Performance pathways in elite middle- and long-distance track and field athletes: The influence of a successful youth

OBJECTIVES

There is limited information on the performance progression of athletics endurance athletes from junior-to-senior status and the determinants of success in adulthood. This study aimed to quantify the youth-to-senior transition rate, the likelihood of success and the relationship between youth and senior performance amongst world-class athletes competing in middle- and long-distance disciplines.

DESIGN

Retrospective design examining public data between 2000 and 2019.

METHODS

The performances of 4678 international athletes (45.3 % female) were analysed. World's all-time top 50 athletes were identified for U18 and Senior categories (age ≥ 20 years). Youth-to-senior transition rate and transition probabilities were calculated. Correlations between best U18 and Senior performances were determined to assess the stability of the performance.

RESULTS

The youth-to-senior transition rate for top U18 athletes was low for males and females (~19 % and 21 %). Nevertheless, the probability of transition to a top senior was ~7 times higher for top U18 athletes than for non-top U18 athletes. The correlations between youth and senior best performances were low-to-high.

CONCLUSIONS

Few top U18 athletes maintained top world ranking status during their senior careers. Still, they are more likely to become top senior athletes than those who did not perform at the top level in U18. The association between youth and senior performance is stronger when comparing the same discipline or when athletes competed over longer distances in their senior compared to U18 career. Being a successful youth athlete may represent a small advantage for future success, however, it does not guarantee advancement to the senior top level.

Speed Training Practices of Brazilian Olympic Sprint and Jump Coaches: Toward a Deeper Understanding of Their Choices and Insights (Part II)

This is the second article in a three-article collection regarding the plyometric, speed, and resistance training practices of Brazilian Olympic sprint and jump coaches. Here, we list and describe six out of the ten speed training methods most commonly employed by these experts to enhance the sprinting capabilities of their athletes. Maximum speed sprinting, form running, resisted sprinting, overspeed running, uphill and downhill running, and sport-specific movement methods are critically examined with reference to their potential application in different sport contexts. In an era when sprint speed is of critical importance across numerous sports, practitioners can employ the methods outlined here to design efficient training programs for their athletes.

In-situ acceleration-speed profile of an elite soccer academy: A cross-sectional study

Speed is an essential skill in sports performance and an important performance metric in talent identification. This study aims to evaluate and compare the sprint acceleration characteristics across different age groups in an elite soccer academy. A total of 141 elite academy soccer players were recruited to participate in the study, and they were assigned to their respective competitive age groups, ranging from under-14 to the B-team. An individual in-situ acceleration-speed (A-S) profile was assessed and derived from Global Position System (GPS) speed-acceleration raw data, from 10 consecutive football sessions, in the beginning of the season. The results showed that under-14 players exhibited significantly lower theoretical maximum speed (S0) (η p 2  = 0.215, p < 0.01) when compared with all other age groups. However, no differences were found between maximum theoretical acceleration (A0) and A-S slope between age groups. The results suggest that sprint mechanical profiles of young soccer athletes remain stable throughout their athletic development. Nevertheless, younger athletes have less capacity to apply horizontal force at higher speeds (S0).

The Effect of a Heavy Resisted Sled-Pull Mesocycle on Sprint Performance in Junior Australian Football Players

ABSTRACT

Edwards, T, Piggott, B, Banyard, HG, Haff, GG, and Joyce, C. The effect of a heavy resisted sled-pull mesocycle on sprint performance in junior Australian football players. J Strength Cond Res 37(2): 388-393, 2023-This study assessed the effect of heavy resisted sled-pull training on sprint times and force, velocity, and power characteristics in junior Australian football players. Twenty-six athletes completed a 6-week resisted sled-pull training intervention which included 10 training sessions and 1-week taper. Instantaneous velocity during 2 maximal 30 m sprints was recorded 1 week before and 1 week after the intervention with a radar gun. Velocity-time data were used to derive sprint performance and force, velocity, and power characteristics. A paired t -test assessed the within-group differences between preintervention and postintervention testing. Statistical significance was accepted at p ≤ 0.05. Hedges' g effect sizes (ESs) were used to determine the magnitude of change in dependent variables. Maximum velocity (ES = 1.33) and sprint times at all distances (ES range 0.80-1.41) significantly improved after heavy resisted sled-pull training. This was reflected in sprint force, velocity, and power characteristics with significant improvements in relative theoretical force (ES = 0.63), theoretical velocity (ES = 0.99), relative maximum power (ES = 1.04), and ratio of horizontal to vertical force (ES = 0.99). Despite the multifactorial nature of training and competing physical demands associated with preseason training, these findings imply that a short, resisted sled-pull training mesocycle may improve sprint performance and underlying force, velocity, and power characteristics in junior athletes.

Multidisciplinary Neuromuscular and Endurance Interventions on Youth Basketball Players: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis and Meta-Regression

The main aims of this systematic review with meta-analysis and meta-regression were to describe the effect of multidisciplinary neuromuscular and endurance interventions, including plyometric training, mixed strength and conditioning, HIIT basketball programs and repeated sprint training on youth basketball players considering age, competitive level, gender and the type of the intervention performed to explore a predictive model through a meta-regression analysis. A structured search was conducted following PRISMA guidelines and PICOS model in Medline (PubMed), Web of Science (WOS) and Cochrane databases. Groups of experiments were created according to neuromuscular power (vertical; NPV and horizontal; NPH) and endurance (E). Meta-analysis and sub-groups analysis were performed using a random effect model and pooled standardized mean differences (SMD). A random effects meta-regression was performed regressing SMD for the different sub-groups against percentage change for NPV and NPH. There was a significant positive overall effect of the multidisciplinary interventions on NPV, NPH and E. Sub-groups analysis indicate differences in the effects of the interventions on NPV and NPH considering age, gender, competitive level and the type of the intervention used. Considering the current data available, the meta-regression analysis suggests a good predictability of U-16 and plyometric training on jump performance. Besides, male and elite level youth basketball players had a good predictability on multidirectional speed and agility performance.

Is There a "Window of Opportunity" for Flexibility Development in Youth? A Systematic Review with Meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Flexibility is an important component of physical fitness for competitive and recreational athletes. It is generally suggested that flexibility training should start from childhood (6-11 years of age) to optimize joint range of motion (ROM) increases; however, evidence is limited and inconsistent.

OBJECTIVE

To examine whether there is a difference in the effect of stretching training on flexibility during childhood (6-11 years of age) and adolescence (12-18 years of age).

DESIGN

Systematic review and meta-analysis.

METHODS

We searched PubMed Central, Web of Science, Scopus, Embase, and SPORTDiscus, to conduct this systematic review. Randomized controlled trials and non-randomized controlled trials were eligible. No language and date of publication restrictions were applied. Risk of bias was assessed using Cochrane RoB2 and ROBINS-I tools. Meta-analyses were conducted via an inverse variance random-effects model. GRADE analysis was used to assess the methodological quality of the studies.

RESULTS

From the 2713 records retrieved 28 studies were included in the meta-analysis (n = 1936 participants). Risk of bias was low in 56.9% of all criteria. Confidence in cumulative evidence was moderate. We found that stretching was effective in increasing ROM in both children (SMD = 1.09; 95% CI = 0.77-1.41; Z = 6.65; p < 0.001; I² = 79%) and adolescents (SMD = 0.90; 95% CI = 0.70-1.10; Z = 8.88; p < 0.001; I² = 81%), with no differences between children and adolescents in ROM improvements (p = 0.32; I² = 0%). However, when stretching volume load was considered, children exhibited greater increases in ROM with higher than lower stretching volumes (SMD = 1.21; 95% CI = 0.82-1.60; Z = 6.09; p < 0.001; I² = 82% and SMD = 0.62; 95% CI = 0.29-0.95; Z = 3.65; p < 0.001; I² = 0%, respectively; subgroup difference: p = 0.02; I² = 80.5%), while adolescents responded equally to higher and lower stretching volume loads (SMD = 0.90; 95% CI = 0.47-1.33; Z = 4.08; p < 0.001; I² = 83%, and SMD = 0.90; 95% CI = 0.69-1.12; Z = 8.18; p < 0.001; I² = 79%, respectively; subgroup difference: p = 0.98; I² = 0%).

CONCLUSIONS

Systematic stretching training increases ROM during both childhood and adolescence. However, larger ROM gains may be induced in childhood than in adolescence when higher stretching volume loads are applied, while adolescents respond equally to high and low stretching volume loads.

REGISTRATION

INPLASY, registration number: INPLASY202190032; https://inplasy.com/inplasy-2021-9-0032/.

Being a top swimmer during the early career is not a prerequisite for success: A study on sprinter strokes

OBJECTIVES

To quantify the junior-to-senior successful transition rate in sprint swimming events in elite European performers.

DESIGN

Retrospective analysis of publicly available competition data collected between 2004 and 2019.

METHODS

The yearly performance of 6631 European swimmers (females = 41.8% of the sample) competing in 50 and 100 m freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly were included in the analysis. The junior-to-senior transition rate was determined as the number of elite junior athletes who maintained their elite status in adulthood. To investigate how the definition of elite may affect the calculation of the transition rate, we operationally defined elite athletes as those ranked in the all-time top 10, 25, 50, and 100 in their category. We also calculated the correlation between junior and senior performances.

RESULTS

The average transition rates ranged, depending on the age of reference, from 10 to 26% in males and from 23 to 33% in females. The transition rate for the top 100 junior swimmers was greater than that for the top 10 swimmers. In general, swimmers who swam 50 m showed a slightly lower transition rate compared with those that swam 100 m. Depending on the age of reference, low-to-moderate correlations were observed between junior and senior peak performances.

CONCLUSIONS

Most elite junior athletes did not maintain the elite level in adulthood. Except for athletes in the last year of the junior category (18 years for males and 17 years for females), junior performances were poorly correlated with senior performances.

Effects of Supplementary Strength-Power Training on Neuromuscular Performance in Young Female Athletes

This study examined the effects of a short-duration supplementary strength–power training program on neuromuscular performance and sport-specific skills in adolescent athletes. Twenty-three female “Gymnastics for All” athletes, aged 13 ± 2 years, were divided into a training group (TG, n = 12) and a control group (CG, n = 11). Both groups underwent a test battery before and after 10 weeks of intervention. TG completed, in addition to gymnastics training, a supplementary 7–9 min program that included two rounds of strength and power exercises for arms, torso, and legs, executed in a circuit fashion with 1 min rest between rounds, three times per week. Initially, six exercises were performed (15 s work–15 s rest), while the number of exercises was decreased to four and the duration of each exercise was increased to 30 s (30 s rest) after the fifth week. TG improved countermovement jump performance with one leg (11.5% ± 10.4%, p = 0.002) and two legs (8.2% ± 8.8%, p = 0.004), drop jump performance (14.4% ± 12.6%, p = 0.038), single-leg jumping agility (13.6% ± 5.2%, p = 0.001), and sport-specific performance (8.8% ± 7.4%, p = 0.004), but not 10 m sprint performance (2.4% ± 6.6%, p = 0.709). No change was observed in the CG (p = 0.41 to 0.97). The results of this study indicated that this supplementary strength–power program performed for 7–9 min improves neuromuscular and sport-specific performance after 10 weeks of training.

EFFECTS OF PUBERTY ON JUMP AND SPRINT PERFORMANCE IN YOUNG FUTSAL PLAYERS

ABSTRACT Futsal is a sport that involves motor actions with high intensity and short duration, especially vertical jumps and sprints, which require fast application of strength and speed. The evaluation and training of these physical capacities is a routine practice of coaches, especially in the base categories, which are the entry point for many children and adolescents aiming for a professional career in futsal. With regard to the training of this public, puberty is a factor that must be considered, as a natural biological process involving several bodily transformations that can influence the performance of these physical capacities, especially considering that the categories are divided by chronological age, which does not always correspond to pubertal age. The objective of this study was to conduct a literature review of body modifications during puberty, and how these can affect the aspects that determine good performance in jumps and sprints. It was verified that this phase is associated with hormonal changes, an increase in muscle mass, and anthropometric aspects, as well as the maturation of the neuromuscular functions and refinement of the more complex motor activities, such as locomotion. Together, these factors can favor the fast application of force, and better performance of these players in terms of motor activities. However, it is important to emphasize that although these factors increase and naturally favor the players' performance in terms of strength and speed, it is a phase in which specific types of training focused on the aspects that determine good performance are fundamental to increase these capacities and diminish other aspects that also occur with the bodily development, such as a transient decrease in motor coordination and balance due to the rapid growth spurt, and tissue stiffness, which can sometimes occur during this period. Level of evidence V; Expert Opinion.

Physical determinants of vault performance and their age-related differences across male junior and elite top-level gymnasts

In order to perform difficult vaults in artistic gymnastics, athletes have to achieve high run-up speeds within the limited run-up distance (25m). However, the physical parameters that contribute to a high run-up speed and their age-related differences remain elusive. Hence, the aim of this study was 1) to investigate interrelations between difficulty value (D-score) and run-up kinematics of Handspring/Tsukahara and Yurchenko vaults as well as lower body power (25m-sprint, explosive and reactive strength) and 2) to explore age-related differences of these parameters across junior and elite gymnasts performing Handspring/Tsukahara vaults. For this purpose, the data (of the above mentioned parameters) of 47 top-level male elite and junior gymnasts aged 14.3 to 28.3 of performance testing, gathered over three years, were analysed. We found that D-score of Handspring/Tsukahara (n = 33) was strongly correlated with run-up speed (r = 0.79; p < 0.01). Further, 25m sprint speed (r = 0.85; p < 0.01) was significantly associated with run-up speed of Handspring/Tsukahara-vaults. There were no significant relationships with the D-score of Yurchenko (n = 14). Looking at the age-related differences of Handspring/Tsukahara, D-score increased significantly from junior to elite level (+11.6%; p < 0.01). The comparison between consecutive age-groups revealed that the U19 group had higher run-up speeds, step lengths, body weights and heights than the U17 group, while the U21 group achieved significantly higher speeds (run-up, 25m-sprint) and explosive strength than the U19 group. We concluded 1) that the optimization of important physical determinants may increase the potential to perform more difficult Handspring/Tsukahara vaults and 2) that first growth and maturation and later improvements of lower body power led to higher run-up speeds of Handspring/Tsukahara in the subsequent age-group. Therefore, based on performance testing of the lower limbs, training recommendations should be given specifically to the requirements of the competition vault.

The Effectiveness of Progressive and Traditional Coaching Strategies to Improve Sprint and Jump Performance Across Varying Levels of Maturation within a General Youth Population

Literature pertaining to youth development has identified the importance of understanding the physical, intellectual and emotional needs of adolescents prior to, during, and after their peak height velocity (PHV) period. The purpose of this study was to compare the use of a ‘traditional’ and ‘progressive’ coaching style to train a general male youth population to improve sprint and jump performances whilst assessing enjoyment to comment on long-term application. Maximal sprint times, sprint kinematics, unilateral jump distances and repetitive tuck jump scores were measured alongside anthropometric variables to characterise performance. The results revealed significant (p < 0.05) pre/post differences in anthropometric variables across all maturation groups, and each of the maturational levels displayed a tendency to favor a particular coaching or control condition. Pre-PHV groups responded most effectively to the progressive style of coaching, displaying improvements in horizontal jump performances, and −0.7% to −2.7% improvements in all sprint times, despite also showing the largest increase in tuck jump scores (25.8%). The circa-PHV group produced their greatest improvements in the traditional intervention, as displayed through significant improvements (p < 0.05) in 20-m sprint times and dominant-leg horizontal jump performance, whilst also revealing the greatest deterioration in tuck jump scores (14.2%). Post-PHV displayed the greatest improvements in the control setting, suggesting that the natural benefits gained through adolescent development were greater than the influence of the training interventions. In conclusion, the results suggest that matching coaching strategies and delivery techniques to the period of biological maturation may have implications for both performance and athlete safety.

Effect of Plyometric Training on Jumping, Sprinting and Change of Direction Speed in Child Female Athletes

BACKGROUND

This study examined the effects of 8 weeks of plyometric training on jumping, sprinting, and change of direction (COD) performance.

METHODS

Fifty female 7-9-year-old gymnasts were randomly assigned to a plyometric training group (PG; n = 33), that performed supplementary plyometric training twice per week, and a control group (CG; n = 17) that continued regular training. The following tests were performed before and after the intervention: 10 and 20 m sprints, 5 + 5 m and 10 + 10 m COD tests, one-leg and two-leg countermovement jump (CMJ), drop jump (DJ), squat jump (SJ), and standing long jump (SLJ).

RESULTS

Only a main effect for time was found for all jumping performance parameters (p = 0.001). However, the improvement of one- and two-leg CMJ in PG had a greater effect size than CG (0.72 and 0.67 vs. 0.34 and 0.18, respectively). Group × time interactions were found for 10 and 20 m sprint tests (p = 0.018 and p = 0.011, respectively) and for 10 + 10 m COD (p = 0.008) with the post hoc test showing improvement only for the PG (p = 0.001, 0.001, and 0.003 and d = 1.1, 1.14, and 0.6, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

Supplementary plyometric training increased sprint and COD performance more than regular gymnastics training, while jumping performance was equally improved in both groups.