RT  - Journal of Men's Health
ID  - 10.31083/j.jomh1807148
T1  - Influence of Upper and Lower Body Anthropometric Measures on An Aggregate Physical Performance Score in Young Elite Male Soccer Players: A Case Study
A1  - Alessio Rossi
A1  - Tindaro Bongiovanni
A1  - Giulia Martera
A1  - Luca Cavaggioni
A1  - F. Marcello Iaia
A1  - Athos Trecroci
K1  - soccer; youth; body composition; morphology; physical performance
YR  - 2022
SP  - 1
AB  - <p><strong>Background</strong>: The present study aimed to determine the association of anthropometry-based characteristics with an aggregate score (AS) of physical performance in young elite soccer players. <strong>Methods</strong>: Sixteen under 15 elite players were enrolled. Among numerous anthropometrics variables, upper arm contracted (UACC) and relaxed circumference (UARC), corrected arm muscle area (AMAcorr), arm muscle circumference (AMC), thigh muscle circumference (TMC) and suprapatellar girths were also employed in this study. Players’ physical performance was assessed by the change of direction (COD), 10 m and 20 m sprint, countermovement jump (CMJ) test, sprint with 90° turns (with ball), and yo-yo intermittent recovery test level 1 (Yo-Yo IRT1). The AS was computed by Principal Components Analysis technique with one component on normalized performance results. A stepwise regression analysis was conducted to assess potential association between anthropometry-based variables and AS. <strong>Results</strong>: Large negative correlations (r <inline-formula><math><mo>&lt;</mo></math></inline-formula> –0.68) of AS with UACC, UARC, AMAcorr, and AMC were detected. UACC and TMC permits to accurately estimate AS explaining 60% of the total variance (<i><b>p</b> </i><inline-formula><math><mo>&lt;</mo></math></inline-formula> 0.001). <strong>Conclusions</strong>: These findings demonstrated the importance of including anthropometry-based measures of both upper and lower body to the physical performance potential expressed by AS in elite youth soccer.</p><p><br></p>