Biological Maturity Status and Motor Performance in Fourteen-Year-old Basketball Players

Abstract

SUMMARY:The aims of this study were to detect biological maturity and certain athletic skills in boys aged 14 participating in competitive basketball, and to compare certain athletic skills of participants according to their biological maturity status. The participants were most talented Serbian basketball players (n= 49) who were divided into three groups according to their maturity status: early (n= 14), average (n= 24) and late maturing (n= 11). Biological maturity status of participants was assessed by technique developed by Mirwald et al. (2002). Nine tests of basic athletic skills: vertical jump, medicine ball throwing, run at 20, 30 and 50 m, agility t-test, zigzag agility drill, agility run 4x15 m, the line drill, as well as four basketball skills field tests (speed spot shooting, passing, control dribble and defensive movement) were applied. The results of this study showed that the three groups of subjects differed in applied variables (p <0.05). Average maturers achieved the best results in almost all variables, while late maturers achieved the worst results. Early maturers achieved the best results only in one variable -medicine ball throwing. Only harmonized chronological and biological age, i.e. chronological and biological growth and development, enable the best demonstration of motor abilities based on morphological characteristics.

How Does Biological Maturation and Training Experience Impact the Physical and Technical Performance of 11–14-Year-Old Male Basketball Players?

“…Although we were unable to find a citation with reference to basketball players, we contend that it is a very important issue because biological maturation varies considerably among youth sport players of the same chronological age, with those with advanced maturity status outperforming their less mature peers [7,10]. The present study shows that early maturing players are taller and heavier, results that are consistent with previous research [14][15][16][17]. However, at the physical and technical level, available data is less consistent.…”

“…However, at the physical and technical level, available data is less consistent. For example, Jakovljević et al [17] reported that average maturing basketball players outperformed early and late maturers, whereas Coelho e Silva et al [18] and Leonardi et al [19] concluded that physical performance and technical skills were independent of a player's maturity status, for boys and girls, respectively. On the other hand, Carvalho et al [14] and Arede et al [15] showed that early maturing basketball players performed better in physical tasks that required high levels of agility, endurance, power, and speed.…”

“…However, this is apparently not true for all populations. For example, using a maturity offset to estimate biological age, Jakovljević and colleagues [17] reported that young Serbian average maturing basketball players outperformed both early and late maturers in physical performance and technical skills. In contrast, both Coelho e Silva et al [18] (estimating biological maturity using pubic hair staging), and Coelho e Silva et al [16] and Leonardi et al [19] (estimating biological maturity using age at menarche) concluded that players' physical performances and levels of technical skills appeared to be independent of their maturity status.…”

Effects of Anthropometric Growth and Basketball Experience on Physical Performance in Pre-Adolescent Male Players

“…Young players with early maturation often outperform their late maturing peers in muscle strength and endurance. While numerous studies exist on the effects of biological maturation on the physical and technical performance of adolescent basketball players [12,[15][16][17][18][19], there is a paucity of scientific literature on the assessment of anthropometric changes and performance characteristics in pre-adolescent basketballers.…”

Impact of the Relative Age Effect on Competition Performance in Basketball: A Qualitative Systematic Review

“…The RAE exerted a greater impact on competitive contexts (men, post-adolescence group, U14-U18 categories) where the physical and anthropometric component has greater importance in the game [ 7 , 36 ]. Boys who reach puberty early tend to develop higher anthropometric values of height (approximately 20 cm) and vertical jump agility (approximately 12 cm) [ 84 ]. Therefore, statistics as decisive as the points scored or minutes played in a match clearly favour the type of players [ 85 ] who correspond, to a greater extent, to those born at the beginning of the year.…”