Building a performance pathway from youth to elite

By Pontus Axell – Performance Coach Youth National Teams and author to SHF sports physiological strategy.

In today’s digital age, inactive lifestyles have become a pressing concern, with many children and adolescents not meeting recommended activity levels. Research indicates that inactivity contributes to health issues such as obesity, cardiovascular diseases, and cognitive delays (Tremblay et al., 2011; WHO, 2020). In response, sports clubs and organizations across the country hold a unique responsibility to counteract this trend by creating inclusive opportunities for youth engagement in physical activity.

Participation in a variety of sports fosters essential motor skills, strength, coordination, and endurance, promoting lifelong habits of health and resilience (Giblin et al., 2014). When sports clubs emphasize diverse physical engagement, they help children build a solid foundation that supports both their overall well-being and readiness for the demands of elite sports environments.

Without these fundamental physical skills, young athletes may struggle to cope with the volume and intensity required at higher levels, increasing their risk of injury and hindering long-term performance (DiFiori et al 2014; Van Hooren et al 2020; Jahanti et al 2024). Additionally, our unpublished data indicates that our youth players demonstrate well-developed sport-specific skills, including speed (10m and 20m sprints), jump ability (Countermovement Jump and 10-5 Rebound Jump), and anaerobic capacity (2x150m) but lack the general motor abilities like aerobic capacity which is crucial to cope with the insane volume that comes with elite handball.

We attribute these physical capabilities to the trend of early specialization in a single sport, which often begins before the age of 15. To promote balanced athletic development, it is essential to encourage diverse and accessible sports participation for youth players before the age of 15. Equally important is the implementation of a comprehensive sports physiology strategy tailored to earlier on (from age of 12) develop proper physical qualities and in the long term enhance handball performance. This strategy should extend from youth development to elite levels and encompass key areas such as coaching education and national sports high school programs. Such an approach not only fosters well-rounded athletes but also equips future players to excel within competitive handball environments and create sustainable careers. 

Swedish handball federation model of how to optimize training based of pubertal age inspired by Cote et al 2014; Fahlström et al 2015, 2023).

Find out more on SHF website. 

Why is physical preparation important for handball players?

The modern game of team handball has seen a marked trend toward increasing speed and heightened physical demands. Font et al. (2021, 2022) highlight how today’s handball emphasizes rapid transitions and quick decision-making, requiring players to accelerate and change direction frequently. Manchado et al. (2020) support this, noting that contemporary match intensity has reshaped physical conditioning, with a focus on enhancing speed, strength, and endurance to keep pace with fast, dynamic play. In addition, the number of games during a competitive season has also increased which put extra demands on players aerobic qualities (Vo2max, maximal oxygen uptake) to cope with the volume of national and international competitions and increase the rate of recovery. This also including travels and regular training within team settings.

Number of games for players of different positions during the season 2020/2021. This also includes international games (WC) but not friendly games. Adapted from @datahandball_

Lefèvre et al. (2023) add that the sport’s evolution demands not only speed but also improved physical resilience to withstand high-impact collisions and continuous physical contact throughout the game. This shift challenges athletes to maintain peak performance under intense physical strain, shaping training programs to meet these rising standards. As a result, both the physiological and tactical profiles of handball players have adapted, with speed and physical robustness emerging as critical factors for success. 

This trend raises a key question: is the game of handball truly accelerating, and how might this influence future physical demands for players? Current data suggest a decisive shift in that direction. Notably, recent European Championships have demonstrated an increase in scoring and a reduction in average possession time, both indicative of a faster-paced game. In addition, here’s the standard deviation of time in possession for EC 2020: 4.11033, 2022: 4.435242, 2024: 5.083978. (@handballytics on X) It is logical that the change in the throw-off rule has affected the increased speed of the game. These developments imply that team handball may continue to demand even greater speed, agility, and endurance from athletes, shaping the future of training and performance standards in the sport.

Adapted from @handballytics

Why do we need a performance pathway?

Developing a performance pathway strategy is crucial for establishing a unified, long-term approach that fosters growth and excellence among our handball players. By “zooming out” to create a coherent framework, we can ensure that every stage of player development and coaching education is aligned, building a common thread that seamlessly connects individual training to team objectives and the broader goals of our organization. Such a strategy allows us to address the specific physical preparation needs of our players, equipping them with the essential skills and conditioning required to succeed at higher levels of competition.

This pathway strategy also promotes consistency in training methods, performance benchmarks, and talent nurturing across all age groups, creating a strong foundation for progression. With each step deliberately mapped out, athletes receive clear guidance and support, reducing gaps in development and maximizing potential. In the long term, a well-defined performance pathway contributes to a more efficient high-performance environment, enabling coaches and support staff to work with greater clarity and purpose. This cohesive approach not only strengthens our organization but also establishes a legacy of excellence, making our athletes better prepared and our teams more competitive on both national and international stages. This is why we have developed our own SHF sports physiological strategy that you can find out here.

To achieve these objectives and make our sports physiological strategy sucessful, it is essential to document all our activities comprehensively to ensure high success in our evaluations. But also, to provide our players feedback and designed individual tailored training programs that they can work within their club environments. The XPS Network is an invaluable tool in this process, serving as a crucial asset for a successful outcome.

Swedish handball federations approach with XPS Network that aligns with our physiological strategy.

Here’s a summary of some areas that we have found out to be successful since we incorporate XPS Network within our daily work and our sports physiological strategy. Click on the link to get a short video of how we have built our dashboards.  

Data Management – Data Storage for Documentation

One of the strengths of our system within the Swedish Handball Federation (SHF) is that we have used nearly the same set of testing protocols (fysprofilen) for over 25 years. This, combined with expertise from the Swedish Olympic Committee, has provided us with an invaluable database of values that helps us understand the physical profile of Swedish handball players. This data has also been critical in our analysis of trends, where, similar to other Swedish sports, we have observed a decline in aerobic capacity, which we believe reflects today’s more sedentary, inactive society. But as already mentioned, inverse relationship for speed and power. Although our players still exhibit “good” values in aerobic capacity, we now see a greater standard deviation across the entire group. With the support of XPS, we can now document and store this invaluable data, enabling us to make more effective decisions for the future and, together with our developed benchmarks, offer players more precise feedback.

Here’s a video of how you can build statistical analysis with diagrams etc in XPS.

Pedagogical tool for Individual development plan (IDP) & Benchmarks within player profile

An essential component of an athlete’s development is continuous feedback and building relationships through individual meetings. It is crucial that athletes receive information in a well-structured, educational manner and are aware of areas where they need to improve. In our organization, relationships play a pivotal role, and the XPS tool has enabled us to create dashboards to document our Individual Development Plans (IDP). This has made information easily accessible to both the player and the coach, facilitating the follow-up process. The image shows an example of how this dashboard is structured during our initial national team gatherings and selections (U15-U17).

As previously mentioned, within the Swedish Handball Federation (SHF), we benefit greatly from our shared testing framework, which, in collaboration with the Swedish Olympic Committee, has allowed us to establish a standard or benchmark for becoming an elite handball player. The purpose is to guide coaches and players and, above all, enhance the educational aspects of feedback discussions. For instance, if a coach tells a player they need to become faster, the player will likely ask, ‘But how fast is fast?’ In this case, benchmarks help clarify expectations and motivate players to train toward a specific goal. In the two images below, you will find the requirement profiles and recommendations based on age. These are integrated within the XPS player profile module under the ‘periodization table’ to enhance clarity and understanding for the players.

Benchmarks for men within SHF. Adapted from www.svenskhandboll.se/handboll-i-sverige/spelare/spelarutbildning/kravprofil

Benchmarks for women within SHF. www.svenskhandboll.se/handboll-i-sverige/spelare/spelarutbildning/kravprofil

SHF progression model for physical development and age based on SHF-established benchmarks.

Monitoring of training load and daily readiness

Monitoring training load and readiness is essential in professional handball to optimize performance and minimize injury risk. Training load, which encompasses both external (e.g., distance covered, sprints) and internal (e.g., heart rate, perceived exertion) measures, allows coaches to quantify the physical and physiological demands on players. Research highlights that imbalances in training load—either excessive or insufficient—are linked to increased injury rates and reduced performance. For instance, studies by Mónaco et al. (2019) show that consistently high training loads without adequate recovery elevate the risk of overuse injuries, particularly in elite handball athletes.

Readiness, reflecting a player’s physical and mental preparedness for training or competition, is another critical factor. It can be assessed through metrics like heart rate variability, subjective wellness scores, and neuromuscular tests. According to Gabbett et al. (2016), optimal readiness correlates with improved decision-making and technical execution, both essential for the high-intensity demands of handball. Implementing regular monitoring allows coaches to adjust training based on individual responses, enhancing performance consistency and reducing injury risks across the season. Ultimately, a science-backed approach to managing training load and readiness contributes to a more sustainable and successful athletic development in professional handball.

With the help of XPS tools, we can now monitor the players leading up to (during pre-camp) and throughout the championships to better understand their load, optimize their recovery, and provide their clubs with comprehensive load data once the championships are over.

Conduct tests that facilitate training management and automatically individualize the training plan.

A crucial question for us is how we utilize the results, with the ambition to also be time-efficient in the testing process. For a few years, we’ve noted that players feel the tests rarely influence the training content, while coaches have requested support with training programming. This essentially meant that, while we conducted extensive testing within our areas, we were not effectively utilizing the results.

How do we structure their individualized training? 

Based of this arguments, a conditioning card (custom designed excel spread sheet) was created that builds individualized intervals in meters and km/h based on two tests: maximum sprint speed (MSS, (assessed through a 40-50m maximum sprint or by analyzing split times over 10 or 5 meters) and maximum aerobic speed (MAS, determined through a continuous 1600-meter running test at your theoretical velocity at VO₂max) (Sandford et al 2021). This provides us with a measure of the anaerobic speed reserve which in is easiest forms is the continuum between your vVo2max and MSS and this document is an important part of our national sports high school program. Where a overarching goal is to teach players to train with periodized intensity, consider the individual capacity and how they could adjust the isolated conditioning into their training puzzle. These thresholds and values for various interval formats are derived from a combination of research data and proven practical experience (Buchheit & Laursen, 2018; Jovanovic, 2018; Julio et al., 2020; Sandford et al., 2021; Aspin et al, 2024).

The card is automated in XPS, and with the help of the two tests, players can then have their program uploaded to their app.

This is an example of how a training session can be structured, where both players run the same interval (15/15 x 16 at yellow intensity). However, by considering the Anaerobic Speed Reserve (ASR), we can account for variations in their individual physical capacities. This ensures that the physical demands are appropriately targeted and that neither player is over- or under-stimulated on a general level. Additionally, note that for each turn the player makes during the work period, 5 meters are subtracted from their individual distance to account for the time required to decelerate and accelerate (Jovanovic et al 2018). 

The players run at individual distance (based of ASR) for 15 seconds followed by 15 seconds of rest. During the rest period, they must move from the “finish” to the “start” position before the clock signals the beginning of the next interval.

Building a library of exercises within our areas of operation (Schools, Coach Education, and Youth National Teams)

A key challenge in our organization has been the difficulty of creating a cohesive approach across our different areas—schools, coach education, and youth national teams—despite achieving excellent results in each. This was largely due to the absence of a unified platform prior to 2020. The challenge extends to determining the appropriate levels for introducing exercises and clarifying which exercises should be used in specific contexts. During gatherings, we have developed dedicated folders with exercises suited to the specific focus area, which has allowed us to establish standardized training programs. This approach supports consistency and transferability across all levels, from youth national team gatherings (>U17) to regional development programs (<U15).

Take a look at how SHF structures their library of exercises in the video below. Due to GDPR regulations, we aren’t able to display our actual exercises here – but we’ll be showcasing them in full during an upcoming webinar. Stay tuned to XPS social media channels for more information.

Pontus Axell

Don’t forget to visit our website and check out our SHF sports physiological strategy. If you have any questions or would like to exchange experience, feel free to reach out to me!

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Foto: Viktor Källberg (www.vkallbargfoto.com)

Interested in trying out XPS Network?

Please contact gustav@sidelinesports.com for more information or a demo meeting.