The influence of age, maturity and body size on the spatiotemporal determinants of maximal sprint speed in boys

View/ open
Author
Meyers, Rob
Oliver, Jon
Hughes, Michael G.
Lloyd, Rhodri S.
Cronin, John
Date
2017-04Acceptance date
2015-11-27
Type
Article
Publisher
Wolters Kluwer
ISSN
1064-8011
1533-4287 (online)
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of age, maturity, and body size on the spatiotemporal determinants of maximal sprint speed in boys. Three-hundred and seventy-five boys (age: 13.0 ± 1.3 years) completed a 30-m sprint test, during which maximal speed, step length, step frequency, contact time, and flight time were recorded using an optical measurement system. Body mass, height, leg length, and a maturity offset represented somatic variables. Step frequency accounted for the highest proportion of variance in speed (∼58%) in the pre–peak height velocity (pre-PHV) group, whereas step length explained the majority of the variance in speed (∼54%) in the post-PHV group. In the pre-PHV group, mass was negatively related to speed, step length, step frequency, and contact time; however, measures of stature had a positive influence on speed and step length yet a negative influence on step frequency. Speed and step length were also negatively influence by mass in the post-PHV group, whereas leg length continued to positively influence step length. The results highlighted that pre-PHV boys may be deemed step frequency reliant, whereas those post-PHV boys may be marginally step length reliant. Furthermore, the negative influence of body mass, both pre-PHV and post-PHV, suggests that training to optimize sprint performance in youth should include methods such as plyometric and strength training, where a high neuromuscular focus and the development force production relative to body weight are key foci.
Journal/conference proceeding
Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research;
Citation
Meyers, R., Oliver, J.L., Hughes, M.G., Lloyd, R.S. and Cronin, J.B. (2017) 'Influence of Age, Maturity, and Body Size on the Spatiotemporal Determinants of Maximal Sprint Speed in Boys', 31(4), pp.1009-1016
Description
This article was published in Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research in April 2017, available at https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000001310
Collections
- Sport Research Groups [1091]
Related items
Showing items related by title, author, subject and abstract.
-
The influence of age, growth and maturation upon maximal sprint speed in male youth
Meyers, Rob (Cardiff Metropolitan University, 2016)The literature pertaining to the development of maximal sprint performance in male youth is sparse. Existing literature suffers from a combination of small sample sizes, a lack of control for the influence of maturity, ... -
The relationship between muscular power, sprint performance and spatiotemporal sprint characteristics
Patridge, Ned (Cardiff Metropolitan University, 2016-03-09)It is well established that muscular power is essential for sprint performance. However, the mechanism by which muscular power facilitates faster running speeds is weakly reported. The aim of this study was to identify the ... -
The effects of indoor bend running on maximal sprint velocity and lower body kinematics’
Linington, Rhiannon (Cardiff Metropolitan University, 2013)Following reports of bias against athletes competing in the inner two lanes of an indoor athletics track, the IAAF made the decision to no longer class the 200 meters as a championship distance. The aim of this study was ...