Institute for Sport, Physical Activity and Leisure, Leeds Beckett University, Headingley Campus, Room 108, Cavendish Hall, West Yorkshire, Leeds, LS6 3QS, UK.
Leeds Rhinos RLFC, Leeds, UK.
Sports Med. 2017 Nov;47(11):2171-2186. doi: 10.1007/s40279-017-0745-8.
Rugby league is a collision team sport played at junior and senior levels worldwide, whereby players require highly developed anthropometric and physical qualities (i.e. speed, change-of-direction speed, aerobic capacity, muscular strength and power). Within junior levels, professional clubs and national governing bodies implement talent identification and development programmes to support the development of youth (i.e. 13-20 years) rugby league players into professional athletes. This review presents and critically appraises the anthropometric and physical qualities of elite male youth rugby league players aged between 13 and 20 years, by age category, playing standard and playing position. Height, body mass, body composition, linear speed, change-of-direction speed, aerobic capacity, muscular strength and power characteristics are presented and demonstrate that qualities develop with age and differentiate between playing standard and playing position. This highlights the importance of anthropometric and physical qualities for the identification and development of youth rugby league players. However, factors such as maturity status, variability in development, longitudinal monitoring and career attainment should be considered to help understand, identify and develop the physical qualities of youth players. Further extensive research is required into the anthropometric and physical qualities of youth rugby league players, specifically considering national standardised testing batteries, links between physical qualities and match performance, together with intervention studies, to inform the physical development of youth rugby league players for talent identification and development purposes.
橄榄球联盟是一项在全球范围内开展的青少年和成人碰撞团队运动，要求运动员具备高度发达的人体测量学和身体素质（即速度、变向速度、有氧能力、肌肉力量和力量）。在青少年级别，职业俱乐部和国家管理机构实施人才识别和发展计划，以支持青年（即 13-20 岁）橄榄球联盟球员发展成为职业运动员。本综述介绍并批判性地评估了 13-20 岁年龄段精英男性青年橄榄球联盟球员的人体测量学和身体素质，按年龄类别、比赛标准和比赛位置进行评估。介绍了身高、体重、身体成分、线性速度、变向速度、有氧能力、肌肉力量和力量特征，并表明这些素质随着年龄的增长而发展，并在比赛标准和比赛位置之间存在差异。这强调了人体测量学和身体素质对于青年橄榄球联盟球员的识别和发展的重要性。然而，应考虑成熟度状态、发育的可变性、纵向监测和职业成就等因素，以帮助理解、识别和发展青年球员的身体素质。需要进一步对青年橄榄球联盟球员的人体测量学和身体素质进行广泛研究，特别是考虑到国家标准化测试电池、身体素质与比赛表现之间的联系，以及干预研究，以告知青年橄榄球联盟球员的身体发展，以实现人才识别和发展目的。
