COMPARATIVE STUDY ON ANTHROPOMETRIC AND MOTOR DIFFERENCES IN U15 BASKETBALL PLAYERS

Abstract

Basketball is a predominantly aerobic sport during which high-intensity anaerobic actions are performed. In recent years, this characteristic has evolved in terms of demands on the athlete and intensity of the competition, implying an increase in the number and duration of explosive actions. To meet the demands of this sport, good technical, tactical, physical and mental training is required. The research purpose was to determine the anthropometric and motor differences between two male basketball teams from a private club, both playing in the U15 age category. The study included 32 athletes who were divided into two groups. One group was made up of 16 players representing the club’s elite team, and the other group also consisted of 16 players representing the club’s secondary team for this age category. All players were tested in the same sports hall on two different days, during their training for the U15 National Basketball Championship of Romania. Anthropometric and physical characteristics were measured using a test battery with six variables: Height, Weight, Body mass index, 10 m Sprint, Standing long jump, Vertical jump, and Little Marathon. The methods used were: literature review, observation, mathematical statistics, tabular and graphical methods. Differences in anthropometric and physical values between the basketball players of the two teams were determined using the t-Test for independent small samples (Assuming Equal Variances). Our research hypothesis is confirmed, since there are significant anthropometric and motor differences between the players of the two representative club teams, justifying the presence of the elite team in the U15 National Basketball Championship.