TALENT IDENTIFICATION FOR VOLLEYBALL: A STATISTICAL MODELING BASED ON THE STUDENTS’ PREDICTED ADULT HEIGHT

ABSTRACT

Knowing the stature that a young person will reach in adulthood can help coaches and sport managers in identifying talents for volleyball in a school scenario. The aim of the present study was to develop a statistical modeling to identify talents from volleyball players based on predicted adult height (PAH), and to show the proportion of students with potential body height compatible with the average height of high-level volleyball athletes. The study sample included 1060 students, wherein both masculine and feminine volleyball players, with the age ranging from 12-16 years, and volleyball players from the Brazilian Men’s and Women’s Volleyball Super League A competition (in Portuguese, Superliga A de Voleibol do Brasil). PAH estimation was calculated using the Kamis-Roche method. Statistical modeling was based on the Z-Celafiscs Strategy. 4.3% of boys and 2.2% of girls were found to have a potential adult height compatible with the average height of high-level volleyball athletes (≥1.90m for boys; ≥1.78m for girls), ranging according to each player game position. In conclusion, the expected adult height can be useful to identify potential talents for volleyball in a school scenario, by early identifying players who will have taller stature in adulthood.

Keywords: volleyball; talent; students