Abstract

Differences between the morphological and calendar age of 238 young soccer players (age range 9-15, training history 0.5-6 yr) and the existence of any event-specific trait of their physique were studied. They all belonged to one of the seven junior teams of a Budapest sport club. The obtained results revealed that this club has a well established way of selecting young talents, a fact apparent in all the age groups. These youngsters were not advanced in their biological maturity, yet they performed well. Their good performance has not yet been adversely affected by their slightly smaller size, though later this might prove to be a limiting factor. In view of their present stature and biological age, not many of them will grow really tall. In the top ranks of soccer, too, tall stature is preferable when elite performance is expected. Verf.-Referat