Effects of Maturation on Physical Fitness Adaptations to Plyometric Drop Jump Training in Male Youth Soccer Players

The objective of this study was to compare the effects of maturation on physical fitness adaptations to a twice weekly, 7-week plyometric drop jump training program. Seventy-six young male soccer players (aged 10–16 years) participated in this randomized controlled trial. Before and after the intervention, a physical fitness test battery was applied (countermovement jump; drop jump from 20 to 40 cm; 5 multiple bounds test; 20-m sprint time; change of direction speed; 2.4-km running time-trial; 5 repetition maximum [RM] squat; and maximal kicking distance). Participants were randomly divided into an active soccer-control group (CG) with Tanner stage maturation of 1–3 (CG-early; n = 16) or Tanner stage 4–5 (CG-late; n = 22), and to plyometric drop jump training groups with Tanner stage 1–3 (plyometric jump training [PJT]-early; n = 16) or 4–5 (PJT-late; n = 22). The analysis of variance and effect size (ES) measures revealed that when compared with their age-matched controls, the PJT-early (ES = 0.39–1.58) and PJT-late (ES = 0.21–0.65) groups showed greater improvements (p
Source: Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research - Category: Sports Medicine Tags: Original Research Source Type: research