Growth and body composition in young female volleyball players

Abstract

The purposes of the study were to describe the growth and body composition of young female volleyball players and to verify significant differences between two competitive levels, three different positions (setters, middle-blockers and left side hitters) and the classification on a tournament. One hundred seventy nine young female volleyball players, from sixteen teams of two competitive groups (15 years old and 16-17 years old) were evaluated. The statistic analyses applied were: descriptive, analysis of variance (ANOVA) to compare group means, and principal components technique that created two components (growth and body composition). Body composition presented similar values for all groups. Variables related to growth, however, presented significant differences between groups. Higher values were found for the oldest group, for middle-blockers, followed by left side hitters and setters, and for the first classified teams. That confirms the important role of growth in the talent selection and promotion process towards higher competitive levels in volleyball.