The aims of the present study were: (i) to describe the structural and functional attributes of young male Portuguese basketball players aged 12-16 years and (ii) to generate normative data according to chronological age and years from peak height velocity. A total of 281 male Portuguese young basketball players between the ages of 12 and 16 years were assessed in this study. Chronological age, maturity parameters (maturity offset and predicted age at peak height velocity), morphological (body mass, height, and skinfolds and length), and fitness (sprint, change of direction ability, jump, and upper body strength) attributes were measured.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF: The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between physical preparation, training sessions (TS) and friendly matches' (FM) demands, and playing status during European Championship (EC). : Twelve under-16 (U-16) basketball players performed physical (jumping, agility, aerobic fitness, and lower limb asymmetry index [ASI]) tests prior to attending the national team training camp. External training load was assessed using the WIMU PRO System put in place during TS (n = 19) and FM (n = 3), integrating the national team preparation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe aims of this study were to examine the medium-term effects of previous experiences during early stages of sport development on physical capacities of under-13 (U-13) talented basketball players and, to identify variables that discriminated under-14 (U-14) national team training camp selection. Anthropometrical and physical measurements were collected during a basketball training camp. Previous sport experiences (6-10 years), maturity offset, power outputs for jumping and sprinting were determined.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe present study aims (i) to compare the maturational, morphological and fitness attributes of young basketball players of primary and secondary teams of an elite basketball academy, and (ii) to identify the set of morphological and fitness attributes which better discriminate the players from the two teams. A total of 116 male basketball players of an elite basketball academy were divided into primary (team A) and secondary (team B) teams in two age groups (U-14 and U-16). All the players were evaluated during two consecutive seasons and data related to players' practice experience, maturational, morphological and fitness attributes were collected at the beginning of the competition period.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: To determine the discriminators as variables to select the under-16 national-team players and to examine the influence of biological age on physical/technical parameters among young basketball players.
Methods: Thirty-four under-15 male basketball players performed several anthropometrical (height, wingspan, body mass, and fingers length) and physical (jumping, sprinting, throwing, flexibility, change-of-direction speed, and aerobic fitness) tests during the under-15 male national-team training camp. Maturity offset, lower-limb asymmetry index, and power outputs for jumping and sprinting were also computed.
The purpose of this study was to examine whether offensive and defensive collective behaviours emerging in six-a-side football games (GK+5 vs. 5+GK) varied according to age-related practice experience of young, male players (U16, U17 and U19yrs). Players' were not instructed to implement specific tactical plans and their movement trajectories (2D analyses) were recorded using 10 GPS units.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study aimed to examine the scoring mode (line goal, double goal or central goal) and age-related effects on the defensive performance of youth soccer players during 4v4 small-sided games (SSGs). Altogether, 16 male players from 2 age groups (U13, n = 8, mean age: 12.61 ± 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe present study aimed to examine the independent and interactive effects of match location, match status, and quality of opposition on regaining possession, analysed by the type and zone of ball recovery, in matches played in the 2011-2012 UEFA Champions League. Twenty-eight matches of the knockout phase were evaluated post-event using a computerized notational analysis system. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was applied to identify the effects of the previously mentioned situational variables on ball recovery type and zone.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe present study aimed to analyze the interaction and main effects of deliberate practice experience and small-sided game format (3 vs. 3 and 6 vs. 6 plus goalkeepers) on the offensive performance of young soccer players.
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