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The Anthropometric and anaerobic fitness profile of elite and non-elite

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 J SPORTS MED PHYS FITNESS 2009;49:387-94

CA Anthropometric and anaerobic fitness profile

of elite and non-elite female soccer players

D I S. SEDANO 1, R. VAEYENS 2, R. M. PHILIPPAERTS 2, J. C. REDONDO 1, G. CUADRADO 1

E
M ®
Aim. The main aim of the current study was to compare the 1Department of Movement and Sport Sciences
anthropometrical and fitness profile of female soccer players by Faculty of Sports Sciences, University of Leon, Spain
level and by playing positions. The second purpose was to explore 2Department of Movement and Sports Sciences
correlations between kicking speed on the one hand and anthro- Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences

A T
pometric features and explosive strength on the other.
Methods. Female soccer players (N.=190) were tested divided

V
in two groups: elite group (N.=100) and non-elite group (N.=90).
Ghent University, Belgium

P H
Body mass, height, leg length, body composition, counter move-

R
ment jump, drop jump and kicking speed with both legs were hysiologically, soccer can be described as an inter-
measured.

G
Results. After controlling for experience with multivariate mittent exercise that mixes both high intensity and

E I
analysis of covariance (MANCOVA), body mass, body fat low intensity efforts with irregular breaks.1-3 Optimal
and muscle mass differed significantly by level. MANCOVA performance in soccer depends upon a variety of

R
also revealed that all the anthropometrical variables differed anthropometrical and physiological properties, mak-

IN
by playing position. However, MANCOVA did not show sig-
nificant differences by level of play, neither for explosive

Y
strength nor for kicking speed but revealed significant dif-
ferences among playing positions. There were significant pos-
ing player selection a complicated process.1 Moreover,
the physiological demand of soccer varies with posi-
tional role and these differences might be reflected in

M P
itive correlations between body mass, height, leg length, mus- performance on physiological tests.4, 5
cle mass, counter movement jump height, drop jump height Participation in female soccer experiences has wit-
and experience on the one hand and kicking speed with dom- nessed a 24% rise worldwide since 1987.2 In fact the-

O
inant and non-dominant leg on the other for the elite and re are currently 22.000.000 licensed female soccer
non-elite players.
Conclusion. Elite players differ from their non-elite counterparts
players in the Féderation Internationale de Football

C
in terms of anthropometrical features, while explosive strength
and kicking speed are not sensitive enough to distinguish
between levels. On the other hand, the findings indicate few
positional variations, and only goalkeepers, tend to have a spe-
cific anthropometric and fitness profile. Anthropometric vari-
ables, explosive strength and experience have an influence on
kicking speed.
KEY WORDS: Soccer - Body composition - Motor activity.
Received on July 30, 2008.
Accepted for publication on May 29, 2009.
Corresponding author: S. Sedano Campo, Facultad de Ciencias de la
Actividad Física y el Deporte. Universidad de León, Campus de Vegazana
s/n 24071, León, Spain. E-mail address: ssedc@unileon.es
Association (FIFA) database (9% of the total databa-
se). However, while the literature concerning the study
of male players is abundant, much less is known about
the female game. There are studies that describe phy-
sical and performance characteristics of players in
other team games 6, 7 and both in youth and in adult
male soccer players.4, 8-15 Nevertheless, only a few stu-
dies describe the profile of female soccer players.2, 5,
16-18 While most of them are focused on the physiolo-
gical profile of female players by playing position or
by standard of play,2, 5, 16, 18 only one research has
attempted to describe simultaneously positional cha-
racteristics and level differences.17

Vol. 49 - No. 4 THE JOURNAL OF SPORTS MEDICINE AND PHYSICAL FITNESS 387
SEDANO ANTHROPOMETRIC AND ANAEROBIC FITNESS PROFILE OF ELITE AND NON-ELITE

Although Silvestre et al.15 stated that the impor-
tance of anthropometrical features remains speculative
in soccer, anthropometry could be important within a
multidimensional process of player selection.1, 2
Besides, explosive type efforts, such as sprints or
ticipated in the study and were divided into two groups
according to their competitive level. The non-elite
group (NEG) consisted of 90 female players (8 goal-
keepers [GK], 15 centre backs [CB], 17 full backs
[FB], 17 midfielders [MID], 15 wide midfielders

A
jumps, are important factors for soccer performance. [WM], 18 forwards [FW]) (mean age 19.1±0.7 years).
These efforts depend on the anaerobic capacity of the They were playing for teams in the Spanish Regional
neuromuscular system, more particularly on the explo- First Division (Primera División Regional). They had

C
sive strength of lower limbs.12 Indeed, vertical jump and

I
kicking performance have been frequently used to test
the explosive strength of soccer players and moreover,
4.5±3.2 years of experience in soccer, trained on aver-
age 6.5 hours a week and played a match fortnightly.
The elite group (EG) consisted of 100 female players

D
they have also been used to differentiate between lev-
els of play as well as to create an understanding of

E
positional differences for male participants.4, 9, 10, 12,
19-24 Moreover, explosive strength of lower limbs con-
stitutes a determinant factor for kicking performance
(10 GK, 18 CB, 18 FB, 17 MID, 17 WM, 20 FW)
(mean age 22.1±1.1 years). They were playing for
teams in the Spanish National Women´s First Division
(Primera División Nacional). They had 6.2±4.0 years
of experience in soccer and trained on average 10

M ®
in male players.12
Due to that shortage of related studies, normative
data for female players should be established rather
hours a week and played a match weekly.

Testing protocols

A T
than merely implementing extensions of current male
training programs. These data are the essential ele-

V
ments for designing individualized training programs.
All the tests were performed two months before the
end of the competitive season in order to assure that all

H
Therefore, in order to create standards, the main pur-

R
pose of the current study was to compare the anthro-

G
pometrical and fitness profile of female soccer players
players had reached their optimal physical level since
the season had been already running for some months.
Prior to the initial testing, each subject was familiar-

E I
by level and by playing positions. The second aim was ized with the testing protocols. To standardise testing
to explore associations between kicking speed on the procedures the same trained test leaders carried out
the entire test procedure using identical order and pro-

IN YR
one hand, and anthropometric features and explosive
strength on the other. More specifically, we hypothe- tocol.
sized that positional and level differences would be
present not only for the anthropometrical profile, but Anthropometric data

M P
also for the fitness profile. We also hypothesized that
a positive association between explosive strength and
kicking performance would appear in both levels of
play.
All the anthropometrical measurements were taken
by one trained anthropometrist assisted by a recorder
in accordance with the standardised procedures of

CO Materials and methods

Subjects
Prior to the start of the study, the board members of
the clubs, the coaches and the subjects were fully
informed about the aims of the research. They pro-
vided written informed consent and players also com-
pleted a form giving personal, medical and training
details. All procedures described in this study were
approved by the Ethical Committee of the University
of Leon.
A cohort of 190 healthy female soccer players par-
International Society for the Advancement of
Kinanthropometry (ISAK). Testing was carried out in
a standardised order after a proper calibration of the
measuring instruments. Height, leg length (from greater
trochanter to the floor) and body mass were measured
for each subject using a Holtain Ltd. anthropometer and
a Seca Electronic balance. To estimate body compo-
sition, six skinfolds (triceps, subscapular, suprailiac,
abdomen, front thigh and medial calf) and two diam-
eters (wrist and femur) were taken using a Holtain
(British Indicators Ltd.) calliper and a Lafayette cal-
liper. All those measures were taken from the right
side of the body. Subsequently fat mass, bone mass,
residual mass and muscle mass and their respective
percentages were calculated in order to evaluate body

388 THE JOURNAL OF SPORTS MEDICINE AND PHYSICAL FITNESS December 2009
ANTHROPOMETRIC AND ANAEROBIC FITNESS PROFILE OF ELITE AND NON-ELITE SEDANO

composition, using the formulas of Faulkner,24 Rocha,25
Wurch 26 and Matiegka,27 respectively.
Explosive strength - Jumping ability
Prior to the start of the test session of the explosive
tively. They were told that kicks which missed the
radar gun could be repeated, and that they should not
decrease the speed in order to improve accuracy. Each
subject performed five trials with each leg and the best
result was used for statistical analysis. The rest between

A
trials was 40 s. The radar gun was always calibrated
strength of the lower limbs, each subject carried out a immediately prior to the sessions according to the
standardised 15-minutes warm-up period. The jump- instructions given in the User´s Manual.

C
ing ability of the players was evaluated with a jump-

I
ing mat (SportJUMP System; DSD, 2006), which
showed a positive significant correlation (Rxy=0.998,
Statistical analysis

D
P<0.001) with Ergojump Bosco System and also a Normality of distribution was tested by means of
positive significant correlation (Rxy=0.994, P<0.001) the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test (KS). Standard statistical

E
with a Dinascan 600 M force plate.28 The subjects per- methods were used for the calculations of the means
formed a counter movement jump (CMJ) and a drop and standard deviations (SD). Partial correlations were
jump (DJ) (starting from 40 cm), both with the arms calculated by means of Pearson product-moment cor-

M ®
kept on the hips. Three trials were carried out for each
type of jump. Subjects were instructed to perform a free
knee flexion to ensure an individually and preferred
relation coefficients in order to determine the associ-
ation between kicking speed on the one hand and
anthropometric features, explosive strength and train-

A T
chosen knee flexion angle to achieve the optimal jump-
ing height. The rest between the trials was 40 s in the

V
CMJ and 60 s in the DJ. The best result was used for
ing experience on the other. Two-way analysis of vari-
ance (ANOVA) (level x position) with Tukey post-
hoc tests was performed to know whether differences

R
Kicking speed

G H
statistical analysis. in experience by level and playing positions were sig-
nificant or not. Comparisons between groups and
among playing positions were performed using mul-

E I
tivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) with
After a recovery of three minutes following six experience as the covariate. For the MANCOVA, lev-
stretching exercises focused on knee and hip exten- el and playing position served as the independent vari-

IN YR
sion and flexion, and ankle plantarflexion-dorsiflexion,
players practiced the kicking test for 10 minutes to
familiarize themselves with the test procedure. Kicking
performance was estimated from maximum ball speed
ables while body mass, height, leg length, percentage
of fat mass, percentage of muscle mass, CMJ, DJ and
kicking speed with dominant and non-dominant leg

M P
during shooting. The speed, expressed in km/h-1, was
measured with a Stalker’s type hyperfrequency radar
(Stalker Professional Radar, Radar Sales, Plymouth,
served as the multivariate dependent variables.
Univariate analysis were conducted to locate the pair-
wise differences. For all analyses, significance was

O
accepted at P<0.05.
MA, USA) set up 30 cm above the ground behind a
goal. A ball with a standard size and inflation pres-

C
sure following the rules of FIFA was used, and was
always placed at the same point (5 m distance). The
reliability of the results offered by the radar gun with
the current measuring protocol was previously vali-
dated using a high speed camera and a 2D pho-
Results

Kolmogorov-Smirnov test suggests that all vari-

togrammetric system Kinescan/IBV 2001. This pilot
study revealed a positive significant correlation (Rxy=
0.994, P<0.05) between the results registered by the
radar gun and those recorded by the video system. In
order to standardise the test procedure we used a 2
step run-up. Participants were asked to kick the ball as
fast as possible towards the radar gun, using the instep
of the dominant and the non-dominant leg alterna-
ables were distributed normally.
Correlations
Results for correlations are shown in Table I.
Significant positive correlations were found between
body mass, height, leg length, muscle mass, CMJ
height, DJ height and experience on the one hand and
kicking speed with dominant and non-dominant leg
on the other hand for EG and NEG. These correla-

Vol. 49 - No. 4 THE JOURNAL OF SPORTS MEDICINE AND PHYSICAL FITNESS 389
SEDANO ANTHROPOMETRIC AND ANAEROBIC FITNESS PROFILE OF ELITE AND NON-ELITE

TABLE I.—Correlation coefficients between kicking speed with dominant and non-dominant leg and anthropometric features and explosive strength
in EG and NEG.
Body Leg Muscle Non- Experience
mass Height length Body fat mass CMJ DJ Dominant Dominant

Non-elite group (N.=90)

A
Dominant 0.34* 0.32* 0.31* -0.32 0.40* 0.32* 0.46* 1 0.71* 0.50*
Non-Dominant 0.27* 0.28* 0.29* -0.27 0.36* 0.28* 0.37* 0.71* 1 0.48*

C
Elite group (N.=100)

I
Dominant 0.53* 0.72* 0.74* -0.18 0.75* 0.45* 0.42* 1 0.71* 0.29*
Non-Dominant 0.38* 0.65* 0.65* -0.17 0.54* 0.31* 0.24* 0.71* 1 0.30*
* Significant correlation.

E D
TABLE II.—Results of the ANOVA for experience and MANCOVA with
experience as the covariate for all the variables by level (N.=190).
playing positions between GK and FB (P=0.002), CB
(P=0.002), MID (P=0.001) and WM (P=0.012),
between MID and FB (P=0.017), CB (P=0.011), WM

M ®
Mean ± SD

EG NEG F-Ratio a
(P=0.009) and FW (P=0.006) and between FW and
FB (P=0.007), CB (P=0.009), MID (P=0.001) and
Experience (years) 6.2±4.0 4.5±3.2 6.545 * WM (P=0.011).

V
Body mass (kg)
A T
Anthropometric
features
57.7±7.5 61.2±10.8
F-Ratio
5.042*
b
Table II presents the data for the anthropometric
features, explosive strength, kicking speed and expe-
rience for EG and NEG.

H
Height (cm) 161.3±5.9 161.8±7.1 0.346*
Leg length (cm) 81.3±4.4 81.1±5.2 0.035* Table III shows the data for the anthropometric fea-

R
Body fat (%) 20.1±5.5 24.6±4.1 19.851* tures, explosive strength, kicking speed and experi-

G
Muscle mass (%) 43.2±3.2 39.1±4.2 11.458*
ence for every playing position.

E
Explosive strength
CMJ (cm)
DJ (cm)

I 26.1±4.8
25.3±5.6
27.3±5.7
24.6±5.1
2.020
0.241 Anthropometric features

IN YR
Kicking speed
Dominant leg (km.h-1) 73.3±7.7 71.1±6.9 0.339 After controlling for experience with MANCOVA,
Non-Dominant leg (km.h-1) 62.1±8.4 60.4±7.1 0.396 body mass, body fat and muscle mass differed signif-
*Significant differences: P<0.05; a F-Ratio obtained in two-way ANOVA for expe- icantly by level. NEG were heavier (5.7%, P=0.003),
rience (level); b Summary of univariate F-Ratios calculated using Type III sums of

M P
squares with a Bonferroni adjusted alpha level of 0.005, Hypothesis df=1 and Error
df=186 for MANCOVA. Wilks’ Ratio= 2.9, P=0.008.
had more fat percentage (18.3%, P=0.001) and less
muscle percentage (9.5%, P=0.002) than EG. MAN-
COVA also revealed that all the anthropometrical vari-

O
ables differed by playing position. Post hoc analyses
indicated that GK were significantly heavier than FB

C
tions were stronger in EG with the exception of DJ
height and experience. There were also negative cor-
relations between fat percentage and kicking speed
but they did not reach statistical significance. A posi-
tive and significant correlation was also found between
kicking speed with dominant leg and kicking speed
with the non-dominant leg.
(6.6 %, P=0.004) and FW (7.2 %, P=0.002). CB were
also heavier than FB (10 %, P=0.011) and FW (10.4 %,
P=0.015) and taller and with a longer leg length than
FW (4.6%, P=0.005 and 7.1%, P=0.002, respectively).
Full backs registered significant less values than GK
(8.4%, P=0.022) and CB (7.2%, P=0.007) for fat per-
centage but significant greater muscle mass than them
(4.3%, P=0.026 and 3.5%, P=0.032, respectively).

Comparative analysis Explosive strength and kicking speed

ANOVA revealed significant differences between After controlling for experience MANCOVA did
levels of play and among playing positions in experi- not show significant differences by level of play, nei-
ence. Tukey post-hoc tests located these differences by ther for explosive strength nor for kicking speed. Yet,

390 THE JOURNAL OF SPORTS MEDICINE AND PHYSICAL FITNESS December 2009
ANTHROPOMETRIC AND ANAEROBIC FITNESS PROFILE OF ELITE AND NON-ELITE SEDANO

TABLE III.—Results of the ANOVA for experience and MANCOVA with experience as the covariate for all the variables by position (N.=190).
Mean ± SD

GK FB CB MID WM FW F-Ratioa

Experience (years) 4.7±3.2 a 6.4±3.1 6.1±1.9 8.6±4.9 b 5.6±4.2 4.8±4.0 a 8.621*

A
Anthropometric features F-Ratiob
Body mass (kg) 60.1±5.8 a 56.1±8.8 b 62.3±7.9 a 56.5±5.7 a, b 58.2±5.4 a, b 55.8±7.2 b 8.213*
Height (cm) 160.5±3.1 a, b 158.8±6.3 a, b 165.7±6.1 a 162.5±5.7 a, b 161.6±4.1 a, b 158.1±6.8 b 6.432*

C
Leg length (cm) 79.1±2.2 a, b 80.7±4.6 a, b 84.1±4.8 a 82.3±4.3 a, b 81.5±4.2 a, b 78.1±4.4 b 7.222*

I
Body fat (%) 26.5±3.2 a 18.1±2.2 b 25.3±6.3 a 20.2±2.5 a, b 20.9±3.1 a, b 21.3±2.7 a, b 6.042*
Muscle mass (%) 39.5±3.5 a 43.8±1.8 b 40.3±2.7a 41.9±3.4 a, b 40.9±5.4 a, b 41.1±1.5 a, b 5.119*
Explosive strength

D
CMJ (cm) 22.7±3.3 a 25.9±4.9 b 27.3±3.9 b 27.1±6.5 b 26.6±4.1 b 27.3±4.8 b 5.637*
DJ (cm) 21.4±5.8 a 24.1±4.8 b 25.5±5.4 b 24.5±5.2 b 26.1±4.1 b 26.8±7.3b 4.564*

E
Kicking speed
Dominant leg (km.h-1) 67.5±10.5a 71.8±6.2 b, c 74.6±7.3 b 74.1±5.6 b, c 74.3±7.7 b, c 70.3±8.8 c 8.087*
Non-dominant leg (km.h-1) 56.1±12.1a 61.4±7.7 b 59.9±7.0 b 63.7±7.3 c 63.3±6.3 b 60.5±8.7 b 7.819*

M ®
*P<0.05. Note. Means in the same row for the same variable having the same subcript are not significantly different at P<0.05. a F-Ratio obtained in two-way ANOVA
for experience (position); b summary of univariate F-Ratios calculated using Type III sums of squares with a Bonferroni adjusted alfa level of 0.005, Hypothesis df=35
and Error df=381 for MANCOVA. Wilks’ Ratio = 1.42, P=0.006.

VA T
MANCOVA revealed significant differences among the training regimes. In contrast to most previous stud-

R H
playing positions. Post hoc tests located the differ-
ences between GK and FB (12.4%, P=0.002 and

G
11.2%, P=0.007), CB (16.9%, P=0.017 and 16.1%,
ies, which contained relatively small samples sizes,
the present study is based on one of the largest samples
of soccer players to date. In agreement with our hypoth-

E I
P=0.012 ), MID (16.2 %, P=0.001 and 12.7%, esis the main findings revealed that there were level and
P=0.001), WM (14.7%, P=0.015 and 18.1%, P=0.016) positional differences both in the anthropometric and
and FW (16.9%, P=0.002 and 20.15%, P=0.001) both in the fitness profile.

IN YR
in CMJ and in DJ (CMJ and DJ). For kicking speed
with dominant leg, post hoc tests located the differences
between GK and FB (6%, P=0.032), CB (9.5%,
P=0.027), MID (9%, P=0.031), WM (9.2%, P=0.026)
Due to the contradictory results, it is widely accept-
ed that it is difficult to find an anthropometrical profile
related to success in soccer.19, 29 Our findings revealed
differences in body mass but not in height by level of

M P
and FW (4%, P=0.039) and between CB and FW
(5.8%, P=0.026). Differences were located between
play. This, is not consistent with results obtained by
Todd et al.17 who did not find differences in body mass

O
GK and FB (8.6%, P=0.011), CB (6.4%, P=0.019), among levels in female players. Even though there
MID (11.9%, P=0.012), WM (11.4%, P=0.003) and seems to be no ideal height or body mass in soccer, cer-
FW (7.3%, P=0.015), and between MID and FB (3.6%, tain positions such as goalkeepers or centre backs may

C
P=0.038), CB (6%, P=0.031) and FW (5%, P=0.027)
for kicking speed with non-dominant limb.

Discussion
Physiological demands in soccer vary with stan-
dards of play and positional roles.2, 3 However, only one
study has attempted to describe simultaneously posi-
tional characteristics and level differences in female
players.17 The main purpose in this study was, there-
fore, to provide data by level and by playing position,
so that coaches and other professionals can specify
benefit from higher values.15, 17 Results showed that
goalkeepers were effectively the heaviest players, fol-
lowed by centre backs that were the tallest. These
results do agree with recent studies both in female 2, 5,
17, 18 and in male players.8, 15
Fat percentages in EG and NEG were within the
wide range of 16.1% to 25.8% established for female
players.5, 16, 17, 30-32 However, results in NEG were near
to those exposed in sedentary women.33 It could be
hypothesized that training frequency in NEG is insuf-
ficient to generate a difference in body composition
with regard to sedentary women. Statistical analysis
showed significant differences in the estimation of

Vol. 49 - No. 4 THE JOURNAL OF SPORTS MEDICINE AND PHYSICAL FITNESS 391
SEDANO ANTHROPOMETRIC AND ANAEROBIC FITNESS PROFILE OF ELITE AND NON-ELITE

body composition by level, which seemed to be
favourable to EG since an increase in body fat would
negatively impact athletic performance in sports such
as soccer.11, 15, 29, 32 Kalaphotakaros et al.34 related
these results to a higher frequency of training and com-
the most appropriate jump to evaluate explosive
strength in these athletes. In fact, in order to find dif-
ferences between levels it might be more adequate to
assess the ability of players to carry out repetitive
jumps (i.e., endurance strength for explosive efforts)

A
petition. Results obtained by playing position were in rather than evaluate isolated jumps (i.e., CMJ and DJ).
line with the overall agreement that goalkeepers have Kicking is one of the most fundamental and fre-
a higher fat mass,4, 15, 17, 35 which is linked to a decrease quently used skills in soccer 20 and the ability to use

IC
in energy expenditure during training and games.15
On the other hand, full-backs registered the lowest fat
percentage and the highest muscle mass, which did
both limbs is extremely important to solve match sit-
uations faster.37 However, all the participants produced
a greater ball speed with the dominant leg. Although

D
not agree with results obtained by other authors both
in male and female players.5, 17, 35 These authors con-

E
cluded that midfielders had the lowest fat mass and
centre-backs had the greatest value for muscle mass.
Although running is the predominant activity in
the asymmetry disclosed in the higher level should be
lower, in the current study both groups register a sim-
ilar value (15%), which is higher than those obtained
in other groups of female and male players.38, 39
Elite group had better results than NEG in kicking

M ®
soccer, explosive type efforts are determinant factors
for performance.12 Jumping ability and kicking speed
have been frequently used to test the anaerobic pow-
speed with both legs but the differences between the
two levels did not reach statistical significance. As
these differences cannot be related to differences in

A T
er.2, 5, 12, 15, 17, 23 Nevertheless, no single study investi-
gated both parameters using a large sample of female

V
players. The current cohort of women displays lower
explosive strength they could be linked to the techni-
cal skill. It might be a predominant factor since the
kick incorporates a complex series of synergistic

R H
explosive strength than female players in other stud-
ies.2, 5, 13, 17, 36 In fact, results were within the range

G
suggested for sedentary women.2 Even though greater
movements.17 Furthermore, experience is also impor-
tant, with distinguishable differences in movement
patterns between experienced and non-experienced

E I
demands in explosive strength are supposed to be players.40, 41
placed upon elite players compared to non-elite play- It is very difficult to make comparisons due to the
ers,4 jumping ability did not differ between groups. scarcity of information about kicking performance in

IN YR
This is not consistent with findings from Todd et al.,17
who showed significant greater values in elite players.
Cometti et al.12 linked the lack of skill-related differ-
ences and the poor development of jumping ability to
different playing positions. Statistical analysis revealed
that goalkeepers had significant lower kicking speed
with both legs than outfield players. However, as it
was showed in explosive strength variables, results

M P
the fact that soccer practice may represent an inade-
quate training stimulus. They stated that programmes
obtained for all outfield positions were similar.
Therefore it could be concluded that these variables are

O
focusing on improving jumping ability (i.e., plyo- not sensitive enough to distinguish among playing
metrics) should be implemented. With regard to play- positions.
ing positions, explosive strength may be considered One of the major aims of the current study was to

C
more important in players such as goalkeepers.2
However, our results were in agreement with those
obtained by other authors who found that goalkeepers
performed worse than outfield players.2, 15
Even though the increased activation of muscle
fibres results in an increase in force production, results
in CMJ were higher than those in DJ. This could be
related to the fact that the technical requirement in
CMJ is more similar to soccer effort. Although play-
ers were familiarized with the testing protocol before
the study, lower results in DJ might be also linked to
a widespread lack of experience in performing the DJ
in soccer players. Therefore, DJ did not seem to be
determine the influence of the variables analysed in
kicking speed. Although certain researchers stated that
static measures, such as weight and height, have poor
predictive value for dynamic actions,42 significant cor-
relations were found between anthropometric features
and kicking speed. This is consistent with results
obtained by other authors who showed correlations
between these features and fitness variables.5, 15, 19 The
correlation obtained between muscle mass and kick-
ing speed was consistent with previous results obtained
in female players.5 On the other hand, the negative
correlation with fat mass could be linked to the state-
ment mentioned previously that increases in body fat

392 THE JOURNAL OF SPORTS MEDICINE AND PHYSICAL FITNESS December 2009
ANTHROPOMETRIC AND ANAEROBIC FITNESS PROFILE OF ELITE AND NON-ELITE
would negatively impact athletic performance in sports
such as soccer.11, 15, 29, 32
Correlations with explosive strength were significant
and positive, therefore strength influence is important
in kicking performance. Wells and Reilly 5 also focused
A
on the importance of strength development for this
skill. However, Masuda et al.20 pointed out that
C
improvements in kicking speed are not fully deter-
I
mined by increases in muscle strength because tech-
nical skill is extremely important. In fact, correlations
seemed to be stronger in elite group and in dominant
D
leg where technical stabilization is supposed to be bet-
ter. Therefore, training programmes which focused
E
on strength development to improve kicking perfor-
mance should be implemented when players had
M ®
reached certain technical level.
A
Conclusions
T
V
In conclusion, this investigation has revealed that
H
elite female soccer players differ from their non-elite
R
counterparts in terms of anthropometrical features,
G
while explosive strength and kicking speed are not
E I
sensitive enough to distinguish between levels.
Therefore, as soccer practice itself seems to be an
inadequate stimulus to develop explosive strength and
IN YR
kicking speed, greater emphasis on these aspects could
help the coach to improve the level of play. On the
other hand, the findings indicate few positional vari-
M P
ations, and only goalkeepers, tend to have a specific
anthropometric and fitness profile, performing worse
than outfield players both in explosive strength tests and
O
in kicking speed assessment. Consequently, as the
explosive strength is an essential element for perfor-
C
mance in GK, efforts should be focused on the devel-
opment of this capacity. Training programmes such
as plyometry could be a powerful tool for improving
explosive strength. It must be also concluded that
anthropometric variables, explosive strength and expe-
rience have an influence on kicking speed, but this
influence is stronger when the technical skill is sup-
posed to be better. Finally, this study provides some
useful data for female players to professionals.
Nevertheless, further studies, including the assess-
ment of speed, agility or repeated sprint ability, could
extent the knowledge about the conditioning of female
soccer players by level and by playing position.
Vol. 49 - No. 4 THE JOURNAL OF SPORTS MEDICINE AND PHYSICAL FITNESS
SEDANO
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