Abstract

The maturation process has a great influence on the anthropometric factors and physical capabilities of the athlete, and therefore, on the selection process of sporting talents. The objective of this work was to analyze the maturational state and anthropometric characteristics together with the comparison of these data by sex in a sample of 39 young volleyball players within a talent selection process (19 ladies of 14.88 +/- 1. 05 years old and 13 males aged 15.1 years). Data were obtained on chronological age, height, weight, sitting height, height of the mother and father, peak age of growth, timing or period of time above or below the peak age, height at the end of the process. maturation, the current percentage of maximum height, the remaining centimeters and the maturation status (pre-pubertal, pubertal or post-pubertal). The players showed a greater height at the time of the measurements (179.92 +/- 6.87 vs. 171.05 +/- 4.80; p<0.001), as well as a greater final calculated height (189.46 +/- 3.73 vs. 178.52 +/- 5.17; p<0.001), compared to the female players. The peak in growth speed was also higher in male players (14.56 +/- 0.44 vs 12.60 +/- 0.57; p<0.001), although their timing was lower than that of female players (0.531 +/- 1.19 vs 2.27 +/- 0.64; p<0.001). This was due to a higher percentage of male players in pubertal states, including one player in a pre-pubertal stage, while the presence of female players in a post-pubertal stage was abundant. These data reflect the large number of players who tend to be in advanced periods of maturation in talent selection processes. Therefore, coaches and selectors must consider these variables to avoid biases in the process of identifying sporting talent.