Harper, D., Philipp, N.M., Eriksrud, O., Jones, P.A., Graham-Smith, P. & Dos´Santos, T. (2025)
Deceleration is a critical locomotor skill for athletes competing in multi-directional speed sports. Greater deceleration can help athletes perform rapid reductions in velocity facilitating rapid changes of direction, whilst the high mechanical forces associated with braking can be linked to a heightened risk of fatigue, tissue damage and injuries. Despite the clear importance of deceleration in sport, research and applied practices in the past have predominantly focused on assessing an athlete’s sprint acceleration and maximum velocity capabilities, neglecting the necessity to be able to decelerate. With tactical evolutions in sports demanding athletes to accelerate and attain higher sprinting speeds more frequently in competition, there is increased necessity to decelerate and to be able to accurately assess this movement skill. Therefore, the aim of this article is to discuss methodological and practical considerations of the protocols and measurement technologies that can be used to assess deceleration in an applied field-based environment.
Published: November 27, 2025