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Anthropometric and Physical Fitness in Japanese Prospective
Collegiate Soccer Player and Toru Fukubayashi [Received January 14, 2016; Accepted October 25, 2016] Anthropometric and physical fitness characteristics are useful indicators for identifying talent in young soccer players. However, there is no information about anthropometric and physical fitness in Japanese prospective collegiate soccer players. The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences of anthropometric and physical fitness characteristics in the collegiate period between players who advanced to the professional league and those who did not. One hundred six male Japanese soccer players from one collegiate soccer team participated in this study. Nineteen of the 106 players were classified as “advanced” who had successfully signed a contract with a professional club. The remaining 87 “nonadvanced” players did not acquire a professional contact. Anthropometric (height, mass, body mass index, percent body fat, lean body mass and lean body mass relative to body height) and physical fitness (5-, 10-, 20-meter sprint and vertical jump) data were measured. Unpaired t-test and logistic regression method were used for analysis. The body height, body mass, body mass index, lean body mass, lean body mass relative to body height, and vertical jump performance were significantly different between advanced and nonadvanced players (p < 0.05). The lean body mass relative to body height and vertical jump height (OR ; 1.414, 1.134, respectively) exerted significant positive effects on advancement to the professional level, after adjusting for body height, percent body fat, and 10-m sprint speed. These findings suggest that each of lean body mass relative to body height and vertical jump ability can be one of the predictors for becoming a Japanese professional soccer player after college graduation. Keywords: collegiate player, predictor, professional league, anthropometric, physical fitness |