The Motor and Leisure Time Conditioning of Young Table Tennis Players' Physical Fitness.

Beata Pluta,Szymon Galas,Magdalena Krzykała,Marcin Andrzejewski

doi:10.3390/ijerph17165733

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to assess the association between physical fitness and the lifestyle determinants of elite junior table tennis players. The basic anthropometric characteristics (body height and body weight) were collected of 87 Polish table tennis players (girls, n = 38 and boys, n = 49, at different stages of sport training, targeted and specialized) aged 11–17 years. The level of special fitness tests from the Table Tennis Specific Battery Test were used, assessing reaction speed and displacement speed. All eight International Physical Fitness Test trials were also used to determine the level of general fitness of the participants. Selected questions from the Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children questionnaire were asked to measure factors associated with leisure time. The findings confirm a relationship between sedentary forms of leisure time activity and the training of young players at the targeted stage (Z = −2.93, p = 0.003 school days and Z = −2.12, p = 0.034 days off). Moreover, competitors with longer training experience more often chose active forms of spending free time. Knowledge of the global physical activity undertaken by young athletes during their leisure time provides a better understanding of their individual needs and may help young table tennis players to succeed at a world-class level in the future.

Highlights

Table tennis is a compound and technically difficult game because the player must act quickly, accurately, and in changing conditions
The study group was selected arbitrarily using the following criteria: Written consent from parents to participate in the research, membership in the province team, current license of the Polish Table Tennis Association, a minimum three-year training period, health conditions, allowing all physical fitness tests to be carried out, and playing style, requiring the use of rackets with a so-called smooth lining
This study analyzed the data of 87 young table tennis players

Summary

Introduction

Table tennis is a compound and technically difficult game because the player must act quickly, accurately, and in changing conditions. As Limoochi [1] and Faber et al [2] observed, table tennis is regarded as an early entry sport and associations already try to find high-potential players at a young age. Table tennis performance itself at such a young age is influenced by individual differences in growth, maturation, training experiences, competition participation, and environmental factors (including leisure time). These factors may affect a player’s sport potential [3,4,5]. Some research states that, between the ages of 10 and 14 years, no distinct anthropometric player profile exists [1,9]

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