NORMATIVE DATA AND PHYSICAL DETERMINANTS OF

MULTIPLE SPRINT SETS IN YOUNG SOCCER PLAYERS

AGED 11–18 YEARS: EFFECT OF MATURITY STATUS
MOHAMED AMIN SELMI,1 RADHOUANE HAJ SASSI,1,2 MOHAMED HAJ YAHMED,3 SILVANA GIANNINI,4
FABRIZIO PERRONI,5 AND MOHAMED ELLOUMI6
1
Tunisian Research Laboratory “Sport Performance Optimization,” National Center of Medicine and Science in Sports
Downloaded from http://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr by BhDMf5ePHKav1zEoum1tQfN4a+kJLhEZgbsIHo4XMi0hCywCX1AWnYQp/IlQrHD3i3D0OdRyi7TvSFl4Cf3VC4/OAVpDDa8KKGKV0Ymy+78= on 07/04/2021

(CNMSS), Tunis, Tunisia; 2Department of Physical Education, University College of Education, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman;
3
Research Unit “Analysis and Evaluation of Factors Affecting the Sports Performance,” High Institute of Sports and Physical
Education, Ksar Said, University of Manouba, Manouba, Tunisia; 4Villa Stuart Sport Clinic, FIFA Medical Center of
Excellence, Rome, Italy; 5Eclepta Performance Lab, Rome, Italy; and 6Clermont University Blaise Pascal,
Clermont-Ferrand, France

ABSTRACT Repeated-sprint sets’ values improve during maturation of

Selmi, MA, Sassi, RH, Yahmed, MH, Giannini, S, Perroni, F, young soccer players and the correlations between RSS and
and Elloumi, M. Normative data and physical determinants of fitness tests vary through the maturity groups. This information
multiple sprint sets in young soccer players aged 11–18 years: could be useful for the coach to identify talent and to prescribe
Effect of maturity status. J Strength Cond Res 34(2): 506– specific physical training to improve performance.
515, 2020—The aims of the study were: (a) to establish nor- KEY WORDS repeated sprints, shuttle run test,
mative data for repeated-sprint sets (RSS) test based on the countermovement jump
maturity status (age at peak height velocity [PHV]) and (2) to
investigate the relationship between anthropometrical variables
(stature, sitting height, body mass, and body fat percentage), INTRODUCTION

RSS (2 3 5 3 20 m with 15-second recovery between sprints
and 1-minute recovery between sets), and fitness tests {squat
jump, countermovement jump, standing long jump, standing
triple jump, 5-jump test, and 20-m shuttle run (multistage shut-
tle run test [MSRT])}. Young male soccer players (n = 262;
age: 14.5 6 2.9 years) were evaluated and classified into 4
groups according to their maturity status: pre-PHV, circum-
PHV1, circum-PHV2, post-PHV. An analysis of variance and
Bonferroni post hoc were used to determine maturity group
differences (p # 0.05), whereas Pearson’s correlation was
used between variables. Repeated-sprint sets’ indices (sum
of sprint times [SST] and best sprint time [BST]) were signif-
icantly different between the maturity groups. Significant cor-
relations between SST with body mass (from 20.73 to 20.33)
and MSRT (from 20.49 to 20.30) among each maturity group
were found. With the different maturity groups, correlations
between SST (s), BST (s), and vertical jump (cm) (r = 20.63
to 20.25 and r = 20.68 to 20.23) and horizontal jump (m) (r =
20.70 to 20.38 and r = 20.63 to 20.43) were observed.
Address correspondence to Dr. Fabrizio Perroni, perronifab@yahoo.it.
34(2)/506–515
Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research
Ó 2018 National Strength and Conditioning Association
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I
n competitive soccer, most of the match outcome-
influencing actions are sprinting, jumping, tackling,
kicking, and fast changes of direction (6,8). In addi-
tion, on the basis of recent knowledge of the activity
patterns and physiological responses of a player during
a match, repeated-sprint sets (RSS) has been established as
the one of the key fitness components of young soccer play-
ers (6,43). In a study by Sanchez-Sanchez et al. (41) on the
ability of complete sprints under fatigue conditions in young
soccer players during 4 tournament Soccer-7 games played
in less than 24 hours, athletes jogged more and showed
a trend toward reduced sprinting activities compared with
initial tournament matches. It has been suggested that
assessment of RSS can provide more specific and, in this
way, also valid information on players’ specific fitness and
performance status (6,42,43).
A wide range of repeated-sprint protocols has been
proposed to assess and develop the fitness quality of RSS
(3,9,15). Nevertheless, the protocols proposed in the litera-
ture to assess RSS (44,46) are wide-ranging and the authors
are not unanimous about the choice of parameters
(frequency of sets, distance or time of sprint, type and dura-
tion of recovery between both sprints and sets, and total
number of sprints to be performed). Based on the time-
motion analysis of young soccer players (6,8), it has been

506 Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research

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TABLE 1. Descriptive statistics (all in given in mean 6 SD) of anthropometry, physical performance, and statistical
differences from 4 groups of soccer players from different maturity groups.*

Maturity status

Pre-PHV Circum-PHV1 Circum-PHV2 Post-PHV

(23 to 21.0 y to (21.0 y to PHV to 0 y to (0 y to PHV to 1.0 y to (1–3 y from

Variable PHV) PHV) PHV) PHV)

No. of players 87 52 35 88
Age (y) 12.2 6 1.1 14.0 6 0.6 15.8 6 0.6 17.6 6 0.2
Year from PHV 21.8 6 0.6† 20.5 6 0.3† 0.6 6 0.2† 1.8 6 0.5†
Soccer experience (y) 3.0 6 1.0† 4.4 6 0.1† 5.5 6 1.2† 7.6 6 1.8†
Height (m) 1.5 6 0.9† 1.6 6 0.4z§ 1.6 6 0.8z§ 1.7 6 0.6†
Body mass (kg) 48.9 6 8.3† 59.7 6 6.6z§ 60.4 6 4.2z§ 68.1 6 6.8†
Body fat (%) 11.4 6 2.4§║ 11.7 6 2.6§║ 9.6 6 2.8z¶ 10.3 6 2.8z¶
SJ (cm) 20.1 6 4.5† 27.0 6 5.3z§ 27.9 6 4.8z§ 30.8 6 4.8†
CMJ (cm) 21.1 6 4.4† 28.2 6 5.2z§ 29.6 6 4.4z§ 32.5 6 5.0†
5JT (m) 8.3 6 1.3† 9.7 6 1.4† 10.5 6 1.4† 11.6 6 1.1†
SLJ (m) 1.3 6 0.2† 1.9 6 0.3z§ 1.9 6 0.3z§ 2.3 6 0.3†
STJ (m) 3.7 6 0.8† 5.4 6 1.2z§ 5.2 6 1.0z§ 6.5 6 0.6†
MSRT (km$h21) 11.1 6 0.7† 12.3 6 0.9z§ 12.7 6 0.8z§ 14.1 6 1.3†

*PHV = peak height velocity; SJ = squat jump; CMJ = countermovement jump; 5JT = 5-jump test; SLJ = standing long jump;
STJ = standing triple jump; MSRT = multistage shuttle run test.
†p , 0.05 between maturity groups.
zvs. (23; 21) = p , 0.05.
§vs. (1; 3) = p , 0.05.
║vs. (0; 1) = p , 0.05.
¶vs. (21; 0) = p , 0.05.

reported (42,43) that an RSS protocol involving 2 sets of 5 3
20-m sprint, with 15-second recovery between sprints and 1-
minute recovery between sets, would represent an intense
protocol for assessing the ability to perform multiple sets of
sprints in young soccer players. Moreover, this study (42)
showed that this test is reliable and valid (intraclass correla-
tion coefficient = 0.93 for sum of sprint times [SST], 0.81 for
best sprint time [BST], and 0.48 for total accumulated fatigue
[TAF]), and it could be used more widely and might serve in
talent identification and selection process of young soccer
players.
On the other side, Buchheit et al. (6) showed that the
performance in RSS was significantly affected by age.
Indeed, numerous studies reported that different age-
related factors influence single RSS in different ways
(38,47,49). Furthermore, young soccer players in the same
age group often present large variations in maturity, more
especially during the early phase of adolescence (20,33). The
adolescent growth spurt varies considerably in timing,
tempo, and duration among individuals (2,36), and biological
age can vary as much as 4 years in individuals of the same
chronological age (5). These interindividual variations in bio-
logical maturation is a factor that influences growth, different
anthropometric characteristics, and physical fitness
(13,17,48), and is an important covariate of physical activity
among young soccer players (14).
Nevertheless, researchers (25,32,49) have recently advo-
cated that talent identification and development training in
sports should be dynamic while accounting for biological
maturity status, with the use of an athletes’ peak height
velocity (PHV) as a reference point. The PHV is the fastest
rate of growth during the adolescent growth spurt, and can
be a useful reference point providing valuable information
about an individual’s stage of maturation (26,36,40). There-
fore, several studies have reported that many functional
characteristics have their own growth spurts, including aer-
obic capacity, strength, power, and speed, which vary in
timing relative to the age at PHV (30,31,36). However,
information on the development of RSS in youth soccer
players is relatively limited. Such information is potentially
useful for trainers and coaches for player development and
evaluation, individualizing training, and talent selection. Data
on the development of RSS of talented youth soccer players
can also serve as a reference for evaluation of players of
different stage of maturation and talent levels with the goal
of individualizing training and improving performance.
However, the fitness and energetic requirements of repeated
sprint have also generated much interest in both practitioners
and researchers (7,9,47). Practitioners are interested in the asso-
ciations between various fitness attributes to more effectively
prescribe interval-based conditioning programs. Researchers
have indicated that the ability to perform repeated sprints is

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 Ability to Repeated Sprint in Youth
TABLE 2. Descriptive data and statistical differences of RSS performance indices from 4 groups of soccer players
from different biological age category (mean 6 SD).*
Biological age category
Pre-PHV Circum-PHV1
Variable (23; 21) (21; 0)
SST (s) 47.7 6 3.6† 43.0 6 1.4†
BST (s) 4.6 6 0.3† 4.0 6 1.9†
TAF (%) 3.3 6 2.1† 6.0 6 2.5z§
*PHV = peak height velocity; SST = sum of sprint times; BST = best sprint time; TAF = total accumulated fatigue.
†Significant difference (p , 0.05) between maturity groups.
zp , 0.05 vs. (0; 1).
§p , 0.05 vs. (1; 3).
║p , 0.05 vs. (21; 0).
closely related to both anaerobic adenosine triphosphate pro-
vision during sprinting (4) and aerobic processes during recov-
ery (3,9). However, the changes in body size and composition
with growth and maturation influence the anaerobic and aer-
obic performances (14,31) and may in turn influence RSS per-
formance. Furthermore, it has been reported that the vertical
jump and aerobic capacity varies according to different matu-
rity groups (pre-, circum-, and post-PHV) (25–27), and can
potentially influence RSS performance.
Therefore, the aim of this study was to establish normative
data for RSS test based on the maturity status in a relatively large
sample of young soccer player aged 11–18 years at different
maturity stages. The second aim was to investigate the relation-
ship between RSS and tests of both vertical and horizontal
jumps, aerobic power, and anthropometrical variables. We
hypothesized that the impact of maturation (through its benefi-
cial effect on body dimensions and physical capacities) on RSS
performance would be affected by different maturity stage.
METHODS
Experimental Approach to the Problem
The experimental procedures took place during the first
third of the competitive season (SeptemberOctober). All
players followed the same training program established by
their respective team coaches, and were familiar with all
testing procedures. All tests were performed on 3 separate
occasions with at least 1 week between the 3 testing sessions.
During the first session, the anthropometric measures
and physical performance of vertical and horizontal
jumps were recorded. All players performed 2 trials for
each test with at least 3 minutes of rest between trials and
5 minutes of rest between tests to ensure adequate
recovery. During the second session, the subjects per-
formed the 20-m multistage shuttle run test (MSRT) to
estimate aerobic fitness through the maximal speed
reached during the test. During the last session, the
subjects performed the RSS test.
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Circum-PHV2 Post-PHV
(0; 1) (1; 3)
39.5 6 3.6† 34.7 6 2.4†
3.7 6 0.3† 3.2 6 0.2†
6.9 6 2.1§║ 6.7 6 2.8z║
Repeated-sprint sets and jump tests followed 15 minutes
of standardized warm-up, which consisted of low-intensity
forward, sideways, and backward running, acceleration runs,
skipping and hopping exercises, and jumps at increasing
intensity.
Before the commencement of the MSRT, players were
submitted to a general warm-up (5 minutes of jogging plus 5
minutes of calisthenics) and to a familiarization bout of the
MSRT lasting 2 minutes to get acquainted with test pace and
shuttle running technique.
All tests were performed at the same time of day (61
hour) with similar environmental conditions (temperature:
24288 C; humidity: 5060%). Team training intensity and vol-
ume were reduced the day before testing, and the players
were instructed to consume their usual diet on the days
before testing. To eliminate nutrition-related factors, no food
was allowed in the 23 hours before testing. The players were
instructed, and verbally encouraged, to give a maximal effort
during each of the fitness tests. All subjects were given
a familiarization trial for all tests 2 weeks before data collec-
tion. None of the subjects were injured during the protocol.
Subjects
Two hundred sixty-two young male soccer players (age 14.5
6 2.9 years; body mass 59.1 6 10.6 kg; height 162.1 6 0.1
cm; and body fat: 10.9 6 2.7%) with a chronological age
range of 11–18 years volunteered to participate in this study.
All players had a minimum of 3-year previous soccer-specific
training and a minimum of three 1.5-hour sessions’ training
and a 60-minute match per week. Subjects’ characteristics
are illustrated in Table 1.
Subjects were allocated to 4 groups according to their
maturity status. Subjects’ maturity status was calculated
using the equation of Mirwald et al. (32). The age of peak
linear growth is an indicator of somatic maturity
representing the time of maximum growth in stature dur-
ing adolescence. A biological maturity age (years) was
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TABLE 3. Smoothed biological age category percentiles values for RSS performance indices in young soccer players
aged 11–18 years.*

Biological age category

Pre-PHV Circum-PHV1 Circum-PHV2 Post-PHV

Percentile (23; 21) (21; 0) (0; 1) (1; 3)

SST (s) 5th 42.50 40.63 33.16 31.97

10th 43.26 41.22 33.99 32.72
25th 44.67 42.00 35.79 33.30
50th 47.79 42.89 40.05 34.48
75th 50.64 44.40 42.55 35.50
90th 52.04 44.93 43.48 36.50
95th 53.84 45.18 44.33 40.73
BST (s) 5th 3.99 3.72 3.14 2.93
10th 4.14 3.8 3.15 3.03
25th 4.3 3.95 3.4 3.11
50th 4.69 4.07 3.73 3.22
75th 4.90 4.18 4.08 3.35
90th 5.07 4.3 4.11 3.49
95th 5.20 4.38 4.18 3.82
TAF (%) 5th 1.33 2.81 4.2 3.12
10th 1.49 3.19 4.28 3.76
25th 2.00 4.62 5.17 5.03
50th 2.52 5.78 6.60 6.33
75th 3.77 6.84 8.63 8.05
90th 6.04 9.99 9.96 10.29
95th 8.23 12.44 10.58 11.30

*PHV = peak height velocity; SST = sum of sprint times; BST = best sprint time; TAF = total accumulated fatigue.

calculated by subtracting the chronological age at the time
of measurement from the chronological age at PHV (1). In
general, children and adolescents can be classified into 4
categories according to their maturity status: before the
estimated PHV (pre-PHV) players (23 years to PHV to
21.0 years to PHV), around the estimated PHV indicates
that the participant was measured 21 to 1 year after this
peak velocity and it is classified into 2 categories (circum-
PHV1: 21.0 years to PHV to 0 years to PHV; circum-
PHV2: 0 years to PHV to 1.0 years to PHV), and after
the estimated PHV (post-PHV) players (1.0 years from
PHV to 3.0 years from PHV) (1,18,28,31). Around the
estimated PHV groups reflect the age at which maximum
rate of growth occurs during the adolescent growth spurt
and is often used as a reference landmark to reflect the
occurrence of other body dimension velocities or meas-
ures of physical performance (32). The equation has pre-
viously been validated with SE of estimates reported as
0.57 and 0.59 years, respectively (32).
Before participation in this study, all subjects and their
parents were given a letter that included written informa-
tion about the study and a request for consent from the
parents to allow their children to participate in the study.
Legal representatives and subjects provided written
informed consent after thorough explanation of the
objectives and scope of this project, the procedures, risks,
and benefits of the study. The study was approved by the
Ethics Institutional Review Board of the Higher Institute of
Sport and Physical Education of Ksar Said, Tunisia and
procedures were in accordance with the Declaration of
Helsinki.
Procedures
Anthropometric Measures. Anthropometric measures were
taken by the same experienced anthropometrist. Standing
stature was measured using a wall-mounted stadiometer
(60.1 cm; Holtain Ltd., Crosswell, United Kingdom), sitting
height with a stadiometer mounted on a purpose-built table
(60.1 cm; Holtain Ltd.), body mass with a digital balance
(60.1 kg; ADE Electronic Column Scales, Hamburg, Ger-
many), and skinfold thickness with a Harpenden skinfold
caliper (+0.1 mm; Baty International, Burgess Hill, United
Kingdom). The exact positioning of each skinfold measure-
ment was in accordance with procedures previously
described (34). All skinfold measurements were taken on
the right side of the body. Body fat percentage was calcu-
lated from skinfold thicknesses (triceps and subscapular)
using Slaughter’s equations (44).

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 Ability to Repeated Sprint in Youth
Repeated-Sprint Sets. The repeated-sprint protocol consisted
of 2 sets of 5 3 20 m with 15-second recovery between
sprints and 1-minute recovery between sets (43). At the
completion of each sprint, players performed a 10-m decel-
eration and a 10-m active jog recovery. Subjects were given
standard strong verbal encouragement throughout all trials
to ensure maximal effort for each sprint. Sprint times were
recorded using electronic timing gates with a single beam
(Brower timing system, Salt Lake City, UT, USA; accuracy
of 0.01 s) placed approximately 0.75 m above the artificial
turf and were positioned 3 m apart facing each other on
either side of the starting line located at the start and finish
lines. Performance measures recorded included: sum of
sprint times performed during the 2 sets (SST) and best
20-m sprint time (BST). The fatigue index was also calcu-
lated for the entire 2 sets (TAF) using the equation proposed
by Fitzsimons et al. (15).
Twenty-Meter Multistage Shuttle Run Test. The MSRT was
conducted as previously described by Léger and Lambert
(21). This test consisted of shuttle running between 2 lines,
spaced 20 m apart. The initial velocity of the incremental test
was set at 8 km$h21and increased by 0.5 km$h21
every minute. The subjects adjusted their running velocity
according to a combination of regular auditory pacing sig-
Figure 1. Smoothed LMS curves representing L (Lambda, skewness), M (Mu, median), and S (Sigma, coefficient of variation) for the 5th, 10th, 25th, 50th,
75th, 90th, and 95th percentiles of sum of sprint times in young soccer players from different biological age.
the TM
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nals provided by a beeper (Best Electronic, France). It has
been shown that the MSRT is a reliable and valid indicator
of maximal aerobic power (21). The subject was required to
stop if on 2 consecutive laps he failed to arrive within 2 m of
the finish line. Maximal speed was calculated as the velocity
of the last stage fully completed and considered as the speed
associated with V_ O2max for the shuttle run test. The reliabil-
ity and validity of this test to estimate the V_ O2max of trained
young males have been previously reported (39).
Horizontal Jumping Tests. Each player performed a series of
horizontal jumps including a 2-footed standing long jump
(SLJ) and standing triple jump (STJ). All these tests have
been shown to be reliable and valid measures in pediatric
populations (10). Standardized instructions were given to
players that permitted them to begin the jump with bent
knees and swing their arms to assist in the jump. A line
drawn on a hard surface served as the starting line. For the
SLJ test, the players were instructed to push off vigorously
and jumped forward as far as possible. During the STJ test,
the players were instructed to jump as far as possible perform-
ing a 3 consecutive maximal jump. Finally, the 5-jump test
(5JT), as described by Chamari et al. (11), was performed by
the subjects. The 5JT consists of 5 consecutive strides with
joined-feet position at the start and end of the jumps. From
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TABLE 4. Correlation coefficients between RSS performance indices and anthropometry and physical performance
from 4 groups of soccer players from different biological age categories (pre-PHV: 23 to 21.0 years to PHV;
circum-PHV1: 21.0 year to PHV to 0 year to PHV; circum-PHV2: 0 year to PHV to 1.0 year to PHV; and post-PHV:
1.0–3.0 years from PHV).*

Variable SST (s) BST (s) TAF (%)

(23; (21;
PHV 21) (21; 0) (0; 1) (1; 3) (23;21) (21; 0) (0; 1) (1; 3) (23;21) 0) (0; 1) (1; 3)

Height (m) 20.64† 20.24 20.30 20.27z 20.73† 20.23 20.29 20.30z 0.43† 20.12 20.01 0.13
Body mass (kg) 20.73† 20.38z 20.61† 20.33† 20.69† 20.38z 20.55† 20.35z 0.36† 20.22 20.21 0.11
Body fat (%) 20.56† 0.20 20.31 0.06 20.53† 0.19 20.25 0.07 0.01 20.10 20.24 20.03
SJ (cm) 20.63† 20.11 20.12 20.25z 20.68† 20.04 20.10 20.23z 0.43† 20.08 20.11 20.01
CMJ (cm) 20.57† 20.13 20.20 20.36† 20.62† 20.06 20.22 20.32z 0.39† 20.07 0.10 20.09
5JT (m) 20.52† 20.04 20.66† 20.63† 20.56† 20.12 20.62† 20.57† 0.34† 20.19 20.09 20.11
SLJ (m) 20.48† 20.07 20.60† 20.43† 20.55† 20.03 20.56† 20.43† 0.50† 20.04 20.12 0.06
STJ (m) 20.38† 20.03 20.67† 20.70† 20.46† 0.08 20.63† 20.63† 0.50† 0.02 20.12 20.13
MSRT 20.43† 20.30z 20.41z 20.49† 20.43† 20.22 20.40z 20.51† 0.18 0.01 20.02 0.16
(km$h21)

*PHV = peak height velocity; SST = sum of sprint times; BST = best sprint time; TAF = total accumulated fatigue; SJ = squat jump;
CMJ = countermovement jump; 5JT = 5-jump test; SLJ = standing long jump; STJ = standing triple jump; MSRT = multistage
shuttle run test.
†p , 0.001.
zp , 0.01.

the starting position, the subjects had to directly jump to the
front with one leg and after the first 4 strides, i.e., alternating left
and right feet for 2 times each, they had to perform the last
stride and end the test again with joined feet. The better per-
formance of the 2 trials was used for further statistical analysis.
The distance jumped for horizontal jump tests was measured in
centimeters (60.1 cm) using a metal tape measure.
Vertical Jump Tests. Testing included countermovement jump
(CMJ) and squat jump (SJ) without arm swing, both of
which have been showing to be reliable (23). The CMJ
involved the subjects lowering themselves from an upright
standing position until approximating a knee angle of 908,
followed immediately by a vertical jump. For the SJ, subjects
began upright with knees and hips fully extended. Subjects
then performed a quick downward eccentric action to 908 of
knee flexion before they jumped. Hands remained on the
hips for the entire movement to eliminate any influence of
arm swing. The better performance of the 2 trials was used
for further statistical analysis. Jump height was calculated to
the nearest 0.1 cm from flight time measured with an infra-
red timing system (Optojump; Microgate, Bolzano, Italy).
Statistical Analyses
Anthropometric and physical fitness characteristics of the study
sample are presented as mean 6 SD. All analyses were per-
formed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS,
version 20.0 for Windows; SPSS, Inc., Chicago, IL, USA), and
the level of significance was set at p # 0.05. The distribution of
each variable was examined with the Kolmogorov-Smirnov
normality test. Maturity group differences in anthropometric
variables and performance measurements were examined using
1-way analysis of variance. Post hoc tests (Bonferroni proce-
dure) were applied to identify group-specific differences.
Normative data were reported as percentile range. Con-
struction of the centile curves was performed with the LMS
Chart Maker Pro version 2.3 software program (The
Institute of Child Health, London, United Kingdom), which
fits smooth centile curves to reference data (12). This
method summarizes percentiles at each age based on the
power of age-specific Box–Cox power transformations that
are used to normalize data. Pearson’s product–moment
correlation coefficients were used to examine correlations
between variables. The magnitude of the correlations was
also determined using the modified scale by Hopkins (19): r
, 0.1 trivial; 0.1–0.3 small; 0.3–0.5 moderate; 0.5–0.7 large;
0.7–0.9 very large; 0.9 nearly perfect; and 1 perfect.
RESULTS
Table 1 shows the anthropometric characteristics and phys-
ical fitness parameters of the study sample and the statistical
differences (p , 0.05) among different maturity groups. Re-
sults have shown an increase of anthropometric and physical
fitness values with the age. Players belonging to post-PHV
group were significantly more mature, more experienced,
heavier, and taller than all other groups. By contrast, all
anthropometric measures except body fat percentage were
significantly lower in pre-PHV group in comparison with all
other maturity stages. No significant differences were

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 Ability to Repeated Sprint in Youth
observed in height and body mass between circum-PHV1
and circum-PHV2 groups and they were significantly higher
than pre-PHV group and lower than post-PHV group. Sig-
nificant difference was observed in body fat percentage
between circum groups (circum-PHV1: 11.7%; circum-
PHV2: 9.6%) and between pre-PHV (11.4%) and post-
PHV (10.3%) groups. Although the post-PHV group has
significantly best performances, the pre-PHV group has sig-
nificantly the lowest performances in all physical fitness tests
presented in Table 1. No significant differences were
observed between circum-PHV1 and circum-PHV2 groups
in all physical test performances except for 5JT.
The data and statistical differences (p , 0.05) for RSS
performance is displayed in Table 2. Within RSS protocols,
we have found favorable and significant changes in SST and
BST values and significant increase in TAF values between
the 4 groups of soccer players from different maturity
groups. Significant differences were observed in both SST
and BST between all maturity groups with the pre-PHV
group being the slower and post-PHV group being the faster.
The pre-PHV group has the significant lowest TAF (%) com-
pared with all other groups, whereas the circum-PHV2
group has the significant highest TAF (%). In addition, sig-
nificant difference was recorded in TAF (%) between circum-
PHV1 and circum-PHV2 groups.
Table 3 shows smoothed biological age category percen-
tile values (5th, 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th, and 95th) for
RSS performance indices in young soccer players.
Figure 1 shows smoothed LMS curves for the 5th, 10th,
25th, 50th, 75th, 90th, and 95th percentiles of SST in young
soccer players from different biological ages.
Centile values were estimated for the 4 maturity stages
(pre-PHV, circum-PHV1, circum-PHV2, and post-PHV).
The relationships between anthropometry, jumping,
MSRT, and RSS indices of the 4 groups of soccer players
from different biological age categories are summarized in
Table 4. There was a significant correlation between height
and both SST and BST in pre- and post-PHV groups. In
addition, body mass was significantly correlated with both
SST and BST for all maturity stages. However, body fat
percentage was significantly correlated with both SST and
BST only for the pre-PHV group. Furthermore, there were
no significant correlations between TAF (%) and height,
body mass, and body fat percentage for circum-PHV1,
circum-PHV2, and post-PHV groups. By contrast, moderate
correlations were observed between TAF (%) and both
height and body fat percentage for the pre-PHV group.
However, SJ and CMJ were significantly correlated with
both SST and BST for only pre- and post-PHV groups. Sig-
nificant correlations were also observed between horizontal
jump tests and both SST and BST for all maturity stages
except for circum-PHV1 group. Likewise, MSRT was signif-
icantly correlated with SST for all maturity stages and with
BST for all maturity stages except for circum-PHV1 group.
Moreover, TAF (%) was significantly correlated with all
the TM
512 Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research
Copyright © 2018 National Strength and Conditioning Association. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
physical fitness test performances except for MSRT in the
pre-PHV group. However, no significant correlations were
observed between TAF (%) and physical fitness test perform-
ances in circum-PHV1, circum-PHV2, and post-PHV
groups.
DISCUSSION
Repeated-sprint sets’ performance in young soccer players
depends on several factors mediated by growth and matura-
tion. The main aim of this study was to establish percentiles
based on normative data for RSS test for young soccer play-
ers in the different maturity groups. A secondary aim was to
investigate the relationship between RSS and tests of both
vertical and horizontal jumps, aerobic power, and anthropo-
metrical variables.
The primary results of this study provide percentile values
of RSS test for groups of young soccer players differing in
maturity status. The RSS performance indices were signif-
icantly different for each maturity group (Table 2), with an
increase with the ages. This result could be explained by
maturity-induced improvements in neural function, multi-
joint coordination, increases in muscle power associated
with the rise in circulating levels of testosterone and growth
hormone, and change in metabolic function (28,47). These
findings are in agreement with the studies by Mendez-
Villanueva et al. (29) and Spencer et al. (47) that reported
interindividual differences in growth and maturation have an
effect on single-set to repeated-sprint performance in differ-
ent ways of timing and tempo of biological maturation in
young soccer players. If this is the case, then maturity-
associated variation in RSS performance might have impor-
tant implications for success and, ultimately, the selection of
young players.
In this regard, this study presents percentile values of RSS
test in young soccer players from different maturity groups;
the normative values showed from the 5th to the 95th
percentile allow the young soccer players to determine the
individual level of the ability to RSS on a scale from 1 to 7.
These reference values can be used as normative data and
also for baseline values for subsequent surveillance and
identification of the ability to RSS in young soccer players.
In addition, RSS performance is believed to be a significant
predictor of match physical performance in young soccer
players (6,43). However, there has been limited investigation
of body dimensions and physical capacities that predict RSS
in young soccer players across different maturity levels. Iden-
tification of these variables may help coaches and sport sci-
entists to develop better training programs to improve the
ability of RSS. In this way, Perroni et al. (35) analyzed the
relationship of single set to repeated sprints with chronolog-
ical age and puberty in young soccer players and found
significant correlations within soccer categories. Our data
showed significant correlations between body mass and both
SST and BST during the RSS test in the different maturity
groups. These results were in agreement with previous

research that reported positive associations between body
mass and single-set to repeated-sprint performance of young
soccer players differing in physical maturity status (29,46).
Malina et al. (26) suggested that the performance tests of
sprint-running performance are always predicted from vari-
ables derived from the body mass and maturity status. Our
findings could be of great interest to coaches and fitness
trainers to follow the optimal weight in young soccer play-
ers, which can effectively improve RSS performance. How-
ever, moderate-to-large correlations were observed between
physical performance of vertical and horizontal jumps and
SST during the RSS test in pre-PHV and post-PHV players.
Growth-related changes in both leg length and muscle mass
were associated with increased horizontal and vertical jump
heights, and these structural changes were deemed to over-
ride any negative effects of the concomitant increase in body
mass (16). Our results could be of great interest to coaches
and fitness trainers to choose plyometric exercises that can
effectively improve RSS performance of young soccer play-
ers belonging at the stages in pre- and post-PHV. Ramırez-
Campillo et al. (37) showed that plyometric training, applied
twice weekly on consecutive or nonconsecutive days, results
in similar explosive and endurance adaptations in young
male soccer players between 10 and 17 years of age. How-
ever, no significant correlation between RSS indices and
both vertical and horizontal jump performance in the player
was measured 1 year before this peak velocity and the player
was measured 1 year after this peak velocity and after esti-
mating the circum-PHV2. The lack of association between
these qualities in the circum-PHV1 players is possibly related
to a disruption in motor coordination of individual players
during this developmental period (18,24,40). This period of
adolescent awkwardness is thought to be related to dispro-
portional growth in leg length relative to trunk length
(26,45). It is possible that greater variability in complex
motor coordination tasks (i.e., jumping) compared with the
simpler tasks (i.e., straight-line running) was associated with
temporary disruption of motor coordination. Individual var-
iations in motor coordination and other performance tasks
that occur during the mid-teenage years generally dissipate
by the age of 18 years (16,45). It is therefore important that
coaches and players are educated on the possibility of short-
term impairments in physical performance in the mid-
adolescent years. Moreover, the additional contribution of
the stretch-shortening cycle to the CMJ is similar to that
reported by Lloyd et al. (24), who examined the effects of
maturity on the jump performance of soccer players. The
authors reported that maturity had little effect on jump per-
formance and was more likely to be influenced by factors
such as intermuscular coordination (24).
In addition, a negative correlation between SST and BST
during the RSS test and horizontal jumping performance in
the player was measured 1 year after this peak velocity and
after estimating the age at circum-PHV2. However, no
correlation was found in TAF in the player who was
Copyright © 2018 National Strength and Conditioning Association. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
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Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research | www.nsca.com
measured 1 year before this peak velocity. These results also
suggest that significant physiological changes also occur
during these years, such as motor unit recruitment, muscle
fiber diameter, and the rate of phosphocreatine replenish-
ment and substrate availability (27,45).
Another interesting result is the negative correlation
between the test of aerobic conditioning (MSRT) and SST
for all different maturity groups. Therefore, this suggests that
the recovery of sprint speed supported by aerobic metabo-
lism also plays an important role in the removal of
accumulated lactate and the replenishment of creatine
phosphate stores (4,9). Nevertheless, the relationship
between single-set to RSS test indices and aerobic metabo-
lism is still a controversial theme among researchers. Indeed,
Spencer et al. (47) demonstrated larger correlations (r =
0.28–0.68) between tests of aerobic conditioning and
repeated-sprint ability in young soccer players (U11–U18).
However, Castagna et al. (9) failed to find significant corre-
lations between MSRT and both total time and TAF (r =
0.37 and r = 20.28, respectively) in basketball players. Like-
wise, Bishop et al. (3) reported a no significant correlation
between MSRT and TAF or other repeated-sprint ability–
related variables in hockey players. In addition, the lack
and the presence of correlation between MSRT and
repeated-sprint performance could be due to the fact that
fatigue resistance during RSS depends on the distribution
(e.g., number of repetitions) and duration of the work peri-
ods (22), and the nature (43) (i.e., different angle of work),
duration (38), and intensity (6) of the recovery between
sprints.
In conclusion, this study describes the cross-sectional
evolution of RSS in young soccer players. Our results show
that performance in RSS improves during maturation of
young soccer players. These results provide useful infor-
mation related to the RSS performance in young soccer
players differing in maturity status. More specifically, such
normative databases may constitute a rough guideline for
the coaches and physical conditioning trainers to evaluate
the current status and progress of the young soccer players
in the ability to recover and to reproduce performance in
multiple sprint sets. Our results also suggest the correla-
tions of SST during the RSS test and both body mass and
aerobic fitness among each maturity group. We also found
negative correlations among vertical and horizontal jumps
and SST (better jump performance was associated with
better SST) that they varied considerably between the
different maturity groups.
More research is required to further investigate the
underlying physiological and musculoskeletal changes ex-
plaining the variable relationships between aerobic metabo-
lism, explosive power, and RSS through the period of
maximal growth spurt in diverse cohorts of developing
team-sport athletes. This information would aid in providing
specific advice to coaches and conditioners in training their
young soccer players because application of the same
VOLUME 34 | NUMBER 2 | FEBRUARY 2020 | 513
 Ability to Repeated Sprint in Youth
exercise or of the same training volume might cause poor
training effects or injuries in young soccer players in the
growth phase.
PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
These findings would be useful for coaches and sport
scientists when attempting to assess RSS and performance
enhancement in young soccer players. Thus, fitness trainers
for young soccer players should prescribe physical training
account for variations in short-term disruptions or impair-
ment of RSS performance during this developmental period.
Moreover, the comparison of different groups should
account for the biological maturity or muscle mass differ-
ences among soccer players. Coaches and trainers require
a more detailed understanding of the relationships and
variations with age to obtain a greater appreciation of the
individual patterns of maturity status and potential short-
term disruptions of performance during the adolescent years.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors express their gratitude for the moral and
practical support received from Mourad Hambli and Abde-
slem Karray. No potential conflict of interest was reported by
the authors.
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