Relative Skeletal Maturity and Performance Test Outcomes in Elite Youth Middle Eastern Soccer Players

Lolli, Lorenzo, Johnson, Amanda ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1648-6506, Monaco, Mauricio, Di Salvo, Valter and Gregson, Warren (2022) Relative Skeletal Maturity and Performance Test Outcomes in Elite Youth Middle Eastern Soccer Players. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 54 (8). pp. 1326-1334. ISSN 0195-9131

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Abstract

To explore the influence of differences in relative skeletal maturity on performance test outcomes in elite youth soccer players from the Middle East. We integrated skeletal age and performance assessments using mixed-longitudinal data available for 199 outfield players (chronological age range: 11.7 to 17.8 yr) enrolled as academy student-athletes (annual screening range: 1 to 5 visits). Skeletal age was determined as per the Tanner-Whitehouse II (TW-II) protocol. Relative maturity was calculated as the difference (∆) between TW-II skeletal age minus chronological age. Performance test outcomes of interest were 10-m sprinting, 40-m sprinting, countermovement jump (CMJ) height and maximal aerobic speed (MAS). Separate random-effects generalized additive models quantified differences in performance test outcomes by relative skeletal maturity. Estimated differences were deemed practically relevant based on the location of the confidence interval (95%CI) against minimal detectable change values for each performance test outcome. For 40-m sprinting, differences of +0.51 s (95%CI, +0.35 to +0.67 s) and + 0.62 s (95%CI, +0.45 to +0.78 s) were practically relevant for relative maturity status of ∆ = -1.5 yr versus ∆ = +0.5 and ∆ = +1 yr, respectively. For CMJ height, a difference of -8 cm (95%CI, -10 to -5 cm) was practically relevant for ∆ = -1.5 yr versus ∆ = +1 yr relative maturity status comparison. Effects for 10-m sprinting and MAS were unclear. Integration of skeletal age and performance assessments indicated conventional maturity status classification criteria were inconsistent to inform player development processes in our sample. Between-player differences in test performance may depend on a substantial delay in skeletal maturation (∆ ≤ -1.5 yr) and the performance outcome measure.