Investigation of Physical Performance of Young Elite Football Players: "Positional Comparison"

Abstract

This study aims to compare the positional physical performances of young elite A league football players. A total of 38 players from MKE Ankaragücü's U17 and U19 categories, competing in the young elite league during the 2023-2024 season, participated in the research. A Shapiro-Wilk normality test was applied to the data obtained in the study, and based on the results of the normality test, the Spearman test was used for correlation analysis. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to determine the differences between groups, and the Mann-Whitney U test was used to define these differences. Additionally, Spearman correlation analysis was used to examine the relationship between the participants' physical performance data. When the vertical jump variable was examined, it was found that defenders performed better than goalkeepers in vertical jump (p<0.05), midfielders performed better than goalkeepers (p<0.01), and forwards also performed better than goalkeepers (p<0.05). Regarding the long jump variable, it was found that midfielders performed better in vertical jump than goalkeepers (p<0.01). When the 20-meter sprint variable was examined, it was found that defenders performed better than goalkeepers in the 20m sprint (p<0.01), midfielders performed better than goalkeepers (p<0.01), and forwards also performed better than goalkeepers (p<0.05). For the 40m sprint performance variable, it was found that defenders performed better than goalkeepers in the 40m sprint (p<0.05), midfielders performed better than goalkeepers (p<0.01), and forwards also performed better than goalkeepers (p<0.05). In conclusion, the findings of the study reveal that defenders, midfielders, and forwards exhibit significant superiority in vertical jump, long jump, and sprint performances compared to goalkeepers.

Keywords

• Physical performance
• Young football players
• Positional difference

Genç Elit Futbolcuların Fiziksel Performanslarının İncelenmesi: "Mevkisel Karşılaştırma"

Öz

Bu çalışmanın amacı, genç elit A ligi futbolcularının pozisyonel fiziksel performanslarını karşılaştırmaktır. Araştırmaya 2023-2024 sezonunda genç elit liginde mücadele eden MKE Ankaragücü'nün U17 ve U19 kategorilerinden toplam 38 oyuncu katılmıştır. Çalışmada elde edilen verilere Shapiro-Wilk normallik testi uygulanmış, normallik testi sonuçlarına göre korelasyon analizi için Spearman testi kullanılmıştır. Gruplar arası farklılıkları belirlemek için Kruskal-Wallis testi, bu farklılıkları tanımlamak için Mann-Whitney U testi kullanılmıştır. Ayrıca katılımcıların fiziksel performans verileri arasındaki ilişkiyi incelemek için Spearman korelasyon analizi kullanılmıştır. Dikey sıçrama değişkeni incelendiğinde dikey sıçramada defans oyuncularının kalecilerden daha iyi performans gösterdiği (p<0,05), orta saha oyuncularının kalecilerden daha iyi performans gösterdiği (p<0,01) ve forvetlerin de kalecilerden daha iyi performans gösterdiği (p<0,05) bulunmuştur. Uzun atlama değişkeninde, orta saha oyuncularının dikey sıçramada kalecilerden daha iyi performans gösterdiği bulunmuştur (p<0,01). 20 metre sprint değişkeni incelendiğinde, 20 metre sprintte defans oyuncularının kalecilerden daha iyi performans gösterdiği (p<0,01), orta saha oyuncularının kalecilerden daha iyi performans gösterdiği (p<0,01) ve forvetlerin de kalecilerden daha iyi performans gösterdiği (p<0,05) bulunmuştur. 40 metre sprint performans değişkeninde, 40 metre sprintte defans oyuncularının kalecilerden daha iyi performans gösterdiği (p<0,05), orta saha oyuncularının kalecilerden daha iyi performans gösterdiği (p<0,01) ve forvetlerin de kalecilerden daha iyi performans gösterdiği (p<0,05) bulunmuştur. Sonuç olarak araştırmanın bulguları, defans oyuncularının, orta saha oyuncularının ve forvetlerin kalecilere kıyasla dikey sıçrama, uzun atlama ve sprint performanslarında anlamlı üstünlükler sergilediğini ortaya koymaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Fiziksel performans
• Genç futbolcu
• Mevkisel farklılık

Kaynakça

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