Anthropometric characteristics of female junior national team volleyball players: a comparative study

Abstract

Introduction Athlete's anthropometric and physical characteristics may represent important pre-requisites for successful performance in volleyball. Thus, the objective is to compare Macedonian Junior National Team players with National Team players from other countries in terms of anthropometric characteristics, in a qualitative manner. Sample Female volleyball players (N=320) aged 13-18 years that are part of Macedonian Junior National Team and Junior National Teams competing at the Girls’ U18 World Championships 2017 and Girls’ U18 World Championships 2019, were included in the study. Methods Players’ data were extracted from the official player’s statistics posted at the official databases of Volleyball Federation of Macedonia and FIVB. Based on data from the Microsoft Office Excel Spreadsheet, graphs were created. Results Height can be considered as a disadvantage of Macedonian Junior National Team players against players that are part of National Teams competing at Girls’ U18 World Championships 2017 and Girls’ U18 World Championships 2019. All National Teams have shown high homogeneity in terms of players’ anthropometric characteristics. Conclusion We advise Macedonian coaches to take in consideration body height and body mass of the players during the volleyball pre-selection process, because anthropometric characteristics of the players highly influence the level of performance and the final match outcome.DOI: https://doi.org/10.24040/sjss.2021.7.2.56-63