The blueprint for athlete development in greece: developmental trajectories of Youth Athletes

Abstract

Problem Statement: Understanding the differences in the developmental trajectories of young athletes in team and individual sports is essential for supporting effective athlete development. Purpose: The aim of this study was to identify the developmental trajectories and rates of change in the anthropometric and physical performance characteristics of 2,191 academy competitive-level athletes (boys n = 1,046; girls n = 1,145) aged 6–16 years participating in team sports (basketball, handball, football, and volleyball) and individual sports (track and field, gymnastics, swimming, tennis, karate, judo, and fencing). Approach: Anthropometric (height, weight, sitting height, arm span, and leg length) and physical performance characteristics (stand-and-reach test, 20 m sprint, jump-and-reach test, handgrip strength, 20 m shuttle run test, star agility test, and stork balance stand test) were evaluated. Factorial ANOVA with Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons was applied to anthropometric and physical performance characteristics to identify differences regarding age, gender and sport type. Statistical significance was set at p ≤ .05, and effect size was estimated using η². Results: The present study indicated that boys and girls performed similarly until early adolescence, after which boys displayed significantly greater gains in strength, sprinting, and power, while girls retained advantages in flexibility and balance. Differences between team and individual sports were generally small but age dependent. Team-sport participants (particularly girls) tended to outperform their peers in change of direction and shuttle-run tests from approximately 13 years onward. Athletes in individual sports displayed advantages in flexibility and balance at younger ages. Conclusions: The similar patterns across sport types before adolescence reinforce the idea that maturational status, rather than sport participation per se, drives early physical development.