Growth of physique and development of motor ability in junior - youth badminton players

Recently, several studies have investigated the identification of talent in the world of sports, and the way it correlates with motor skills.The present study investigated the index of talent for junior-youth badminton players. Subjects were badminton players who belong to the badminton club in 2008-2014 (totally 2901 players. 1312 males and 1589 females, from 4 to 22 years old). Body-based (4 items) and sensorimotor (6 items) characteristics were measured. At the sama time, we investigated the badminton starting age. The result of this study becomes the target value of the junior-youth badminton players. About the research results of the past that we have reported, it showed a positive correlation of the competition result with the pro-agility test in collegiate men, and with the vertical jump in collegiate women. Our findings suggest that youth badminton players with higher (body-based or sensorimotor) scores have higher career possibilities in badminton. On the other hand, many players are starting the competition from an early stage. It is necessary to perform the appropriate guidance to fit the growth and development of junior - youth players, including the prevention of injury.