Locomotor Performance in Highly-Trained Young Soccer Players: Does Body Size Always Matter?

This study examined power output on jumping and sprinting tests in young soccer players of differing pubertal status, while controlling for body size with allometric scaling exponents. A total of 46 males aged 12–18 years (14.17 years) were divided into three groups: pre-pubescent ( n = 12), pubescent ( n = 22), and post-pubescent ( n = 12). Participants performed a series of tests, including the squat jump (SJ), countermovement jump (CMJ), and 10-meter and 30-meter sprint test protocols. The Post-PUB group was older ( F = 112.411, p < 0.001), more experienced in competitive soccer ( F = 8.055, p = 0.001), taller ( F = 28.940, p < 0.001), and heavier ( F = 20.618, p < 0.001), when compared to peers in the other groups. Mean differences in jumping and sprinting performances suggested a significant effect for pubertal status on performance in the 10-meter sprint (large effect size, F = 8.191, p < 0.001) and 30-meter sprint (large effect size, F = 8.093, p < 0.001) after allometric scaling. Power output derived from SJ (small effect size, F = 0.536, p = 0.001) and CMJ (small effect size, F = 1.058, p = 0.356) showed no significant differences across players of varying pubertal status. Biological maturation showed a large effect on maximal power output for sprints, but not for jumps, when the effect of body size was adjusted by statistically derived allometric exponents in young male soccer players.

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Relationship between body size variables and performance in repeated sprints test in young soccer players

Isokinetics and Exercise Science ◽

10.3233/ies-182160 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 26 (4) ◽

pp. 275-280

Author(s):

Paulo H. Borges ◽

Julio C. Costa ◽

Luiz F.R. Silva ◽

Marcio A. Gouvêa ◽

Enio R.V. Ronque

Keyword(s):

Body Size ◽

Soccer Players ◽

Repeated Sprints ◽

And Performance

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Locomotor Performance in Juvenile and Adult Box Turtles (Terrapene carolina): A Reanalysis for Effects of Body Size and Extrinsic Load Using a Terrestrial Species

Journal of Herpetology ◽

10.2307/1565615 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 31 (4) ◽

pp. 582 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Glenn A. Marvin ◽

William I. Lutterschmidt

Keyword(s):

Body Size ◽

Locomotor Performance ◽

Terrestrial Species ◽

Terrapene Carolina ◽

Box Turtles

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A computational analysis of locomotor anatomy and body mass evolution in Allosauroidea (Dinosauria: Theropoda)

Paleobiology ◽

10.1666/10004.1 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 38 (3) ◽

pp. 486-507 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Karl T. Bates ◽

Roger B. J. Benson ◽

Peter L. Falkingham

Keyword(s):

Body Size ◽

Soft Tissue ◽

Center Of Mass ◽

Soft Tissue Reconstruction ◽

Locomotor Performance ◽

Body Proportions ◽

Data Set ◽

Positive Allometry ◽

Moment Arms ◽

Musculoskeletal Anatomy

We investigate whether musculoskeletal anatomy and three-dimensional (3-D) body proportions were modified during the evolution of large (>6000 kg) body size in Allosauroidea (Dinosauria: Theropoda). Three adaptations for maintaining locomotor performance at large body size, related to muscle leverage, mass, and body proportions, are tested and all are unsupported in this analysis. Predictions from 3-D musculoskeletal models of medium-sized (Allosaurus) and large-bodied (Acrocanthosaurus) allosauroids suggest that muscle leverage scaled close to isometry, well below the positive allometry required to compensate for declining muscle cross-sectional area with increasing body size. Regression analyses on a larger allosauroid data set finds slight positive allometry in the moment arms of major hip extensors, but isometry is included within confidence limits. Contrary to other recent studies of large-bodied theropod clades, we found no compelling evidence for significant positive allometry in muscle mass between exemplar medium- and large-bodied allosauroids. Indeed, despite the uncertainty in quantitative soft tissue reconstruction, we find strong evidence for negative allometry in the caudofemoralis longus muscle, the single largest hip extensor in non-avian theropods. Finally, we found significant inter-study variability in center-of-mass predictions for allosauroids, but overall observe that consistently proportioned soft tissue reconstructions produced similar predictions across the group, providing no support for a caudal shift in the center of mass in larger taxa that might otherwise reduce demands on hip extensor muscles during stance. Our data set provides further quantitative support to studies that argue for a significant decline in locomotor performance with increasing body size in non-avian theropods. However, although key pelvic limb synapomorphies of derived allosauroids (e.g., dorsomedially inclined femoral head) evolved at intermediate body sizes, they may nonetheless have improved mass support.

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Is the scaling of locomotor performance with body size constant?

Ecological Entomology ◽

10.1046/j.1365-2311.1997.00085.x ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 22 (4) ◽

pp. 483-486 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

J. J. WISCO ◽

H. MATLES ◽

D. BERRIGAN

Keyword(s):

Body Size ◽

Locomotor Performance

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Body size, fatness and skeletal age in female youth soccer players

International Journal of Sports Medicine ◽

10.1055/a-1686-4563 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Diogo V. Martinho ◽

Manuel J Coelho-e-Silva ◽

João Gonçalves Santos ◽

Tomas G Oliveira ◽

Cláudia S Minderico ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Body Size ◽

Adolescent Girls ◽

Youth Sports ◽

Age Groups ◽

Skeletal Age ◽

Soccer Players ◽

Age Group ◽

Youth Soccer ◽

Early Maturing ◽

The Difference

Growth and maturation are central concerns in the organization of training and competitions in youth sports. This study examined maturity-associated variation in body size and adiposity among adolescent girls participating in competitive age group youth soccer. The sample included 441 players 10.08-16.73 years of age. Stature and body mass were measured and body composition was predicted. The Fels method was used to estimate skeletal age. Skeletally maturity status (late, average or early maturing) was based on the difference between chronological and skeletal age for each player. Mean stature approximated the 50th percentiles of the general population in all competitive age groups, while mean weight fluctuated between 50th and 75th percentiles. Age- and maturity-specific means for estimated fat mass ranged between 18.0% and 28.2%. The number of players classified as skeletally mature increased with competitive age groups (under-13: 0%; under-15: 8%; under-17: 49%). In general, early maturing girls tended to be heavier than their age group peers and especially when compared to late maturing players.

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