Does Early Specialisation Improve Drop Jump and Y-balance Performance in Junior Football Players?
Date
Supervisor
Item type
Journal Article
Degree name
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Sport and Exercise Science New Zealand
Abstract
Sport specialisation has been defined as the intense involvement in a single sport to the exclusion of all other sports. Previous research has raised questions about potential negative consequences of specialising at a young age. The purpose of this study was to examine differences in drop jump and y-balance performance in junior football players based on level of specialisation. This was a cross-sectional observational study involving 35 male footballers aged 10.2 ± 1.1 years. Participants were grouped as high, moderate, and low specialised. Level of specialisation was determined using a survey on their sports participation history. Tests included anterior Y-balance test and drop jumps assessed using the Landing Error Scoring System (LESS). Between-group differences were analysed using one-way analysis of variance and chi-squared analysis with an a priori statistical significance level of p ≤ 0.05. Hedge’s g effect sizes were reported for all results. High specialised players displayed greater left leg relative reach than moderate (mean diff = 10.9% LL; 95% CI [2.2, 19.6]; p = 0.013; Hedge’s g = 0.78) but not low (mean diff = 5.0% LL; 95% CI[-4.0, 14.1]; p = 0.218; Hedge’s g = 0.39) specialised players. No other significant differences were observed in Y-balance performance. High specialised players displayed fewer LESS errors than moderate (mean diff = 2.75 errors; 95% CI [0.05, 5.48]; p = 0.009; Hedge’s g = -0.90), but not low (mean diff = 2.20 errors; 95% CI [-5.05, 0.65]; p = 0.101; Hedge’s g = -0.57) specialised players. ‘Knee flexion displacement’ was the only LESS criterion that differed significantly between groups, with errors more common in moderately specialised players (n = 9) than both high (n = 0) and low (n = 5) specialised players (p = 0.003). These results suggest early specialised junior football players may perform better in the drop jump and y-balance tests than their less specialised counterparts. Results suggest all players may benefit from participation in injury prevention programmes such as the FIFA 11+, in particular moderately specialised players.Description
Source
The Journal of Sport and Exercise Science, ISSN: 2703-240X (Online), Sport and Exercise Science New Zealand, 9(2), 30-39. doi: 10.36905/jses.2025.02.04
Rights statement
The Journal of Sport and Exercise Science™ (JSES) is a peer-reviewed open access online journal that charges no fee to publishes original research articles, reviews, invited commentaries, and letters to the editor, in the broad context of sport and exercise science.