Comparison of Certain Physical and Performance Parameters of Young Football Players Based on Positions

Abstract

This study, which included 50 young amateur male footballers aged between 16 and 18, aims to compare certain physical and performance parameters of young football players based on positions. Based on their positions, the footballers were divided into two groups as “central” and “wing” positioned players. The body composition, anaerobic power, speed and flexibility values have been determined using field tests. The data were analyzed using SPSS 22 statistics program. Shapiro-Wilk test was used to determine the normality distribution of the data. The independent t-test was used because of the normal distribution of the data. Confidence interval for statistical processes was considered to be p < 0.05. The average values and comparison results obtained from the physical parameters of the central and wing players have showed that there is a statistically significant difference between central and wing players in terms of height (cm), body weight (kg), fat mass (kg) and lean mass (kg) parameters (p < 0.05), whereas there is no statistically significant difference in age (years) and fat rate (%) parameters (p > 0.05). The average values and comparison results obtained from the physical parameters of the central and wing players have showed that there is a statistically significant difference between central and wing players in terms of vertical jump (cm), 30-m sprint (s) and anaerobic power (kgm/sec) parameters (p < 0.05), whereas there is no statistically significant difference in 10-m sprint (s) and flexibility (cm) parameters (p > 0.05). The results of this study showed that, in terms of physical parameters, the height, body weight, fat mass and lean mass values of the central players were statistically higher than the wing players. In terms of performance parameters, the vertical jump and 30-m sprint performance of the wing players were found to be statistically better than the central players, while the anaerobic power values of the central players were found to be statistically higher than the wing players.