Hydrating with Coconut Water, Water or Gatorade® Results in Similar Basketball Fitness & Skill Performance During a Simulated Basketball Game
Abstract
Coconut Water (CW), which contains a high amount of the micronutrient potassium (K+) and almost half the carbohydrate (CHO) as mainstream sports beverages, has the potential to serve as a hydration beverage for athletes who engage in intermittent, high intensity exercise, like basketball. However, no studies to date have investigated this phenomenon. The purpose of this study was to assess basketball specific performance (skill and fitness components) of university varsity basketball student-athletes during a simulated game while hydrating with three experimental treatments: water (W), CW, and Gatorade® (G). One male and five female varsity basketball athletes (n=6) each completed three 40-min, on-court, simulated basketball competitions while hydrating with each of the three beverages of interest. For almost all measures of basketball skills: Field Goals Made (FGM), Field Goals Attempted (FGA), Field Goal Percentage (FGP), Dribbling Performance (DP) and fitness: Total Distance (TD), Mean Sprint Time (MS), Sprint Decrement (SD), Mean Circuit Time (MC), Circuit Decrement (CD), etc. there were no significant treatment differences; however, while the athletes hydrated with CW, FGA was greater than W and G (P=0.006) in the second quarter. This did translate into more FGM but did not reach statistical significance. More CW research is needed, especially with athletes who engage in intermittent, high intensity exercise, but the present data suggest that hydrating with either CW, W, or G during a simulated basketball game results in similar fitness and basketball skill performance.