Investigation of physical and cognitive performance profiles of 7-8 years old children in terms of talent selection in sports and sports orientation: the case of Kayseri

Abstract

This study seeks to compare the physical and cognitive performances of 7-8-years-old children in terms of gender based on talent selection in sports and sports orientation as well as to contribute to the coaches studying in the field and the physical education teachers working in the schools in terms of talent selection tests and determination of talented athletes. The sample group consists of 178 boys and 151 girls studying in primary schools in Kayseri. To determine the physical performance of the participants, the eurofit test protocols including standing long jump, 30-m sprint test, sit-reach flexibility test, flamingo balance test, and 30 second sit-up test were applied. On the other hand, to determine the cognitive performance of the participants, visual and auditory reaction times were measured via the Newtest 1000 instrument. The SPSS 22 package program was used to evaluate the data. As a result of the statistical analysis, it was understood with the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test that the data showed normal distribution. The descriptive statistical method and the independent sample t-test were applied to the participants in inter-group comparisons. As a result of the descriptive statistical analyzes, the mean values ​​of the participants' anthropometric characteristics were found as (male, age; 7.30 ± .46 (years), height; 127.39±5.75 (cm), body weight; 28.84±5.93 (kg), BMI; 17.67±2.74) and (female, age; 7.27±.44 (years), height; 125.26±5 .19 (cm), body weight; 27.35±5.43 (kg), BMI; 17.36±2.79). As a result of the analysis, a statistically significant difference was found between the height values ​​of girls and boys in terms of anthropometric characteristics (p<0.01). No significant difference was found in terms of other anthropometric values ​​(p>0.05). In terms of physical performances, a significance at the level of (p<0.01) was found in favour of boys in 30-m sprint test and standing long jump tests, and in favour of girls in flamingo balance test parameters. No significant difference was found in terms of cognitive performance. The results of the study reveal that the physical and cognitive performance data of primary-school 7-8-years-old children show similar developmental characteristics when evaluated in terms of gender.