New Perspectives in Assessing Pickup Acceleration.

In team sports, linear acceleration is a fundamental skill that defines success across competitive levels. While maximal acceleration capability from a static start has been studied extensively, team sport athletes mostly accelerate from a submaximal speed. This ability to maximally accelerate from a non-static start (i.e., pickup acceleration) is largely unexplored. In this review, pickup acceleration assessment using a motorized horizontal linear position encoder (1080 Sprint) is discussed in detail, various signals explained, and a sample case study of high and low pickup capability described.