Physiological characteristics of male league Zimbabwe soccer players across playing position

The purpose of this study was to compare selected physiological characteristics of male league Zimbabwe soccer players across playing position.Twenty-two (22) players aged 21-33 years, who volunteered to participate in the study were categorized into three playing positions, defenders (n=7), midfielders (n=7) and forwards (n=7). Flexibility, vertical leg power, horizontal leg power, lower body muscular endurance, upper body muscular endurance, agility, speed and maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) was measured for each player. Descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) were used to present the physiological data for each of the three positions. A One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed on the data (at p=0.05) to determine any significant differences inthe selected variables across playing position. A Newman-Keuls post-hoc was also performed, also at p=0.05, to locate the playing positions across which any significant differences existed. The study found no significant differences in the Zimbabwean soccer players in each of the physiological attributes investigated, across playing positions(p0.05).

Autorentext

E.Tapera é professor de Ciências do Desporto na NUST, Zimbabué. É estudante de doutoramento em Ciências do Desporto na Universidade de Stellenbosch, África do Sul. Eberhard tem uma licenciatura em Educação Física e um mestrado em Ciências do Desporto e Treino. Os seus interesses de investigação incluem a biomecânica do desporto, lesões desportivas, atividade física e aptidão física.