Somatotype, age, and neuromuscular performance in elite youth football players.

Abstract

Background: Somatotype has been linked to physical performance in youth athletes, but its independent contribution to power development, particularly in relation to biological maturity, remains underexplored. This study examined whether somatotype and age independently influence neuromuscular performance in elite youth football players and whether these effects persist after normalization for body mass.

Methods: A total of 106 elite male academy players aged 15 to 18 years were classified as mesomorphic or ectomorphic using the Heath-Carter method. Performance tests included vertical jumps from a squat position and with countermovement, lower-limb peak power (estimated via a validated field equation), and an index estimating stretch-shortening cycle efficiency. Relative power (W·kg^-1) was also calculated to account for body-mass dependence. Analyses included multivariate and variance testing, to explore independent effects of somatotype and age.

Results: Mesomorphic players produced significantly higher power output than ectomorphic players; older athletes also exhibited greater power. No interaction was observed between somatotype and age group. However, when normalized to body mass, between-group differences were no longer significant, indicating that the apparent mesomorphic advantage reflected greater mass rather than superior neuromuscular efficiency. No significant somatotype effect was observed for the Elasticity Index (P=0.098). Logistic regression correctly classified 72.6% of somatotypes, but specificity for ectomorphs was very low (11.5%), indicating that power-based profiling is ineffective for identifying ectomorphic players.

Conclusions: Somatotype and age independently influence power performance in elite youth football players. Nevertheless, relative power analysis demonstrated that morphological differences primarily underlie these effects. Power metrics alone lack diagnostic validity for morphological classification and should complement, rather than replace, anthropometric assessment.