Table 2.
Descriptive statistics of age, soccer competition performances, two anthropometric, and eight motor diagnostics, soccer recommendation score, and four different talent promotion interventions in second-grade children taking part in the test campaigns 2010–2014 and competing in youth soccer competitions later on in the age groups U13 and U17 until the end of the season 2019/2020.
| Variables | Groups | N | M | SD | SE | Min | Max |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calendar age | |||||||
| U9: Calendar age (months) | Soccer players | 499 | 95.23 | 7.24 | 0.21 | 82.00 | 125.00 |
| Non-athletes | 2,159 | 95.53 | 6.48 | 0.14 | 75.00 | 127.00 | |
| U13: Calendar age (months) | Soccer players | 501 | 148.74 | 7.70 | 0.24 | 156.00 | 179.00 |
| U17: Calendar age (months) | Soccer players | 502 | 192.47 | 7.94 | 0.36 | 180.00 | 203.00 |
| Soccer performance | |||||||
| U13: Performance level (pts) | Soccer players | 501 | 1.89 | 0.78 | 0.03 | 1.00 | 5.00 |
| U17: Performance level (pts) | Soccer players | 502 | 2.80 | 1.02 | 0.05 | 1.00 | 5.00 |
| Performance characteristics | |||||||
| Body height (cm) | Soccer players | 490 | 129.74 | 5.63 | 0.25 | 110.00 | 147.00 |
| Non-athletes | 1,997 | 129.45 | 6.27 | 0.14 | 107.00 | 154.00 | |
| Body weight (kg)† | Soccer players | 490 | 28.08 | 4.89 | 0.22 | 18.30 | 54.80 |
| Non-athletes | 1,997 | 28.69 | 6.11 | 0.14 | 16.40 | 70.004.70 | |
| Sideward jumping (reps)† | Soccer players | 493 | 25.55 | 6.14 | 0.28 | 11.00 | 44.00 |
| Non-athletes | 1,993 | 23.07 | 6.40 | 0.14 | 0.50 | 44.50 | |
| Balancing backwards (steps)† | Soccer players | 493 | 29.76 | 8.69 | 0.39 | 7.00 | 48.00 |
| Non-athletes | 1,994 | 26.42 | 8.98 | 0.20 | 3.00 | 48.00 | |
| Standing long jump (cm)† | Soccer players | 491 | 135.78 | 17.05 | 0.77 | 70.00 | 181.00 |
| Non-athletes | 1,983 | 125.36 | 18.86 | 0.42 | 57.00 | 193.00 | |
| 20-m sprint (s)† | Soccer players | 493 | 4.50 | 0.33 | 0.01 | 3.54 | 5.58 |
| Non-athletes | 1,992 | 4.60 | 0.39 | 0.01 | 3.60 | 7.15 | |
| Push-ups (reps)† | Soccer players | 493 | 14.09 | 4.09 | 0.18 | 1.00 | 26.00 |
| Non-athletes | 1,992 | 13.24 | 3.84 | 0.09 | 0.00 | 26.00 | |
| Sit-ups (reps)† | Soccer players | 493 | 20.06 | 5.22 | 0.23 | 0.00 | 35.00 |
| Non-athletes | 1,992 | 17.51 | 5.69 | 0.13 | 0.00 | 35.00 | |
| Bend forward (cm)† | Soccer players | 488 | 0.87 | 5.25 | 0.24 | −19.50 | 15.00 |
| Non-athletes | 1,981 | −0.54 | 6.06 | 0.14 | −23.00 | 20.00 | |
| 6-min run (m)† | Soccer players | 481 | 1,019.68 | 120.40 | 5.49 | 604.00 | 1,359.00 |
| Non-athletes | 1,953 | 907.31 | 133.51 | 3.02 | 108.00 | 1,306.00 | |
| Soccer recommendation score | |||||||
| Soccer recommendation score (z-value)† | Soccer players | 481 | −0.29 | 1.14 | 0.05 | −4.62 | 3.00 |
| Talent promotion interventions (U17 soccer performance) | |||||||
| German Soccer Federation training center (pts)* | Members | 40 | 3.98 | 0.80 | 0.13 | 3.00 | 5.00 |
| Non-members | 462 | 2.70 | 0.98 | 0.05 | 1.00 | 5.00 | |
| Sport school class (pts)* | Members | 51 | 3.40 | 1.05 | 0.15 | 1.00 | 5.00 |
| Non-members | 451 | 2.73 | 1.00 | 0.05 | 1.00 | 5.00 | |
| Governmental talent promotion program (pts)* | Members | 27 | 3.27 | 1.04 | 0.20 | 1.00 | 5.00 |
| Non-members | 475 | 2.77 | 1.02 | 0.05 | 1.00 | 5.00 | |
| Club sports diversity (pts)ns | High diversity (≥3) | 14 | 3.21 | 1.05 | 0.28 | 2.00 | 5.00 |
| Low diversity ( ≤ 2) | 488 | 2.79 | 1.02 | 0.05 | 1.00 | 5.00 | |
†
Significant between soccer players and non-athletes;
*
significant between members and non-members;
ns
not significant between high and low club sports diversity.