Morphological characteristics and performance variables of women soccer players

The purpose of this study was to describe certain morphological characteristics of women soccer players and to examine aspects of training and performance. Twenty-two anthropometric sites were used in measurements of somatotype and body composition; flexibility, agility, anaerobic power, leg muscle power, and dynamic pulmonary functions were used as performance variables. Measurements were made on 17 professional athletes and 17 age-matched sedentary women who acted as controls. The women soccer players showed less fat content and less lean body mass than did the sedentary women. The mean somatotype for the soccer players was 3.07-3.55-2.43 and for the nonathletes was 3.57-3.35-2.90. Anaerobic power, leg muscle power, and agility in the athletes were higher than in the nonathletes, whereas no differences were found in flexibility and pulmonary functions (p > 0.05). The women soccer players showed more significantly mesomorphic, less endomorphic, least ectomorphic components and higher performance level than did the sedentary women.