores (r = −0.712), whereas adaptive thinking was positively correlated with them (r = 0.689). The combined model was statistically significant, F = 16.41, p = 0.001, and explained 71.6% of the variance in performance scores. Regression coefficients confirmed negative contribution from strain (B = −0.63, p = 0.004) and positive contribution from adaptive thinking (B = 0.38, p = 0.011). Novelty: The study integrates two cognitive-psychological variables within one predictive model for high-tempo attacking situations. Implications: Youth preparation programs should incorporate psychological recovery strategies and executive-function exercises alongside technical and physical training.
Highlights:
Keywords: Mental Fatigue, Cognitive Flexibility, Decision-Making Accuracy, Fast Attack.
D. Memmert and S. König, The Mental Game: Cognitive Training, Creativity, and Game Intelligence in Handball. Aachen, Germany: Meyer & Meyer Sport, 2024.
D. Memmert and S. König, “Cognitive athletic training in handball,” 2025.
J. M. Silva, “Psychological aspects in the training and performance of team handball athletes,” in The Sport Psychologist’s Handbook: A Guide for Sport-Specific Performance Enhancement, pp. 211–243, 2006.
D. Memmert and S. König, Cognitive Athletic Training in Handball: Training Strength, Endurance, Speed, Coordination, and Cognitive Abilities. Cham, Switzerland: Springer Nature, 2025.
S. Moss, “The physical, physiological and performance characteristics of English youth team handball players,” 2014.
C. Vázquez-Estévez, I. Prieto-Lage, X. Reguera-López-de-la-Osa, A. J. Silva-Pinto, J. C. Argibay-González, and A. Gutiérrez-Santiago, “Analysis of offensive patterns after timeouts in critical moments in the EuroLeague 2022/23,” Applied Sciences, vol. 15, no. 3, p. 1580, 2025.
R. Rusmana et al., “Effects of tactical game+ encouragement on improve decision making and skill execution in basketball athletes,” Revista Iberoamericana de Psicología del Ejercicio y el Deporte, vol. 18, no. 5, pp. 612–617, 2023.
N. Foretić and Š. Veršić, “Conditioning in team sports games,” University of Split, Faculty of Kinesiology, 2026.
A. Shalom, R. Gottlieb, P. E. Alcaraz, and J. Calleja-Gonzalez, “A narrative review of the dominant physiological energy systems in basketball and the importance of specificity and uniqueness in measuring basketball players,” Applied Sciences, vol. 13, no. 23, p. 12849, 2023.
T. Broch, A Performative Feel for the Game. Cham, Switzerland: Springer, 2020.
S. P. Swinnen and C. J. Winstein, “Wednesday, June 15, 2016,” 2016.
R. Breed and M. Spittle, Developing Game Sense in Physical Education and Sport. Champaign, IL, USA: Human Kinetics Publishers, 2021.
M. Lames, “Theoretical performance analysis,” in Performance Analysis in Game Sports: Concepts and Methods, Springer, 2023, pp. 83–175.
D. R. Doyle, Self-Reported Attentional Style and Performance of High School Basketball Players. Philadelphia, PA, USA: Temple University, 1992.
R. Marquess, “Implementing a comprehensive middle school physical education program: A handbook of activities and learning experiences for integration of fitness skills and lifetime activities into the physical education curriculum,” 2002.
G. Polvino, “Basketball. Volleyball. NAGWS guide. July 1979–July 1981: Tips and techniques for teachers and coaches,” 1979.
N. A. Athab, “An analytical study of cervical spine pain according to the mechanical indicators of the administrative work staff,” Indian Journal of Public Health, vol. 10, no. 5, p. 1349, 2019.
S. H. Mohamed, A. M. Athab, N. K. Mohammed Ali, and I. I. Latif, “Mineral derangement and bone diseases in uremic patients on hemodialysis in Ibn-Sina Hemodialysis Center/Diyala,” Diyala Journal of Medicine, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 60–76, 2019.
N. A. Athab, “Effect of a rehabilitation program to improve the structural stability of the elbow joint for injured players,” Journal of Studies and Research in Sport Education, vol. 41, 1818.
Y. Song, The Impact of Different Game Types and Sports on College Students’ Physical Activity and Motivation in Basic Instruction Program Settings. Morgantown, WV, USA: West Virginia University, 2017.