Anthropometric characteristics of female junior national team volleyball players: A comparative study

Abstract

Athlete's anthropometric and physical characteristics may represent important prerequisites for successful performance in volleyball. Thus, the objective is to compare Macedonian Junior National Team players with National Team players from other countries in terms of anthropometric characteristics in a qualitative manner. Female volleyball players (N=320) aged 13-18 years that are part of Macedonian Junior National Team and Junior National Teams competing at the Girls' U18 World Championships 2017 and 2019 were included in the study. Players' data were extracted from the official player's statistics posted at the official databases of Volleyball Federation of Macedonia and FIVB. Based on data from the Microsoft Office Excel Spreadsheet, graphs were created. Height can be considered as a disadvantage of Macedonian Junior National Team players against players that are part of National Teams competing at Girls' U18 World Championships 2017 and 2019. All National Teams have shown high homogeneity in terms of players' anthropometric characteristics. We advise Macedonian coaches to take in consideration body height and body mass of the players during the volleyball pre-selection process, because anthropometric characteristics of the players highly influence the level of performance and the final match outcome