Relationships between anthropometric measures and athletic performance,with special reference to repeated-sprint ability,in the Qatar national soccer team

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine potential relationships between anthropometric parameters and athletic performance with special consideration to repeated-sprint ability (RSA). Sixteen players of the senior male Qatar national soccer team performed a series of anthropometric and physical tests including countermovement jumps without (CMJ) and with free arms (CMJwA), straight-line 20 m sprint, RSA (6 × 35 m with 10 s recovery) and incremental field test. Significant (P < 0.05) relationships occurred between muscle-to-bone ratio and both CMJs height (r ranging from 0.56 to 0.69) as well as with all RSA-related variables (r < –0.53 for sprinting times and r = 0.54 for maximal sprinting speed) with the exception of the sprint decrement score (S_dec). The sum of six skinfolds and adipose mass index were largely correlated with S_dec (r = 0.68, P < 0.01 and r = 0.55, P < 0.05, respectively) but not with total time (TT, r = 0.44 and 0.33, P > 0.05, respectively) or any standard athletic tests. Multiple regression analyses indicated that muscular cross-sectional area for mid-thigh, adipose index, straight-line 20 m time, maximal sprinting speed and CMJwA are the strongest predictors of S_dec (r² = 0.89) and TT (r² = 0.95) during our RSA test. In the Qatar national soccer team, players’ power-related qualities and RSA are associated with a high muscular profile and a low adiposity. This supports the relevance of explosive power for the soccer players and the larger importance of neuromuscular qualities determining the RSA.     

‘Forgotten’ democracy,student activism,and higher education in Myanmar: past,present, and future

Asia Pacific Education Review - This paper is a historical examination of higher education in contemporary Myanmar, and its relationship to the students, the most important and visible actor in...     

A new active R bandpass filter

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Choice of helpers,types of problems and sex of helpers of college students

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A roadmap for offering MOOC from an LMIC institution

MOOCs are massive open online courses that are globally accessible, free of charge. Given their cost-free and open accessibility, it is surprising that only a few institutions have offered MOOCs from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Pakistan recently made this short list of LMICs as the first two MOOCs were launched from the country, in 2014 and 2016. Drawing from that experience, the organizers of that course present a roadmap for LMIC institutions for developing a MOOC, focusing especially on the technological and pedagogical limitations that an LMIC institution might find deterring.     

What Every Educator Needs to Know about America’s Homeless Students

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