Searching for the Human Resource Element of Short Stature Athletes

―Tracking System Analysis of Stature―

Abstract

　Sports talent identification is carried out nationwide in Japan, but scientific findings are lacking in the method of discovery. Therefore, validation of the tracking effect of height, which is thought to be largely affected by genetics, would very useful information in talent identification among children in the growth and development stage. In this study, by validating the tracking status of short height in particular from longitudinal data, we attempted to explore the human resource element of athletes of short stature. The method used was to prepare an evaluation chart of height with age from longitudinal growth data from the first year of elementary school to the third year of junior high school, using wavelet interpolation. Then, using this evaluation chart, we analyzed the trends followed in the growth process of people who were judged to be short stature in the third year of elementary school. The results showed that in a substantially high percentage of both boys and girls short stature was tracked. From this, it should be possible to predict, even in early childhood, who will be judged to have short stature in the third year of junior high school, which may serve as one data point in the discovery of athletes of short stature.