Anthropometric and physical fitness characteristics of male South African youth soccer players.
J Sports Med Phys Fitness
; 2024 Sep 25.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-39320035
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
This study comparatively investigates the anthropometric and physical fitness characteristics of male South African players by age group, competitive level and playing position.METHODS:
The sample consisted of 201 youth soccer players drawn from six sports academies in South Africa. Players were subjected to standardized protocols for anthropometric measurements (stature, body mass and body fat percentage) and physical fitness tests (flexibility, vertical jump, push-ups, sit-ups, muscle strength, agility, 30-m sprint and VÌORESULTS:
The results show significant interaction effects of agility, body fat percentage and sprint speed between the players' competitive levels and age group (P<0.05). No interaction effect was found between playing position and competitive level in any anthropometric or physical fitness variable (P>0.05). However, playing position exhibited significant main effects in the youth players' aerobic endurance and body mass (P<0.05).CONCLUSIONS:
The results provide practical implications for tailoring position-specific conditioning regimes that optimize effective soccer performance.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Language:
En
Journal:
J Sports Med Phys Fitness
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
South Africa
Country of publication:
Italy