Abstract
Training in elite sport aims at the optimization of the athletic performance, and to control the athletes`progress in physiological, anthropometrical and motor performance prerequisites. However, in most sports, the value of longitudinal testing is unclear. This study evaluates the longitudinal development and the influence of intense training over 2-years on specific physiological performance prerequisites, as well as certain body dimensions and motor abilities in elite youth athletes. Recruited between 11–13 years of age at Shanghai Elite Sport school, the sample of student-athletes (N = 21) was categorized as the swimming group (10 athletes), and the racket sports group (11 players: 7 table tennis and 4 badminton players). The performance monitoring took place over two years between September 2016 and September 2018 and included 5 test waves. In all the test waves, the athletes were assessed by means of three physiological measurements (vital capacity, hemoglobin concentration, heart rate at rest), three anthropometric parameters (body height, body weight, chest girth), and two motor tests (back strength, complex reaction speed). Seven out of eight diagnostic methods exhibit medium to high validity to discriminate between the different levels of performance development in the two sports groups. The investigated development of the performance characteristics is attributed partly to the inherited athletic disposition as well as to the different sport-specific training regimens of the two sports groups.
Highlights
Worldwide, the predominant policies and structure of elite sport systems, and in the youth departments, reflect the ‘talent account’ at least to a certain extent [1]
Since Asia, and China, can be considered as an ambitious competitor in sports, this study focused on the profiles of Chinese youth elite players of two different sports groups and their response to training
The increase in the racket sports athletes’ group by 32.5% was almost the same, the endurance athletes‘maximum vital capacity (VC) was more than 1.5 liters higher (Table 1)
Summary
The predominant policies and structure of elite sport systems, and in the youth departments, reflect the ‘talent account’ at least to a certain extent [1]. This covers, among other things, the search for talented players already at a young age who show natural abilities for a certain sport (discipline).
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