Morphological characteristics of elite male field hockey players

The main objective of this paper was to establish a data base of physical norms for elite male field hockey players. Direct measurements were made on eight parameters and a further three derived variables were calculated. With a stature of 176.3 cm and mass of 75.2 kg the hockey players were identified as ecto-mesomorphic. The lean build of the subjects was evident with a fairly low percentage body fat (11.1%) and a relatively high RPI of 41.77. Functional arm length did not appear to have any correlation with hockey playing ability. However, grip strength, in both right (54.0 kg) and left (53.1 kg) measures was above that of norms for male adults and there was no significant difference between left and right grip strength. The players appeared to have good leg strength (stand long jump mean 2.3 m) with very little variability amongst the players. On the other hand flexibility (sit and reach mean 9.7) was poor and results indicated a wide range of variability in the sample group tested.