Longitudinal Association Between Sprint and Jump Performance in Youth Male Soccer Players: Implications for Talent Development

This study analyzed the longitudinal relationship between short sprints and counter movement jump (CMJ) in youth male soccer players. Players (n = 304, age 13.0 ± 1.9 years) from a Scottish soccer academy completed sprints (10 m, 20 m splits [s]) and a CMJ (cm), on 3 to 14 occasions across 10 seasons. Within-player (repeated measures) and between-player (mean of repeated measures) correlation coefficients were calculated, and a linear mixed model (LMM) was applied to determine whether CMJ can predict sprint changes over a meaningful threshold (0.04 s, equivalent to the suggested minimum difference [~40 cm] for a player to be ahead of the opponent to win a ball in a one-on-one duel). Very large, negative between-player correlations were found for CMJ vs. sprint time (10 m: r = -0.746, 95% CI [−0.792, −0.691]; 20 m: r = -0.822, 95% CI [−0.856, −0.782], respectively). Within-player correlations were moderate-to-large (10 m: r = -0.485, 95% CI [−0.525, −0.443]; 20 m: r = -0.576, 95% CI [−0.611, −0.539]). The LMM analysis revealed that chronological age influenced the within-player correlations, while CMJ did not predict sprint changes over the meaningful threshold. While CMJ might be useful for distinguishing between players with differing sprint ability, it is not a suitable proxy for tracking individual sprint development over time, especially when accounting for chronological age-related changes. Coaches and practitioners should therefore consider incorporating direct sprint assessments into longitudinal monitoring.