Table 3. Fitness capacities of junior soccer players according to relative age quartile & bi-annual age-groups.
| Age Group | Variable | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Covariates | F(BQ) | P | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F(DA) | P | F(APHV) | P | ||||||||
| U10 | n = 86 | n = 38 | n = 23 | n = 12 | |||||||
| MVJ | 21.0 ± 4.4 | 19.9 ± 5.5 | 21.0 ± 4.4 | 20.3 ± 3.2 | 4.12 | 0.044 | 2.09 | 0.150 | 0.42 | 0.741 | |
| MSFT | 1180 ± 332* | 1265 ± 259 | 1237 ± 315 | 1332 ± 306 | 16.20 | 0.000 | 0.09 | 0.765 | 3.92 | 0.010 | |
| 10m | 1.96 ± 0.12 | 1.95 ± 0.09 | 1.95 ± 0.06 | 1.94 ± 0.07 | 4.80 | 0.030 | 0.03 | 0.865 | 1.37 | 0.253 | |
| 20m | 3.61 ± 0.22 | 3.57 ± 0.18 | 3.57 ± 0.10 | 3.54 ± 0.14 | 4.89 | 0.029 | 0.04 | 0.836 | 1.87 | 0.136 | |
| Agility | 11.81 ± 0.77 | 11.80 ± 0.54 | 11.80 ± 0.60 | 11.75 ± 0.46 | 17.56 | 0.000 | 1.40 | 0.239 | 0.59 | 0.621 | |
| U12 | n = 74 | n = 58 | n = 35 | n = 25 | |||||||
| MVJ | 23.1 ± 6.5 | 24.3 ± 6.2 | 21.7 ± 5.4 | 22.5 ± 7.2 | 3.79 | 0.053 | 1.28 | 0.260 | 0.76 | 0.516 | |
| MSFT | 1456 ± 263 | 1481 ± 315 | 1354 ± 281 | 1441 ± 266 | 5.75 | 0.017 | 1.00 | 0.320 | 1.02 | 0.384 | |
| 10m | 1.85 ± 0.09 | 1.85 ± 0.09 | 1.87 ± 0.06 | 1.89 ± 0.08 | 22.03 | 0.000 | 1.94 | 0.166 | 0.08 | 0.972 | |
| 20m | 3.40 ± 0.18 | 3.38 ± 0.17 | 3.44 ± 0.10 | 3.48 ± 0.15 | 13.57 | 0.000 | 0.77 | 0.381 | 0.38 | 0.765 | |
| Agility | 11.02 ± 0.53 | 11.04 ± 0.56 | 11.28 ± 0.54 | 11.14 ± 0.58 | 16.14 | 0.000 | 1.40 | 0.239 | 0.99 | 0.401 | |
| U14 | n = 90 | n = 48 | n = 43 | n = 16 | |||||||
| MVJ | 27.9 ± 6.5 | 28.6 ± 5.8 | 26.8 ± 6.2 | 25.9 ± 6.9 | 23.87 | 0.000 | 3.18 | 0.076 | 0.33 | 0.804 | |
| MSFT | 1805 ± 285 | 1787 ± 280 | 1784 ± 374 | 1900 ± 242 | 10.01 | 0.002 | 0.42 | 0.519 | 1.69 | 0.170 | |
| 10m | 1.71 ± 0.10 | 1.71 ± 0.09 | 1.74 ± 0.08 | 1.72 ± 0.07 | 44.62 | 0.000 | 32.92 | 0.000 | 0.87 | 0.460 | |
| 20m | 3.12 ± 0.20 | 3.11 ± 0.16 | 3.17 ± 0.15 | 3.16 ± 0.15 | 52.27 | 0.000 | 33.30 | 0.000 | 0.79 | 0.503 | |
| Agility | 10.28 ± 0.61* | 10.12 ± 0.47 | 10.36 ± 0.66 | 10.17 ± 0.41 | 42.18 | 0.000 | 5.46 | 0.021 | 3.18 | 0.025 | |
| U16 | n = 90 | n = 34 | n = 20 | n = 14 | |||||||
| MVJ | 28.2 ± 8.1 | 26.9 ± 8.4 | 30.7 ± 7.0 | 26.9 ± 8.5 | 0.19 | 0.665 | 3.24 | 0.074 | 1.10 | 0.351 | |
| MSFT | 2085 ± 257 | 2170 ± 280 | 2083 ± 295 | 1976 ± 311 | 8.71 | 0.004 | 0.22 | 0.638 | 1.80 | 0.150 | |
| 10m | 1.61 ± 0.08 | 1.61 ± 0.07 | 1.63 ± 0.11 | 1.63 ± 0.09 | 3.57 | 0.061 | 4.13 | 0.044 | 0.27 | 0.848 | |
| 20m | 2.92 ± 0.12 | 2.91 ± 0.13 | 2.95 ± 0.20 | 2.94 ± 0.17 | 5.70 | 0.018 | 3.12 | 0.079 | 0.55 | 0.649 | |
| Agility | 9.63 ± 0.48 | 9.60 ± 0.51 | 9.61 ± 0.53 | 9.80 ± 0.58 | 6.38 | 0.013 | 4.37 | 0.038 | 0.63 | 0.599 | |
| U18 | n = 91 | n = 59 | n = 31 | n = 31 | |||||||
| MVJ | 36.8 ± 6.2 # | 35.2 ± 4.4 | 32.8 ± 7.2 | 36.8 ± 5.1 # | 2.82 | 0.094 | 4.30 | 0.039 | 4.25 | 0.006 | |
| MSFT | 2308 ± 285 | 2270 ± 277 | 2308 ± 270 | 2325 ± 259 | 1.17 | 0.281 | 4.74 | 0.031 | 0.39 | 0.763 | |
| 10m | 1.59 ± 0.06 | 1.60 ± 0.05 | 1.61 ± 0.04 | 1.58 ± 0.06 | 1.68 | 0.197 | 0.98 | 0.323 | 1.29 | 0.280 | |
| 20m | 2.87 ± 0.11 | 2.87 ± 0.08 | 2.90 ± 0.08 | 2.85 ± 0.10 | 0.39 | 0.534 | 1.00 | 0.318 | 1.37 | 0.532 | |
| Agility | 9.20 ± 0.40^ | 9.42 ± 0.55 | 9.32 ± 0.36 | 9.29 ± 0.38 | 0.00 | 0.989 | 1.43 | 0.234 | 2.56 | 0.056 | |
Table Notes: Q1 = N players born between Sept-Nov of annual age cut-off dates, Q2 = Dec-Feb, Q3 = March-May, Q4 = June-August; DA = decimal age; AG = Chronological age-group; MVJ = maximal vertical jump; MSFT = multi-stage fitness test; 10m and 20m = sprint times over stated distances
* = Significant finding (P ≤ 0.05) vs. Q4
# denotes significant vs. Q3
^ denotes significant vs. Q2