# Seasonal Changes in Body Composition, Jump, Sprint, and
## 4 Discussion
The present study assessed seasonal changes in body composition, jump, sprint, and agility performance in elite female handball players across five competitive season measurements. Findings show seasonally adapted adaptations for specific performance metrics and demonstrate elite handball's physical and technical demands while underscoring the need for tailored, seasonally adjusted training regimes to optimize player performance. The results showed that body composition parameters--such as body mass, body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage, and muscle mass--remained stable across the season, with no significant changes detected at any measurement point. This stability in body composition might indicate that the training regimen, coupled with nutritional guidance [31,32], effectively sustains physical attributes necessary for high-level handball performance throughout the season [19,33,34]. These findings align with previous research that noted minimal seasonal variation in body composition among female team sport athletes, likely because handball emphasizes agility, coordination, and endurance over substantial hypertrophy or fat loss [35,36]. This consistency could emphasize maintaining an optimal physique that supports agility, speed, and endurance, which are vital in handball to perform rapid directional changes and maintain competitive intensity [37,38]. The results suggest that for elite female athletes, body composition goals may not need to vary extensively throughout the season, allowing for a more targeted focus on performance-specific conditioning, especially strength, speed, and agility. In jump performance, a significant improvement was noted only in the left leg counter-movement jump (CMJ left), particularly in the fourth and fifth measurements compared to the initial measurement. This isolated increase may highlight an adaptation related to the asymmetric demands placed on the lower limbs in handballs, where unilateral jumps and pivots often occur, especially during offensive or defensive maneuvers [39,40]. Unilateral improvements in the CMJ left could suggest that the players' training regimen, or possibly gameplay patterns, encouraged the development of explosive strength and stability on the non-dominant leg, supporting previous studies that emphasize the importance of unilateral training for enhancing functional strength and balance in handball [41,42]. This finding may indicate the benefit of incorporating pylemetric and unilateral strength training exercises focusing on both legs to enhance overall jump performance and minimize strength imbalances. However, the observed improvement in jump performance of the left leg during the last two measurements of the season compared to baseline may actually be a result of specific activities performed throughout the season. Since most of the players are right-handed and execute a large number of jumps off the left take-off leg during shots on goal in both training and matches, this repetitive use could explain the enhancement in left-leg jump performance. Significant improvements were observed in sprint performance over the 5- and 10-m distances, with optimal sprint times recorded in the second and fourth measurements. These findings indicate a potential effect of targeted speed training integrated within the team's conditioning program during these periods. Unlike the 5- and 10-m sprints, no significant change was observed in the 30-m sprint, implying that short-burst sprints may be more relevant for handball athletes than extended sprints, as the sport typically involves brief, rapid accelerations during gameplay [43,44]. These findings reinforce the role of short-distance sprint training in the conditioning of handball players, aligning with studies indicating that acceleration over the first few meters is critical for in-game activities such as breakaways, defensive pressure, and quick directional transitions [13].