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The Influence of Growth and Maturation on Technical Skill Development in Youth Soccer

Date

2024-01-23

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

ORCID

0009-0004-3490-4304

Type

Thesis

Degree Level

Masters

Abstract

Background: Youth soccer teams typically use chronological age-banded tryouts to select final rosters; therefore, youth players are more likely to be selected for the short-term advantages of early maturation rather than skill. Because of this, later maturing individuals may be overlooked or deselected, even if they have the greatest potential for the sport. Although it has been shown that growth and maturational influence soccer performance, less is known about its effects on soccer skill development. Skill is the learned ability to bring maximum certainty about pre-determined results. Traditionally, skill has been assessed subjectively; however, objective measures, such as the Loughborough Soccer Passing Test (LSPT), have recently been developed. The LSPT can distinguish various components of skill performance between players of different abilities. This thesis investigated how growth and maturation influence youth soccer skills development as assessed by the LSPT. A secondary aim was to compare skill development between the sexes. The third aim was to investigate the role of fat mass on skill development. Methods: A convenience sample of youth soccer players aged 9 to 15 were recruited from ASTRA Soccer Academy, Saskatoon. Soccer descriptives were collected by questionnaire. Anthropometric measures included height, sitting height, weight, and fat composition (Tanita DC-13C). Chronological age (CA) was determined from birth and measurement date. Biological age (BA) was estimated using an anthropometric equation to predict years from attainment of peak height velocity (PHV). The LSPT assessed soccer-specific technical skills. Skills were assessed in a designated area, and time to complete with penalties was recorded. The lower the time, the higher the technical skills rating. Descriptive statistics, correlations and ANCOVA were used to analyze the data. Results: 42 players were recruited (12 males and 30 females). The CA age range was 9.6 to 15.2 years and BA was -2.9 to 2.9 years from PHV. Males had significantly lower times than females (p <0.05), and scores decreased with increasing BA (p < 0.05). No relationship was found between BMI (r = 0.22) and body fat percentage (r =0.02) with LSPT score. Conclusion: The results suggest skill acquisition is associated with children’s growth and maturation. This suggests that coaches should consider a player’s growth and maturational status when objectively identifying a soccer player’s skill.

Description

Keywords

soccer, skill, growth, maturation

Citation

Degree

Master of Science (M.Sc.)

Department

Kinesiology

Program

Kinesiology

Part Of

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DOI

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