When does the influence of maturation on anthropometric and physical fitness characteristics increase and subside?

Abstract

The relationships between maturation and anthropometric and physical performance characteristics are dynamic and often asynchronous; confounding the capability to accurately evaluate performance during adolescence. This study aimed to (i) examine the influence of chronological age (CA) and somatic maturation (YPHV) upon anthropometric and physical performance parameters, and (ii) identify the transition/change time points in these relationships using segmental regression. N = 969 soccer players (8-18 years of age) completed anthropometric and physical test assessments, including a countermovement jump (CMJ), agility T test, 10 and 20 m sprints, and multistage fitness test (MSFT). When modeled against CA and YPHV, results identified time point phases with increased rates of stature (CA-7.5, YPHV-8.6 cm/y at 10.7-15.2 years or -3.2 to +0.8 YPHV) and body mass gain (CA-7.1, YPHV-7.5 kg/y at 11.9-16.1 years or -1.6 to +4.0 YPHV), followed by gain reductions. Increased rates of sprint performance development (31%-43% gains) occurred at 11.8-15.8 CA or -1.8 to +1.2 YPHV, with gains subsiding thereafter. CMJ, T test, and MSFT gains appeared relatively linear with no change in developmental rate apparent. Developmental tempos did again, however, subside at circa (CMJ and T test) to post-PHV (MSFT). Based on our sample and analysis, periods of increased developmental rates (stature, mass, sprint) were apparent alongside progressive gains for other physical measures, before all subsided at particular age and maturation time points. Findings highlight dynamic asynchronous development of players, physical attributes, and the need to account for the influence of maturation on athletic performance until post-PHV.

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

“…During the growth process, the relationship between anthropometric variables and physical performance have a higher level of complexity [13] and numerous differences can occur in the morphological growth and physiological development of players. Therefore, in preadolescent players, differences in growth rate and development can be a confounding factor affecting performance and success [14]. It is well known that adolescent growth and biological maturation strongly influence physical performance [12,15,16].…”

Exploratory study on maturation and competition level in young karate practitioners

“…The question we want to explore is whether children belonging to the same category of competition have different maturations, which leads to an unbalanced confrontation, since athletes with higher maturation levels have greater physical skills (Anderson & Ward, 2002;Backous et al, 1990;Pieter, 2012;Towlson et al, 2018), which in turn increases the chance of winning (Gabbett, 2015). Analyzing these evaluations by the category of competition, we found that there were several categories with maturational advanced athletes, showing that competitive equity may be at stake.…”

“…Despite the differences in maturation among children, chronological age remains the main criterion for equalizing the competition levels, but with limited efficiency (Malina, 2000). These differences in maturation among athletes or differences between chronological and biological age have been studied since the beginning of the 20 th century (e.g., Crampton, 1908), and have pointed out that maturational status had significant influences in physical fitness (Anderson & Ward, 2002;Backous, Farrow, & Friedl, 1990;Towlson, Cobley, Parkin, & Lovell, 2018), performance (Pieter, 2012), and body dimensions (Backous et al, 1990).…”

“…In fact, Gabbett (2015) shows that there is a relationship between physical fitness, the playing level attained, some biomechanical variables, the anthropometric data, and the skill qualities, with the selection in team sports. Towlson et al (2018) advertise that developmental trajectories are dynamic, asynchronous and staggered in young practitioners and should be avoided the (de)selection of these individuals due to factors that may be influenced by maturation.…”

Injury Prevention in Youth Football Players : Training Effects and Programme Implementation

“…Another reason for the absence of positive results in the performance measures may be that the population was included during a period of growth and maturation, and thus the players may have had reduced ability to perform optimally. Three different factors may have contributed: 1) difficulties in focusing on the task and performing with maximum effort during training and testing, as identified by Soligard et al 158 , 2) temporary regression of motor control during a growth spurt 140 and 3) the training stimuli needed to elicit positive training effects and the potential for improvement may vary during adolescence since development during puberty is asynchronous, with different abilities developing at different ages 170 . Both studies included players with a mean age of 14.…”