Heart rate variability in elite hockey players of 11-13 years old and selection efficiency in professional youth hockey

The aim of this article is to study the peculiarities of heart rate variability (HRV) in elite hockey players aged 1113 in terms of efficient selection in youth ice hockey. The study involved 37 elite hockey players aged 11-12 (n=17) and 13 (n=20) years. The standard methods of HRV assessment were used (statistical methods and spectral component). In addition, the method of variation pulsometry and the reactivity index of the parasympathetic nervous system (30:15) were applied. Selection efficiency in youth ice hockey was estimated using the youth league ranking, which is comprised of players in the first year after sport schools (aged 17-18). In hockey players aged 11-12 there was no connection between the parameters of heart rate variability and the league rank, where young athletes played after sport schools. In 13-year hockey players there is a strong direct correlation between RMSSD (r=0.95), АМо% (-0.59) and vegetative rhythm index (VRI) (-0.64). Therefore, HRV regulation in hockey players aged 11-12 is characterized by the absence of stress because of the dominance of parasympathetic influence on sinus node, which corresponds to age-related changes. Heart rhythm regulation in 13-year hockey players is accompanied by stress as a result of the increased influence of central mechanisms regulation under specific physical loads. Such indicators as RMSSD, АМо%, and VRI are important at the beginning of adolescence (13 years) for the assessment of selection efficiency in 11-13-year hockey players.