Physical and Anthropometric Characteristics Do Not Differ According to Birth Year Quartile in High-Level Junior Australian Football Players

Abstract

The aim of this study was to explore differences in the physical fitness and anthropometric profiles between birth year quartiles of players attending the Australian Football League (AFL) National Draft Combine. Date of birth, anthropometric, 20 m sprint, vertical and running vertical jump, AFL planned agility, and 20 m Multi-Stage Fitness Test (MSFT) data were obtained for players selected to attend the Combine between 1999 and 2019 (n = 1549; Mage = 18.1; SDage = 0.3). The underlying density distributions of the data were visually explored using violin plots overlaid with box and whisker plots. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was then used to model the main effect of birth quartile (four levels) on the physical and anthropometric scores. Results showed that physical and anthropometric test scores did not significantly differ according to birth quartile (V = 0.008, F = 0.880, p = 0.631). We conclude that the physical and anthropometric profiles of high-level junior Australian Football players were similar according to birth year quartile across the modeled period. Therefore, how players utilize their physical and anthropometric attributes during game-play via contextualized, representative assessments, such as small-sided games, should be considered when examining potential causes of a RAE.

Development of the Korean Firefighter Performance Battery

“…To use the KFPB as an evaluation tool, appropriate evaluation criteria should be established. Methods for setting evaluation criteria include expert utilization, receiver operating characteristic analysis, multiple linear regression analysis, and quartile analysis 35–38 . Among them, the evaluation criteria of the KFPB were designated as quartiles.…”

“…Methods for setting evaluation criteria include expert utilization, receiver operating characteristic analysis, multiple linear regression analysis, and quartile analysis. [35][36][37][38] Among them, the evaluation criteria of the KFPB were designated as quartiles. Because the current firefighting fitness evaluation in Korea uses criteria classified into 10 grades, similarly, it is considered that the KFPB will have high utility with the evaluation criteria classified into quartiles.…”

Special Issue “Talent Identification and Development in Youth Sports”

“…Thus, it is necessary that future studies conduct more valid, reliable, and multidisciplinary assessment procedures in an effort to more accurately and resourcefully identify and develop talented youth athletes (e.g., [24,25]). Furthermore, several studies included in our Special Issue suggest that future directions should consider longitudinal tracking of interacting factors [26], such as the quantity, quality, and type of practice during sport participation [27], as well as monitoring biological maturation [28,29], physical performance [30,31], technical skills [32], and psychological profiles [33,34]. Evaluating how stakeholders communicate and implement these theoretical findings into applied settings will also be important for future research to ensure they are adequately deployed (e.g., [35][36][37]).…”