Associations of biomotor and physiological measures with anthropometric characteristics in field hockey players: a survey on pre-competitive period

Background and Study Aim: Field hockey is a dynamic sport that involves a combination of speed, agility, and endurance, with players having to satisfy particular physical and physiological demands in order to perform at their best. The primary goal of this study was to investigate the association between field hockey player's anthropometric characteristics and biomotor and physiological measures. Material and Methods: For the purpose of determining the biomotor measures, muscular strength (MS), speed, and change of direction (COD) were used. The VO2 max, anaerobic power (AP), muscular endurance (ME), and vital capacity (VC) were used to determine the physiological measures. In the game of field hockey, twenty forwards, sixteen half-backs and ten defenders fulfilled all the outcome measures. The intensity and directionality of the association between biomotor and physiological tests and anthropometrics characteristics were determined by using Pearson's product-moment correlation coefficients (r), and positional differences were tested using analysis of variance. Results: Body mass significantly affected performance metrics. Body mass was moderately negatively correlated with speed (p<0.05) and COD (p<0.05). MS (p<0.01), VC (p<0.01), AP (p<0.01) and VO2 max (p<0.05) were positively linked with body mass. Performance was also affected by height. Height is inversely correlated with speed (p<0.01) and COD (p<0.01). MS (p<0.01) and AP (p<0.05) had a moderate positive correlation with height. Body mass index (BMI) had a moderate positive correlation with speed (p<0.05), VC (p<0.01), and VO2 max, (p<0.05) but not with MS, COD, and ME. MS had a moderate negative correlation with COD (p<0.05) and a positive correlation with ME (p<0.05). Speed had a significant very large positive correlation with COD (p<0.05, r=.729), ME had a positive correlation with VO2 max, (p<0.05) and VC had a positive correlation with AP (p<0.05). There were no significant position differences in all the selected measures. Conclusion: The study concludes that body mass, height, and BMI greatly affect hockey players' strength, speed, and endurance. This study recommends that hockey coaches and trainers consider body mass, height, and BMI while training players. Performance may be increased by targeting anthropometric aspects, including strength, speed, and endurance.