Martínez, A. E.; Peñaloza, R.; Lara-Padilla, E. & Berral, J. F.

Summary

The present study of Mexican high school football players on the offensive squad had the aim of determining the relation between their anthropometric profile, position on the team, and performance in competition. The study included 41 players from 15 to 18 years of age, studying and playing football at one of two high schools. Anthropometric measurements were taken (weight, height, diameter and perimeter of muscle areas) to determine the body mass index, body composition and somatotype. The results show that the anthropometric profile is related to performance (good/very good or poor/deficient), and that this relation depends on the position of the player. For linemen, good performance was associated with being tall, heavy and with a relatively high body fat percentage, and poor/deficient performance with a significantly lower height, lower weight and lower body fat percentage. For receivers and running backs, height did not appear to influence performance. For running backs, good performance was associated with heavy weight and a high body fat percentage. However for receivers, good performance was associated with a lower body fat percentage. The average somatotype for linemen was mesomorph-endomorph, for running backs meso-ectomorph, and for receivers mesomorph-ectomorph.

KEY WORDS: Football; Body composition; Somatotype; BMI.

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