Dr.Biol. T.F. Abramova¹
PhD T.M. Nikitina¹
A.V. Polfuntikova^1
1Federal Scientific Center for Physical Culture and Sports, Moscow

Keywords: footballers, cyclists (BMX), 6-10 year-old; physical development, physical fitness.

Background. Global sports rejuvenation is an objective reality that cannot be ignored. It has been for many decades that discussions were conducted on the optimal or minimum age from which sports training can be started, as well as on the impact of early specialization on children’s health and prospects for their success in sports [2, 6, 12]. The positive impact of early specialization on the morphofunctional indicators, physical fitness level, and psychological status is noted by many scientists [2, 12], which contrasts with the negative impact leading to various health disorders and early psychological burnout [6, 12]. Indeed, these contradictions are associated with the content of sports activities and their influence on the health and level of development of children of preschool and primary school ages. Nowadays, the time frame and content of the initial training program are regulated by the sport-specific federal standards for athletic training, which, for the most part, do not cover this age range, so the sports training programs for preschoolers and primary school students are regulated by the supplementary education institutions [11, 10].
Relevant approaches to this issue should be developed primarily through the study of a set of morphological, postural and functional indicators of physical development of junior athletes engaged in the most popular and progressive sports coupled with the development of their physical qualities.
Among the most popular sports is football, the most mass and popular one, requiring the comprehensive development of physical fitness with the priority formation of such physical qualities as speed, agility, and coordination of movements; the age of entry onto the initial training course - 9 years; the regimen of the first year of training: priority technical training (35-45%) including 9-11% of tactical, theoretical and psychological training and a small share of overall (13-17%) and special body conditioning (4-6%) [11].
BMX cycling, being a progressive and spectator sport, is a form of extreme cycling that requires comprehensive development of physical fitness with the priority formation of such physical qualities as strength, endurance, speed, agility, flexibility; the age of entry onto the training course - 6 years; the regimen of the first year of training: priority overall (28-30%) and special physical conditioning (9-11%), 20-22% - technical training, 12-15% - tactical, theoretical, and psychological training [8].
Objective of the study was to determine the features of physical development and physical fitness of junior footballers and cyclists (BMX) aged 6-10 years.
Methods and structure of the study. The research methods were chosen based on a complex test program developed following the physical development and physical fitness level rating standards in preschoolers and primary school students and the existing GTO standards for these children [4, 5, 7].
The methods applied were as follows: anthropometry, caliperometry, somatoscopy, physiometry, pulsometry, tonometry, pedagogical observations, descriptive statistics, Student t-criterion [1, 3-5]. The following parameters were measured: total body sizes, circumferential dimensions of limb segments, skin-fat thickness; body posture, expiratory forced vital capacity (VC), HR, blood pressure (BP), wrist strength, 3x10m shuttle run time, standing long jump test rate, distance covered in 6-min run test, flexibility when bending forward standing on a gymnastics bench. We used an anthropometer, Lange caliper, scales, centimeter tape; tonometer, stopwatch, spirometer, and wrist dynamometer.
We tested the 6-10 year-old athletes: 113 junior footballers at the initial training stage, with 8 months to 1.5 years of experience (Moscow Football Academy; Municipal Institution Sports School of Olympic Reserve, Lyubertsy) and 100 junior BMX cyclists with 0.1 to 2 years of experience (Sports School of Olympic Reserve for cycling, Mordovia; Sports School of Olympic Reserve "Nagornaya", Moscow). The groups were made of the ethnic Russians (95.0% of the total sample) and children of other ethnic groups (Tatars, Belarusians, Ukrainians, Kirghiz, Tajiks, Armenians, Moldovans).
During the experiment, their parents (legal representatives) gave their informed consent in writing as required by the Federal Law "On personal data" (Article 9 No. 152-FZ).
Results and discussion. The comparison of the growth, development and fitness rates in the junior footballers and cyclists (BMX) with the normal age-specific characteristics revealed that the number of children with normal growth rates predominated: balanced body mass and chest sizes, high vital capacity rates, increased flexibility, speed, strength, and coordination rates (Tables 1-3) [4, 5]. At the same time, both groups were characterized by the reduced muscle mass with the higher fat mass rates reached by the age of 9-10 years, which is in line with the data on the positive impact of sports activities on the growth and development of children of this age group and indirectly reflects the insufficiency of body conditioning practices - cyclic aerobic work and strength training using the loads adequate for the junior athletes' age, with the emphasis on technical training [2, 12].
The comparative analysis of the even-aged groups of junior athletes of different specializations enabled to reveal the following features (Tables 1-3).
For the most part, the morphological indicators (total body sizes and labile body mass components) did not differ significantly between the junior footballers and cyclists in all age groups.
The cardiovascular system rates in the junior athletes differed between the footballers and cyclists, though: in the footballers, the increased blood pressure rates correlated with the reduced heart rate; in the cyclists, the normal blood pressure rates correlated with the increased heart rate. Increased blood pressure in the footballers could reflect the age-specific features of development of their cardiovascular system against the background of increased loading on the vascular system of the lower limbs in terms of high-priority technical training with the compensatory heart-rate fall. Increased heart rate in the cyclists was most likely due to the multiple repetitions of the rear wheel stunt, which causes a breath-hold - reduced heart rate compensated by its further increase. The features identified are relevant for the entire age period from 6 to 10 years, with a greater pronouncement at the age of 6-7, i.e. with the increase in the number of technical training tools and a decrease in the number of overall physical conditioning exercises aimed to develop the functional support systems.

Table 1. Morphological indicators in junior cyclists (1) and footballers (2) aged 6-10 years

Note. Significant intergroup differences: * – р=0.05; ** – р=0.01.

Table 2. Functional indicators in junior cyclists (1) and footballers (2) aged 6-10 years

Body posture of both footballers and cyclists, being a display of the harmonious formation of their neuromuscular and bone components, was mostly characterized by the abnormalities associated not only with the age-specific characteristics but with the lack of normal muscle tone in terms of the biomechanically targeted activity. Normal posture was less typical for the footballers than for the cyclists (24% versus 31%), additionally, they were found to have pelvic torsion against the torso (21.0%). The cyclists' body posture was characterized by the higher level of development of the muscle tone, good condition of the thoracic section of the spine (lower twist frequency, higher frequency of normal thoracic hyperkyphosis), less pronounced spinal curvatures, but with a more pronounced lumbar lordosis (57%), reflecting an imbalance in the development of the paired muscles and extensor and flexor muscles of the legs and torso.
Physical fitness manifests itself in the focused development of physical qualities at the ages of 6 and 7: in the cyclists - the priority development of the strength of the lower and upper limbs, as well as coordination and flexibility; in the footballers - the priority development of agility and coordination.

Table 3. Physical fitness rates in junior cyclists (1) and footballers (2) of 6-10 years

Conclusion. The features of the physical development and physical fitness of junior footballers and cyclists (BMX) aged 6-10 years are determined by the age-specific development patterns stipulated by the targeted and positive influence of sports activities aimed at the children's growth and development, physical fitness training. This is accompanied by the apparent effects of the specific sport, manifested in the focused development of physical qualities, irregularities in the regulatory mechanisms of the cardiovascular system, development of the postural system as a result of insufficient overall physical conditioning and priority specialized technical training. This proves that there are good reasons for sports activities at an early age, with an emphasis on the training effect aimed at the harmonious development of functional support and locomotor systems, as well as physical qualities.

References

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Corresponding author: rudra54@yandex.ru

Abstract
Objective of the study was to analyze the peculiarities of physical development and physical fitness of the 6-10 year-old football players and cyclists (BMX).
Methods and structure of research. Proceeding from a comparative analysis of the morphological and functional indicators (body dimensions, muscle and fat mass, heart rate, blood pressure, VC) and the level of development of physical qualities (speed, coordination, strength, endurance, and flexibility) of the 6-10 year-old footballers with an experience of 8 months to 1.5 years (Moscow Football Academy, Sports School of Olympic Reserve, Lyubertsy) (n=113) and 6-10 year-old BMX cyclists with experience from 0.1 to 2 years (Sports School of Olympic Reserve, Saransk, Moscow) (n=100), it was shown that the peculiarities of physical development and physical fitness of young football players and cyclists (BMX ) of 6-10 years of age are due to the age-related patterns of development under the targeted positive influence of sports activities on the growth and development rates and physical fitness level.
Results of the study. The authors detected the effects of the specific sport, which manifest themselves in the narrow-focused development of physical qualities, deviations in the mechanisms of regulation of the cardiovascular system, formation of body posture as a result of the lack of body conditioning and priority of technical training.
Conclusion. The findings indicate the advisability of sports activities at an early age with a focus on training impact aimed to harmoniously develop the functional systems of the body, musculoskeletal system and physical qualities.