Sport Profile of the Junior Male Kwa-Zulu Natal Provincial Soccer Team, South Africa

To document the prevalence of soccer related musculoskeletal pain and the exercise performance of the male KZN provincial junior male soccer team. Eighteen players’ underwent kinanthropometric, exercise physiological performance assessments and a musculoskeletal pain questionnaire appraisal. The kinanthropometric characteristics measured were body mass, stature and skinfold measurements. The exercise physiological performance profile constituents were resting heart rate, blood pressure, flexibility, muscle strength and endurance, explosive strength, agility and aerobic capacity. Plantar and dorsi-flexion, quadriceps angles and hip extension constituted the flexibility tests. The players abdominal and upper body muscle strength and endurance were measured by the one minute sit-up and one-minute press-up tests respectively. Explosive strength was measured using the vertical jump protocol. Subjects completed a 10m agility t-test and 20 multi-stage fitness test. Out of the 18 players who answered the questionnaire, 72.22% experienced soccer related musculoskeletal pain indicating the knee (42.86%), ankle (28.57%), hip (21.43%), and vertebrae (7.14%) to be most prevalent(p<0.05). The cohort’s mean age, body mass, stature, body mass index and percent body fat were 14.33 ± 0.69 years, 53.28 ±7.59kg, 1.63 ±0.08m, 20.04 ± 1.48 kg/m? and 5.55 ± 2.23% respectively. The mean resting heart rate was 59.78 ± 12.74bpm and the derived MAP and RPP were 90.88 ± 18.45 mmHg and7651.84 respectively. The players’ push-up (36.44 ± 7.53 rep/min.) and vertical jump (32.42 ± 0.27) scores were below the norm. The subjects’ flexibility, abdominal strength and endurance, agility and aerobic capacity were within the normative ranges respectively. The soccer players have sustained musculoskeletal pain over the last 12 months. The players need to adhere to a regular strength training regime to enhance their sport performance as well as to serve as a protective mechanism against musculoskeletal injury.