## 2 Materials and Methods
### Procedures  
In addition to indices derived from the R-CoD (see next paragraph for details), we measured anthropometric indices. Each player's body height and mass were measured using a wall-mounted stadiometer (OHAUS, Florhman Park, NJ, USA) and an electronic scale (Baty International, West Sussex, UK), respectively. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated as weight/height squared (kg/m\({}^{2}\)). Skinfold thickness of biceps, triceps, supra-iliac and subscapular areas were measured by Harpenden skinfold calipers (Baty International, West Sussex, UK) to the nearest mm, except for low values (usually 5 mm or less) when it was taken to the nearest 0.5 mm. All anthropometric measures were taken by ISAK accredited nutritionists according to the previously proposed and explained protocols [27]. The R-CoD test consisted of 10 maximal sprints of 20 m with 30-s rest periods in between (Figure 1). Each sprint involved 4 changes of direction with 3 displacement modes: forward (A-to-B), lateral (B-to-C, and C-to-D, and D-to-B), and backward (B-to-A) [28]. The subjects began with both feet behind the starting line. At their own discretion, for the first sprint, the subjects sprinted forward to the front cone (cone B) and touched the base of it with the right hand. Facing forward and without crossing feet, they shuffled to the right and touched the base of the cone C with the right hand. Participants then shuffled to the left and touched the base of cone D with the left hand; then, they shuffled back to the right (cone B). Finally, they ran backward as quickly as possible and returned to cone A. The second sprint started at the end of the 30 s counted since the departure of the first sprint. Within each recovery period between sprints, participants tapered down from the sprint just completed and slowly walked back to the next start point, and waited for the auditory signal given by the beeper (Best Electronique, France, Luxembourg). Any participant who crossed one foot in front of the other, failed to touch the base of the cone, or failed to face forward throughout had to repeat the test. The R-CoD performances were recorded using an electronic timing system (Globus, Microgate). One pair of electronic timing system sensors mounted on tripods were set approximately 0.75 m above the floor and were positioned 3 m apart, facing each other on either side of the starting line. All ten sprints were made using the same scenario to assure measurement stability, especially considering the possible influence of fatigue. The R-CoD performance indices were total time (TT; the sum of 10 sprints), peak time (PT; fastest sprint time), and fatigue index (FI; FI = ((TT/PT \(\times\) 10) \(-\) 100) \(\times\) 100), as proposed previously [28]. The R-CoD test was performed in 3 steps: without music (CON), with verbal encouragement (R-CoD-VE), and with preferred music (R-CoD-PM). Each session began with a standardized 15-min warm-up led by certified strength and conditioning specialist and included: submaximal-intensity running, dynamic stretching, calisthenics, and preparatory exercises (e.g., squatting and jumping exercises at a progressively increasing intensity). Participants were also instructed to refrain from any strenuous activities one day before the test session. To minimize confounding factors, instructions related to sleep (to go to bed and wake up in regular hours), and diet (to avoid late-night meals, to stay properly hydrated) were given to all athletes before the experiment started. For PM, the music played for each participant was self-selected by the players. Specifically, the participants were asked to select a minimum of 10 min of music, specifically that which they preferred for 4 of 10 exercises of sprinting and CoD. One investigator quantified the average tempo for each song selected by \"Free BPM Detector\" software to verify that it was within the required tempo range of >120 beats per minute [29; 30]. Figure 1: Repeated change of direction test.