”Sorry son, you are not selected!”: aspects concerning selection and development of young male soccer players.

Utvikling og utvelgelse av talentfulle unge guttefotballspillere er en stadig økende praksis internasjonalt og i Norge. Talentjakten foregår på nær sagt alle nivå. Teoretiske aspekter vedrørende menneskelig utvikling bør fungere som et bakteppe for å begrunne utvelgelse, der talent ofte blir grunnlag for hvilke spillere som velges. Det foreligger svært få konkrete undersøkelser som binder teoretiske utviklingsparadigmer sammen med utvelgelse, men vitenskapelige undersøkelser innenfor ulike emneområder er utført vedrørende prosessene som leder frem mot seleksjon. Disse vil i enkelthet bli fremstilt. Selection and development of talented youth male soccer players are increasingly important in international soccer and in Norway. The hunt for talented players is carried out on almost every performance level. Development aspects underlie the argumentation of selection, and talent is usually used to legitimate who will be selected. In spite of this, the argumentation lacks specific scientific research that combines theoretical development theories to selection of young male soccer players. In this study, the scientific research related to the process of selection, and some development paradigms will be presented in all simplicity

Comparison of effects of training order of explosive strength and plyometrics training on different physical abilities in adolescent handball players

While both plyometric and traditional resistance training methods are beneficial to athletic performance in a wide range of sports, their efficacy regarding training order has yet to be determined in a periodized training programme. Therefore, this study compared the effects of a 12-week training period where explosive strength training (six weeks) preceded plyometric training (six weeks), or vice versa. Forty-two competitive male (n = 12) and female (n = 30) adolescent handball players (age 14.9 ± 0.5 years, body mass 64.1 ± 9.1 kg, height 1.71 ± 0.09 m) conducted explosive strength training for six weeks followed by six weeks of plyometric training or vice versa. Variables included a 30 m sprint, a change of direction test, countermovement jump (CMJ) with and without arm swing, load-velocity back squat assessment, overhead throwing velocity with and without preliminary steps, and the Yo-Yo intermittent recovery test level 1 (Yo-Yo IR1). Both groups experienced similar improvements in the CMJ, change of direction and load-velocity squat assessments from pre- to posttest (p ≤ 0.013, η2 = 0.194–0.378). Conversely, no improvements were observed in the Yo-Yo IR1, 30 m sprint or throwing velocity tests, regardless of group (p ≥ 0.081). No main effect of training order was observed for any of the tests employed (p ≥ 0.31). Training order does not appear to play a noticeable role in the physical development of young handball players. Therefore, practitioners could focus on implementing variations in exercise and loading to benefit athlete adherence and correspond to present needs.publishedVersio

The impact of physical growth and relative age effect on assessment in physical education

Author's accepted version (post-print).This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in European Journal of Sport Science on 30/12/2016, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/17461391.2016.1268651.Available from 01/07/2018

”Sorry son, you are not selected!”: aspects concerning selection and development of young male soccer players.

Utvikling og utvelgelse av talentfulle unge guttefotballspillere er en stadig økende praksis internasjonalt og i Norge. Talentjakten foregår på nær sagt alle nivå. Teoretiske aspekter vedrørende menneskelig utvikling bør fungere som et bakteppe for å begrunne utvelgelse, der talent ofte blir grunnlag for hvilke spillere som velges. Det foreligger svært få konkrete undersøkelser som binder teoretiske utviklingsparadigmer sammen med utvelgelse, men vitenskapelige undersøkelser innenfor ulike emneområder er utført vedrørende prosessene som leder frem mot seleksjon. Disse vil i enkelthet bli fremstilt. Selection and development of talented youth male soccer players are increasingly important in international soccer and in Norway. The hunt for talented players is carried out on almost every performance level. Development aspects underlie the argumentation of selection, and talent is usually used to legitimate who will be selected. In spite of this, the argumentation lacks specific scientific research that combines theoretical development theories to selection of young male soccer players. In this study, the scientific research related to the process of selection, and some development paradigms will be presented in all simplicity

Comparison of effects of training order of explosive strength and plyometrics training on different physical abilities in adolescent handball players

While both plyometric and traditional resistance training methods are beneficial to athletic performance in a wide range of sports, their efficacy regarding training order has yet to be determined in a periodized training programme. Therefore, this study compared the effects of a 12-week training period where explosive strength training (six weeks) preceded plyometric training (six weeks), or vice versa. Forty-two competitive male (n = 12) and female (n = 30) adolescent handball players (age 14.9 ± 0.5 years, body mass 64.1 ± 9.1 kg, height 1.71 ± 0.09 m) conducted explosive strength training for six weeks followed by six weeks of plyometric training or vice versa. Variables included a 30 m sprint, a change of direction test, countermovement jump (CMJ) with and without arm swing, load-velocity back squat assessment, overhead throwing velocity with and without preliminary steps, and the Yo-Yo intermittent recovery test level 1 (Yo-Yo IR1). Both groups experienced similar improvements in the CMJ, change of direction and load-velocity squat assessments from pre- to posttest (p ≤ 0.013, η2 = 0.194–0.378). Conversely, no improvements were observed in the Yo-Yo IR1, 30 m sprint or throwing velocity tests, regardless of group (p ≥ 0.081). No main effect of training order was observed for any of the tests employed (p ≥ 0.31). Training order does not appear to play a noticeable role in the physical development of young handball players. Therefore, practitioners could focus on implementing variations in exercise and loading to benefit athlete adherence and correspond to present needs