Characteristics of the elite minor hockey player

Few studies have been reported which evaluate the cardiorespiratory responses of young athletes and fewer still which are concerned with the young elite hockey player. The problems of measurement were outlined and described. These included the selection of appropriate samples for study, the identification of those variables to be measured which will yield the most important factors and the appropriate methods for use with these subjects. Comparisons between young athletes and normative data on less active boys were described. In the athletic population the maximal aerobic power increased across ages 10 to 14, whereas, the values for the less active norms decreased with age. Values for age related changes in blood lactate were also reported.