August 2016; Vol. 5, No. 2: Pages 30-37

Physical profiles of regional academy netball players

Christopher Thomas, Kemal Thomas Ismail, Paul Comfort, Paul A. Jones, Thomas Dos’Santos

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the height, body mass and physical characteristics of English regional academy netball players by age category (under 15s, under 17s and under 19s). Design and Methods: Data were collected on 50 regional academy players during the preseason period and comprised of height, body mass, and physical (single and triple hop, 5- and 10-m sprint, 505 change of direction speed, vertical jump, and cardiorespiratory fitness) characteristics. Results: One-way analysis of variance revealed the under 19s group demonstrated superior (p < 0.05) performances compared to the under 15s group in single hop left (U15: 1.61 ± 0.18 m; U19: 1.88 ± 0.09 m; p = 0.001), single hop right (U15: 1.66 ± 0.17 m; U19: 1.87 ± 0.13 m; p = 0.001), triple hop left (U15: 5.10 ± 0.58 m; U19: 5.90 ± 0.39 m; p = 0.001), triple hop right (U15: 5.10 ± 0.50 m; U19: 5.86 ± 0.41 m; p = 0.001), 5-m sprint (U15: 1.15 ± 0.05 seconds; U19: 1.10 ± 0.07 seconds; p = 0.032), 505 left (U15: 2.59 ± 0.08 seconds; U19: 2.45 ± 0.08 seconds; p = 0.001), 505 right (U15: 2.54 ± 0.13 seconds; U19: 2.43 ± 0.06 seconds; p = 0.007), squat jump (U15: 0.34 ± 0.04 m; U19: 0.41 ± 0.05 m; p = 0.001), countermovement jump (U15: 0.35 ± 0.04 m; U19: 0.42 ± 0.05 m; p = 0.001), and cardiorespiratory fitness (U15: 16.40 ± 0.83 km∙hˉ¹; U19: 18.14 ± 1.10 km∙hˉ¹; p = 0.001). Moreover, the under 17s group reported significantly better (p < 0.05) performances in single leg hop left (U15: 1.61 ± 0.18 m; U17: 1.74 ± 0.12 m; p = 0.033), single hop right, triple hop left (U15: 5.10 ± 0.58 m; U17: 5.59 ± 0.35 m; p = 0.008), triple hop right (U15: 5.10 ± 0.50 m; U17: 5.50 ± 0.36 m; p = 0.031), countermovement jump (U15: 0.35 ± 0.04 m; U17: 0.39 ± 0.03 m; p = 0.018), and cardiorespiratory fitness (U15: 16.40 ± 0.83 km∙hˉ¹; U17: 17.56 ± 1.30 km∙hˉ¹; p = 0.014) than the under 15s group. Conclusions: These findings highlight that height, body mass, and physical characteristics develop across age categories and provide normative data for English regional academy netball players.

Received May 5, 2016, accepted August 5, 2016

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