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We examined whether participation and individual performance in the under-18 Euroleague Next Generation Tournament (NGT) predicted a future contract with an NBA, Euroleague, or Eurocup squad. Data from 1446 players between 2002–2003 and 2011–2012 seasons were considered. We considered information about each player, including country, the number of games played, and performance index rating (PIR). We tracked the players' highest club level attained in their adult careers. We used a multilevel ordinal regression with a cumulative model in a fully Bayesian framework to examine the probability of the players playing in the NGT attaining the NBA, Euroleague, or Eurocup. Furthermore, we explored in the model if PIR in the NGT was a relevant predictor of achieving the highest club level in adult careers. From the total sample, only a very small percentage attain the NBA (20 in 1446, 1.4%), Euroleague (103 in 1446, 7.2%), and Eurocup (60 in 1446, 4.2%). The results highlight that a very small number of players with a very high PIR per game in the NGT had a higher chance to play in the NBA, Euroleague, or Eurocup. The probability of attainment of NBA and Euroleague for the population of highly selected basketball players playing the under-18 NGT in the first 10 years of the NGT was small. Hence, caution is warranted when assuming the effectiveness of current talent development models, even at the late stages of young players' development, often labelled as young elite players. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present longitudinal meta-analysis aimed to estimate the growth curves and age at peak height velocity (PHV) in young male athletes, considering anthropometric data from available longitudinal studies. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, studies with repeated measurements in young male athletes were identified from searches across four databases (MEDLINE, SPORTDiscus, Web of Science, and SCOPUS). Estimations were based on multilevel polynomial models using a fully Bayesian framework. After a full-text screening of 317 studies meeting the eligibility criteria, 31 studies were considered. Studies were excluded mainly due to study design, repeated reporting, and incomplete reporting of the outcomes. Of the 31 studies analysed, 26 (84%) focused on young European athletes. The average age at PHV for the total sample of studies with young athletes was 13.1 years (90% credible interval: 12.9; 13.4). When considering data by sport, there was substantial variation in the age at PHV estimates (range: 12.4 to 13.5 years). As most studies in the meta-analysis focused on young European football players (52%), predictions for young athletes from other sports may be limited. The age at PHV in the available data occurred earlier than in general paediatric populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brazil has been the benchmark for volleyball performance for at least two decades, providing a unique context to examine expertise development. This study examined the variation in body size, functional capacities, motivation for achievement, competitiveness, and deliberate practice of youth volleyball players associated with differences in biological maturity status, chronological age, and accumulated deliberate volleyball practice, adopting a Bayesian multilevel modeling approach. We considered 68 female and 94 male adolescent players (14.2 years, 90% confidence interval: 12.7 to 16.0). Players were grouped by the onset of deliberate volleyball practice as related to biologic maturation milestones [pre-puberty deliberate practice onset (12% of the sample), mid-puberty deliberate practice onset (51% of the sample), and late-puberty deliberate practice onset (37% of the sample). There was substantial variation in body dimensions and functional performance by gender. There was no variation by gender for motivation for deliberate practice and motivation for achievement and competitiveness. The young volleyball players appeared to be highly motivated and committed to deliberate practice, achievement, and competitiveness. Alignment of chronological age, biological maturation, and accumulated training experience allow more in-depth insights into young volleyball players' development, providing sounder support for coaches´ decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Background: The basketball game is composed of intermittent short and intense actions of sprinting, jumping, and changing directions requiring a good level of physical fitness, strength, and motor coordination. Specific basketball task tests to assess players' motor tasks and performance are commonly used in research and applied contexts to distinguish between-athletes variations. In this study, we considered athletes engaged in structured basketball programs of Santa Catarina, supervised by Federação Catarinense de Basketball (FCB). Aim: We examined whether performance in basketball-specific tasks was sensitive to distinguish between female and male young players selected or not selected to represent the state team that competed at national-level competitions. Furthermore, we adjusted our estimations to the influence of accumulated training experience in basketball and chronological on basketball-specific tasks. Material and methods: This sample comprised 172 young basketball players (female, n = 73; male n = 99) aged 14.5 and 18.5, competing in under-16 and under-18 age groups. We grouped players by sex and competitive level (players from club-level and state-level, i.e., those selected for the Santa Catarina team competing at a national competition). In addition, we considered the following basketballspecific tasks: the countermovement jump without arms (CMJ) as a measure of lower body muscle power, the Line-Drill test (LD) as a measure of agility ability and anaerobic performance, and the 20 m Sprint as a measure of speed. Finally, we modeled the variation on the basketball-specific task between players by competitive level, adjusting for chronological age and accumulated experience by fitting multilevel regression models using a fully Bayesian approach. Results: There was substantial variation in the basketball-specific tasks by sex and older players had better jumping and sprint performance. Also, there was a trend of more experienced players showing a better performance in the LD, although variation was large, suggesting a conservative interpretation. There was no substantial variation between players by competitive level. Conclusion: Although basketball-specific tests are commonly used to interpret players' performance, older players performed better. The specific motor tasks were not sensible to distinguishing athletes by competitive level, independent of sex. The tasks used may be insensitive to distinguish players by competitive level, or the variation in the competitive level in the present sample may be small. On the other hand, the tasks were sensitive to players' differences in chronological age and training experience, suggesting that other factors had more weight on coaches' decisions in selecting players for the state team. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]