The Effects of Training Monotony on Sway Velocity in Elite Division I Women's Basketball Players Across 2 Seasons

Abstract

Hudy, A, Shah, J, Kraemer, WJ, Burland, JP, Glaviano, NR, Morgan, K, Wilson, J, Huggins, RA, and Casa, DJ. The effects of training monotony on sway velocity in elite Division I women's basketball players across two seasons. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000–000, 2026- This study examined the relationship between training monotony and sway velocity (SV), an indicator of neuromuscular control, in elite NCAA Division I women's basketball players across 2 competitive seasons. Ten high-impact athletes (21 ± 2 years) were monitored with triaxial accelerometers to quantify external load using PlayerLoad, and monotony was calculated as the weekly mean load divided by its standard deviation. SV was assessed using single-leg balance tests on a force plate at regular intervals throughout the season. Data were analyzed across seasonal phases and time periods using descriptive statistics, Wilcoxon rank-sum tests, and linear mixed-effects models accounting for repeated measures ( p ≤ 0.05). Monotony increased significantly during the early preseason period before stabilizing across the competitive season, while SV remained relatively stable over time. A significant reduction in SV was observed in Year 2 compared with Year 1; however, no significant association was found between monotony and SV. These findings suggest that although training monotony follows expected temporal patterns, SV may represent a relatively stable neuromuscular characteristic under typical training conditions and may be less sensitive to weekly workload fluctuations. For strength and conditioning practitioners, monitoring monotony may help identify periods of increased training stress, while SV may serve as an individual baseline metric to detect meaningful deviations in neuromuscular function.