Differences in sprinting and jumping performance between maturity status groups in youth: a systematic review & meta-analysis

Background: Large inter-individual differences can exist in the timing and tempo of growth and maturation of youth athletes. This can provide significant physical performance advantages to young athletes that mature in advance of their peers.

Purpose: To determine the magnitude of differences in sprinting and jumping performance in youth of different maturity status (classified as pre-, circa- or post-peak height velocity (PHV)) (aged <18 years) to enhance the evaluation of performance.

Participants and methods: Eligibility criteria for inclusion was as follows: 1) the study had cross9 sectional data available; 2) participants were male and/or female ≤18 years of age; 3) a somatic measure of maturity was used to identify maturity status (e.g. Mirwald or Khamis-Roche methods) with at least two maturity status classifications present; 4) the study included a measurement of sprinting speed (e.g., 10-100m sprint data) and/or jump tests commonly used to assess power (e.g., countermovement jump [CMJ]). Searches were conducted up to November 2024 in PubMed, Embase, SportDiscus and preprint servers SportRxiv and medRxiv to identify any unpublished trials. Risk of bias and study quality was assessed using the Appraisal tool for Cross‐Sectional Studies (AXIS). Meta-analysis was computed using a random-effects model.

Results: The search identified 1578 studies. From those, forty studies were identified for qualitative assessment and quantitative synthesis. In the primary analysis, 21 studies provided data for measures of speed, and 19 studies provided data for measures of power using jump tests. Sprinting and jumping performance increased with advancing maturity status and overall effects were predominantly moderate to large between maturity groups. Pre- vs. post-PHV comparisons found moderate to large overall effect sizes for sprinting performance (10m ES 1.34, 95% CI [0.87, 1.80]; 20m ES 140, 95% CI [0.85, 1.96]; and 30m ES 0.93, 95% CI [0.15, 1.76] sprint times) and large to very large effect siz es for the jumptests (CMJ ES 1.53, 95% CI [1.14, 1.92], squat jump ES 1.32, 95% CI [0.70, 1.94]; standing long jump ES 2.18, 95% CI [1.32, 3.04]). When comparing consecutive maturity groups (i.e. pre- to circa-PHV and circa- to post-PHV) effect sizes were predominantly moderate across the sprinting and jumping measures, with only a trivial difference found in 30m sprint time (ES 0.45, 95% CI [0.21, 0.69]) for the circa- to post-PHV comparisons.

Conclusion: Large differences exist in sprinting and jumping performance between male athletes of the last and most mature athletes (pre- and post-PHV), with trivial to moderate effect sizes indicated between consecutive groups (e.g.pre- and circa-PHV). Practitioners working with youth athletes should consider how these differences may impact performance in the athlete’s sport, and regularly assess individual maturity to accurately evaluate performance against age and maturity group benchmarks to account for large differences in maturity that exist within chronological age groups. It should be noted we observed inconsistencies in maturity thresholds and test methods; thus, standardisation is required for future research.