Comparison of Physical Fitness Parameters with EUROFIT Test Battery of Male Adolescent Soccer Players and Sedentary Counterparts

The aim of this study was to compare physical fitness parameters of male adolescent soccer players and sedentary counterparts. A total of 26 male adolescents participated in this study voluntarily: Active soccer players (n: 3, age x : 13,00 ± 0,00) and sedentary counterparts (n: 13, age x :12,92 ± 0,75). The EUROFIT test battery was used to determine physical fitness. The test battery includes body height and weight measurements, touching the discs, flamingo balance, throwing health ball, vertical jumping, sit and reach, sit-up for 30 s, 20 meter sprint run, and 20 meter shuttle run tests. Data were analyzed by Mann Whitney U test. Significance was defined as p<0.05. Statistically significant differences were found between active soccer players and sedentary counterparts in flamingo balance, throwing health ball, 20 meter shuttle run performance and predicted VO2 values (p.05). In conclusion, children who do sports are more successful on most of the fitness parameters than sedentary children.