Carlos Jorquera Aguilera; Fernando Rodríguez Rodríguez; María Ignacia Torrealba Vieira & Fernando Barraza Gómez

Summary

Youth soccer is becoming increasingly professionalized to the point of being admitted to adult teams playing in the top leagues. For this to happen it is necessary that young athletes are physically fit to meet the physical demands of professional soccer. Anthropometric assessment was performed in a total of 217 subjects divided into two groups, sub 16 and sub 17. The young players have differences in body structure with respect to professional players, showing a lack of sports development and maturation, which the evidence, the less physically fit to face the physical demands are typical of professional soccer. The muscle mass of subjects is less than professional players, so they are not suitable for inclusion in the professional team in competition matches, with the risk of injury and having a lower physical performance.

KEY WORDS: Anthropometry; Body composition; Muscle mass; Soccer.

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