Central European Journal of Sport Sciences and Medicine

The aim of the work was to define the differences between boys selected for football training and their peers at the beginning stage of different team sports training, as well as those that do not practice any sports discipline. The research material consisted of 97 schoolboys at the age of 10 selected to practice team sports, including football, and 39 non-training boys. All boys attended Szczecin primary schools. Apart from the basic anthropometric characteristics, the following motor skills were analyzed: kinesthetic differentiation, reaction speed, movement frequency, spatial orientation, static balance, maximal lactic anaerobic power, maximal non-lactic anaerobic power, fast muscle activation, aerobic endurance and absolute muscle strength. Not all test results are expressed in SI units. Data obtained through the applied method served as the grounds for defining a profile of a “young football player” as the premise to improve the process of preliminary selection for football. Candidates selected for soccer training presented higher level of kinesthetic differentiation than all other examined boys. They also presented higher level of movement frequency than volleyball players and higher level of space orientation than the not-trained boys. Soccer players nevertheless presented lover level of time of reaction than the candidates selected for basketball training. Results of all condition abilities tests’ obtained by soccer players were statistically significant better than the one obtained by the untrained boys (p≤0.001) and the candidates for volleyball training (p≤0.05, p≤0.001). The greatest differences were noticed in tests of aerobic endurance and maximal non-lactic and lactic anaerobic power.