ABSTRACT
Over the past decade, coaches and researchers have developed various strategies for observing, analysing and evaluating the performance of handball players and teams. Data collected by match analysis systems tend to capture technical, tactical or physical aspects of performance, and represent a strong argument for the organisation and evaluation of the training process. This chapter intends to identify the key facets of the game and the main research topics, methodologies and findings in handball, as well as outline trends that might influence further research. Moreover, the chapter aims to discuss the determinants of handball performance and to formulate recommendations regarding the appropriate methods for performance assessment of handball players and teams in match play. The studies reviewed were selected from the Web of ScienceTM All Databases using the following criteria (Moore et al., 2014; Sarmento et al., 2014; Wagner et al., 2014): (1) based on the match play data or on-court performance similar to competition; (2) carried out with elite or experienced team-handball players as subjects; (3) published from the year 2000 onwards.
