ANTHROPOMETRICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND SOMATOTYPE OF YOUNG SOCCER PLAYERS AND THEIR COMPARISON WITH THE GENERAL POPULATION

In soccer, most studies have been conducted on elite adult players and there is less information about young, non-elite players. The objectives of this project were twofold: to evaluate the changes in the anthropometric characteristics and the somatotype of soccer players across different ages and to compare these characteristics to those of the general population (Basque and U.S.A. standards). The study population was formed of 203 soccer players, aged 14 to 19 years. Height, weight, B.M.I., skinfolds, diameters and circumferences were measured in order to calculate the body composition and somatotype. Boys aged 14 and 15 were shorter and leaner than the remainder of players. From age 16 onwards there was no differences in the measurements, implying that the subjects attained adult stature at age 16. The trunk-to-limb-fat ratio increased across the age groups, as happens in the general population; however, in soccer players this was due to a decrease in limb fat rather than an increase in the truncal fat. Soccer players showed a mainly mesomorphic somatotype, with the exception of the 14 year-old individuals who presented a greater ectomorphy compared to the adult players. The comparison with the general population showed that soccer players were taller and heavier, though this may due to a selection process favoring boys with these characteristics. Young soccer players were taller and bigger than boys of the same age in the general population; this may be due to a selection process towards larger and stronger boys.