A POSITIONAL COMPARISON OF ANTHROPOMETRIC AND PHYSICAL PARAMETERS AMONG YOUTH NETBALL PLAYERS DURING THE PRESEASON

Netball is an intermittent court-based sport that requires athletes to perform numerous tasks demanding refined physical attributes. The aim of the study was to compare the anthropometric and physical performance metrics across the various playing positions in netball players. A cohort of 150 female netball players (age: 18.8±1.39 years; height: 161.5±7.56 cm; body mass: 56.4±9.24 kg) volunteered for participation. All participants completed a barrage of physical performance tests: anaerobic and aerobic capacities, planned agility, sprint, flexibility, and lower limb and upper body power tests. All data were assessed using Kruskal–Wallis test with pairwise comparisons (p<0.05). Body height (p<0.001), mass (p<0.001) and composition (body fat percentage) (p<0.001) were significantly different across various playing positions. No statistical differences for aerobic (p=0.069), or anaerobic (p=0.273) capacities, and planned agility tests (p=0.156) were noted between playing positions. However, positional differences in sprint times (p<0.001), flexibility (p<0.001) and jump heights (p=0.009) were noted. The study reported differences in anthropometric and physical parameters across the different playing positions, which may have influenced the in-game positional demands and helped determine the key attributes required for each netball position player should have to perform.