Growth, Maturation, and Exercise During Youth-The Year That Was 2017

For "The Year That Was 2017," I have selected 3 papers in the area of growth, maturation, and exercise during youth. The first paper has been chosen because it provides for the first time the relative age, maturation, and anthropometric biases on position allocation in elite youth soccer players participating in talent identification programs in professional soccer league. Specific anthropometrical attributes characterized playing positions with a bias toward these athletes who are comparatively tall and heavy for their age already in younger ages, whereas position-specific physical attributes do not become apparent until the later stages of talent development. The second paper was selected because it provides a unique perspective on the contributions of different types of sport activities to the development of soccer performance. This paper demonstrated that early specialization and concentration on one sport only during growth is not beneficial in elite youth soccer. In contrast, variable early sporting experience, and not different physiological parameters, facilitates subsequent soccer performance development. The third paper provided some evidence that the consequence of physical activity during adolescence can be far reaching as physical activity might not only predict academic success during compulsory basic education but also boost educational outcomes in adulthood.