ANTHROPOMETRIC, PHYSICAL FITNESS, AND PSYCHOLOGICAL PARAMETERS IN INTERNATIONAL WOMEN BASKETBALL PLAYERS

Abstract

The objective of this study was to analyse anthropometric, physical fitness and psychological parameters in women basketball players according to their age group. Ninety-seven women basketball players (16.7±2.9 years in age) from national teams participated in the study. The players belonged to the A-team, Under-20s, Under-18s, Under-16s, and Under-15s national teams. All were assessed using basic anthropometry (height, weight and body mass index), physical fitness tests (countermovement jump with and without upper limb movement, chest-pass, 10 m and 15 m sprints, T-test, line-drill, and yo-yo IR2 test), psychological parameters (psychological skills in practice and competition, mental toughness, and competition anxiety). A one-way analysis of variance was used to establish the differences between the teams, applying a Bonferroni post hoc test. The results showed that in the anthropometric parameters there were only differences in weight, with the Under-15s being lighter than the rest of the teams (F = 4.808, p = 0.001). In the physical fitness parameters, the A-teams scored higher in chest-pass than the rest of the teams (F = 15.320, p <0.001), the Under-15s were faster than the Under-18s in 10 m sprint (F = 2.914, p = 0.026) and than the rest of the teams in 15 m sprint (F = 40.407, p <0.001), and the Under-18s scored better on the yo-yo IR2 test than the Under-16s (F = 2.157, p = 0.041). In the psychological parameters, differences were only found between the Under-16s and Under-18s in negative thinking in competition (F = 3.517, p = 0.001). Coaches should focus on the physical condition training load, and try to improve it as age increases. The lack of differences in the psychological parameters seems to indicate that these depend more on the individual than on age.