Structure of Physical Fitness Among Young Female Basketball Players (Trends of Changes in 2006–2013)

Abstract

The aim of this study was to identify trends of changes in the structure and levels of motor effects among young women basketball players in 2006-2013. These changes were examined in the context of comprehensive development of functional, fitness-related, and technical fundamentals with respect to requirements of specific training adopted as typical for targeted sports training stage. The research material was collected in 2006-2013 among young basketball players from the Greater Poland region. The study evaluated 169 girls (mean ± SD: age = 15.5 ± 0.5 years; height = 173.5 ± 5.8 cm; weight = 60.2 ± 7.9 kg). The measurements focused on the structure of motor effects in the athletes studied. For this purpose, the study used the International Physical Fitness Test. The study found that overall physical fitness of young women basketball players has been declining year by year. On the one hand, this might have been caused by the tendency for regression in motor modifications across generations that have been observed among populations. On the other hand, changes in weight-height ratio toward increasing obesity have also been observed. The results may serve as a kind of expertise about the structure of motor development of successive age groups of sports talented young women in light of training objectives at the targeted sports training stage as compared with trends typical for the general population. By describing the results of long-term research, this article offers a way of detecting possible positive or negative tendencies at a relatively early stage.

Trends in Physical Fitness Among School-Aged Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review

“…Significant changes were not shown in the cohort of Canadians aged 15 to 19 (23), in Finnish adolescents aged 13 to 16 (22), in boys in Belgium (27), and in Spanish boys and girls on a static strength test (3). Finally, a growth in strength was noted in Mozambique children and adolescents between 1992 and 2012 (30), in Canadian girls aged between 11 and 14 (23), and in Polish girls aged 15.5 years on an absolute strength test (31).…”

“…In three Chinese studies (34,36,37), a growth trend from 1985 to 1995 was initially found for all cohorts of boys, followed by a trend of decline until 2014. In the additional six studies for boys (3,22,23,26,27,33) and seven for girls (3,3,23,26,27,30,31,33), a steady decline was observed between 1969 and 2017. For a cohort of Chinese 12-year-olds, the results of upper-body strength showed an increase until 2005, followed by a decline (34).…”

“…Three Chinese studies for boys and girls (34,36,37) found an initial growth trend from 1985 to 1995 (it peaked in 1995), followed by a downward trend until 2014. In three studies for boys and girls (3,28,33) and two girls only (27,31), a steady decline was noted between 1969 and 2013. No significant changes for explosive strength were noted in the study by Huotari et al (22) of Finnish boys, the study by Westerstahl et al (26) for Swedish girls, and in the study with Portuguese adolescents of both sexes (19).…”

The relationship between CA repeat polymorphism of the <i>IGF-1</i> gene and the structure of motor skills in young athletes

“…The morphological characteristic is a commonly used measure of development evaluation. Considering sport teams, the assessment of biological maturity based on the characteristics, which are often a criterion for admission to various levels of locomotor activity, is not relevant to the actual biological picture of the human body (Karpowicz et al, 2015). Our results revealed the possibility of using analysis of the IGF1 gene sequence in sports.…”

“…Facing these challenges calls for the identification of solutions aimed at reasonable and effective preparation of the athletes. Striving for champion-level achievement led to shifting the emphasis in coaching to the period of childhood and youth (Karpowicz et al, 2015). The targeted stage of sports training is a specific period in human development, which coincides with high sensitivity of the human body to external stimuli.…”