The Influence of Maturity Status on Jumping Performance of Inner London Secondary School Students

2018 dissertation for MRes. Talent Detection (TDE) is a method for the identification of potentially talented athletes establishing the physical ability of an athlete without the presence of sport specific skill. TDE typically uses assessments that identify physical characteristics inherent with the given sport, with ambitions to find those with superior physical ability. These protocols are traditionally aimed at set chronological ages, as low as ten years old. However, it has been established that youths will enter the adolescent process at different ages, and will go through the process at different rates. Therefore we know that it is possible to have a selection of athletes of the exact same chronological age, with as much as a few years difference in biological age (from the onset of puberty). Maturation of athletes has been explored and a selection of non-invasive methods has been established as valid protocols for biological age assessment. This research looked to establish relationships between maturity and jumping performances across the vertical (VJ) and horizontal (HJ) jumps, both highly used assessments within TDE. 72 girls and 65 boys were assessed for maturity and performance of jumps were taken using a jump mat for VJ and a tape measure for HJ. The results concluded a strong relationship with maturity and VJ and HJ in the boys, and a very strong relationship with peak power in both VJ and HJ in the boys and girls. The limitations of this study surround the dependency on adjustment equations due to the equipment used, and the use of the prediction equation for maturity. However there is strong evidence that suggests biological age should be considered when undergoing assessments as used within TDE, to allow for fair comparison across athletes of the same chronological age, and further research needs to be done overcoming the limitations of this study.