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The goal of this study was to investigate differences in physical fitness and sports participation over 2 years in children with relatively high, average, and low motor competence. Physical fitness and gross motor coordination of 501 children between 6-10 years were measured at baseline and baseline+2 years. The sample compromised 2 age cohorts: 6.00-7.99 and 8.00-9.99 years. An age and sex-specific motor quotient at baseline testing was used to subdivide these children into low (MQ < P33), average (P33 ≤ MQ < P66) and high (MQ ≥ P66) motor competence groups. Measures of sports participation were obtained through a physical activity questionnaire in 278 of the same children. Repeated Measures MANCOVA and two separate ANOVAs were used to analyze differences in changes in physical fitness and measures of sports participation respectively. Children with high motor competence scored better on physical fitness tests and participated in sports more often. Since physical fitness levels between groups changed similarly over time, low motor competent children might be at risk for being less physically fit throughout their life. Furthermore, since low motor competent children participate less in sports, they have fewer opportunities of developing motor abilities and physical fitness and this may further prevent them from catching up with their peers with an average or high motor competence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Socioeconomic status (SES) is often indicated as a factor that influences physical activity and associated health outcomes. This study examined the relationship between SES and sport participation, morphology, fitness and motor coordination in a sample of 1955 Flemish children 6-11 years of age. Gender, age and SES-specific values for morphologic dimensions, amount and type of sport participation and fitness and motor coordination tests were compared. SES was positively and significantly associated with sport participation and sports club membership in both sexes. Although differences were not consistently significant, morphologic dimensions and tests of fitness and motor coordination showed a trend in favor of children from higher SES. The results suggest that public and local authorities should consider providing equal opportunities for children in all social strata and especially those in the lower SES to experience the beneficial effects of sport participation through which they can enhance levels of physical fitness and motor coordination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discussions of growth and motor performance of children are often set in the context of physical fitness. Although there is a clear theoretical concept or definition of fitness comprising motor coordination, the latter is not systematically considered. This study determined to what extent the variance in motor coordination might be explained by morphological and fitness characteristics. To postulate understanding of this association during childhood, 613 boys aged 7-11 years completed the morphological measurements, the Körperkoordinationstest für Kinder (KTK) and different fitness tests. The results demonstrated a substantial interrelationship among morphology, fitness and motor coordination in elementary school boys. The magnitude of explained variance and the loadings of the canonical correlation between the several constructs are strongly pronounced during childhood indicating that these constructs should be well considered given their contribution to a child's general development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Tanner-Whitehouse radius-ulna-short bone protocol (TW2 RUS) for the assessment of skeletal age (SA) is widely used to estimate the biological (skeletal) maturity status of children and adolescents. The scale for converting TW RUS ratings to an SA has been revised (TW3 RUS) and has implications for studies of youth athletes in age-group sports.Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare TW2 and TW3 RUS SAs in an international sample of male youth soccer players and to compare distributions of players by maturity status defined by each SA protocol.Methods: SA assessments with the TW RUS method were collated for 1831 male soccer players aged 11-17 years from eight countries. RUS scores were converted to TW2 and TW3 SAs using the appropriate tables. SAs were related to chronological age (CA) in individual athletes and compared by CA groups. The difference of SA minus CA with TW2 SA and with TW3 SA was used to classify players as late, average, or early maturing with each method. Concordance of maturity classifications was evaluated with Cohen’s Kappa coefficients.Results: For the same RUS score, TW3 SAs were systematically and substantially reduced compared with TW2 SAs; mean differences by CA group ranged from − 0.97 to − 1.16 years. Kappa coefficients indicated at best fair concordance of TW2 and TW3 maturity classifications. Across the age range, 42% of players classified as average with TW2 SA were classified as late with TW3 SA, and 64% of players classified as early with TW2 SA were classified as average with TW3 SA.Conclusion: TW3 SAs were systematically lower than corresponding TW2 SAs in male youth soccer players. The differences between scales have major implications for the classification of players by maturity status, which is central to some talent development programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which aims to expose the anthropometrical, physical performance, and motor coordination characteristics that influence dropout from a high-level soccer training program in Belgian youth soccer players aged 8-16 years. The study includes 388 Belgian players who were assigned to either a club group or a dropout group. The results highlight the importance of motor coordination and speed in the identification of gifted players.

The article presents a study which suggests that jumping height and stature are required in female volleyball, but motor coordination is an important factor in determining inclusion into the elite level. The study used multivariate analyses of variance, which revealed significant multivariate effects between playing levels for motor coordination, as well as Mann-Whitney U test and sequential discriminant analysis.

This study investigated the role of maturity timing in selection procedures and in the specialisation of playing positions in youth male basketball. Forty-three talented Dutch players (14.66 ± 1.09 years) participated in this study. Maturity timing (age at peak height velocity), anthropometric, physiological, and technical characteristics were measured. Maturity timing and height of the basketball players were compared with a matched Dutch population. One-samplet-tests showed that basketball players were taller and experienced their peak height velocity at an earlier age compared to their peers, which indicates the relation between maturity timing and selection procedures. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) showed that guards experienced their peak height velocity at a later age compared to forwards and centres (P < .01). In addition, positional differences were found for height, sitting height, leg length, body mass, lean body mass, sprint, lower body explosive strength, and dribble (P < .05). Multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) (age and age at peak height velocity as covariate) showed only a significant difference regarding the technical characteristic dribbling (P < .05). Coaches and trainers should be aware of the inter-individual differences between boys related to their maturity timing. Since technical characteristics appeared to be least influenced by maturity timing, it is recommended to focus more on technical characteristics rather than anthropometric and physiological characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The present study aimed to investigate positional differences in 744 high-level soccer players, aged 8 to 18 years. Players were assigned to six age groups (U9–U19) and divided into four playing positions (goalkeeper (GK), defender (DEF), midfielder (MF) and attacker (ATT)). MANOVA and effect sizes were used to examine anthropometrical and functional characteristics between all positions in all age groups. The main findings of the study were that GKs and DEFs were the tallest and heaviest compared with MFs and ATTs in all age groups. Further, between U9–U15, no significant differences in functional characteristics were found, except for dribbling skill, which MFs performed the best. In the U17–U19 age groups, ATTs seemed to be the most explosive (with GKs), the fastest and the more agile field players. These results suggest that inherent physical capacities (i.e., speed, power, agility) might select players in or reject players from an attacking position, which is still possible from U15–U17. Apparently, players with excellent dribbling skills at younger age are more likely to be selected to play as a MF, although, one might conclude that the typical physical characteristics for different positions at senior level are not yet fully developed among young soccer players between 8 and 14 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It was the goal of this cross-sectional study to examine differences in maturity, anthropometry and physical performance between youth handball players across different playing positions (i.e. goalkeeper, back, pivot and wing). Multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA), accounting for biological maturation, was used to assess positional differences in 472 male youth handball players from three age groups: U14, U15 and U16. Differences in age at peak height velocity were found in all age groups. Backs were significantly more mature than wings in U14 and U15 and than wings and pivots in U16. Furthermore, backs are overall taller, have a bigger arm span and perform best on tests for strength, agility and speed, especially in the U15 age group. Therefore, it can be concluded that youth players with the most advanced maturation status and the most favourable anthropometry and physical fitness scores, are consistently positioned in the back position. Players with a less advanced maturity status and an overall smaller stature are placed on the wing or pivot positions. In conclusion, it seems that anthropometrical and maturational characteristics are used by coaches to directly and/or indirectly select players for specific field positions. This strategy is risky since anthropometry and maturity status change over the years. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We report the morphology (height, weight, body fat, body mass index), fitness (strength, speed, agility, flexibility), and soccer-specific (dribbling) and non-specific motor coordination skills (Körper KoordinationsTest für Kinder; KTK) of 78 Belgian international youth soccer players aged 15–16 years with varying biological maturity status. The more mature players (U16 and U17) possessed higher morphological measures and outperformed their later maturing peers (U16 Futures and U17 Futures) on almost all fitness tests. However, soccer-specific and non-specific motor coordination tests did not distinguish the more mature players from the later maturing players in both age groups. When adjusted for the confounder (age at peak height velocity), multivariate analysis of covariance revealed that several morphology- and fitness-related parameters did not differ between selection groups, again in both age groups. These findings indicate that biological maturation affects morphology and fitness more so than motor coordination skills. In conclusion, to prevent the dropout of promising late maturing players, we suggest avoiding one-dimensional approaches and to include measures of biological maturity status as well as maturity independent performance tests during the talent identification and selection process. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article reports on research conducted to investigate the physical and physiological profile of elite Belgian soccer players according to the players' position. Researchers evaluated 289 players. They found that strikers had significantly shorter sprinting times compared with the midfielders, center backs, and goalkeepers, that the full backs were faster than the goalkeepers and that the center backs and the goalkeepers displayed higher jumping heights.

Asymmetries in the distributions of birth dates in senior professional and youth soccer players have been interpreted as evidence for systematic discrimination against individuals born shortly before the cut-off date in assigning youth to specific age groups. This concept is known as the “relative age effect”. The results of a longitudinal study of birth date distritubions of 2757 semi-professional and amateur senior soccer players in Belgium are presented. Records for competitive games were available in official statistics provided by the Royal Belgian Football Association. The chi-square statistic was used to examine differences between observed and expected birth date distributions. Regression analyses indicated a shift of bias when two different start dates were compared. Players born in the early part of the new age band (January to March) were over-represented compared with players born late in the new selection period (October to December). However, players with birthdays at the start of the old selection year (August) were still represented. In a retrospective analysis of 2138 players, variables indicative of match involvement, number of selections for matches, and time played were examined in relation to the relative age effect. The group of semi-professional and amateur senior soccer players born in the first quarter of the selected age band received more playing opportunities. Comparisons of birth date distributions (traditional approach to relative age effect) with match-related variables gave similar, though not entirely consistent, results. However, there were no differences for the mean number of selections and for playing minutes between players born at the start or the end of the selection year. Our findings suggest that match-based variables may provide a more reliable indication of the relative age effect in soccer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the evolution and stability of anthropometric and soccer-specific endurance characteristics of 42 high-level, pubertal soccer players with high, average and low yo-yo intermittent recovery test level 1 (YYIR1) baseline performances over two and four years. The rates of improvement were calculated for each performance group, and intra-class correlations were used to verify short- and long-term stability. The main finding was that after two and four years, the magnitudes of the differences at baseline were reduced, although players with high YYIR1 baseline performance still covered the largest distance (e.g., low from 703 m to 2126 m; high from 1503 m to 2434 m over four years). Furthermore, the YYIR1 showed a high stability over two years (ICC = 0.76) and a moderate stability over four years (ICC = 0.59), due to large intra-individual differences in YYIR1 performances over time. Anthropometric measures showed very high stability (ICCs between 0.94 to 0.97) over a two-year period, in comparison with a moderate stability (ICCs between 0.57 and 0.75) over four years. These results confirm the moderate-to-high stability of high-intensity running performance in young soccer players, and suggest that the longer the follow-up, the lower the ability to predict player's future potential in running performance. They also show that with growth and maturation, poor performers might only partially catch up their fitter counterparts between 12 and 16 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]