KIT | KIT-Bibliothek | Impressum | Datenschutz

“Do fast players remain fast and slow players remain slow?” Long-term development of maximal sprinting speed in highly trained U12 to U19 soccer players over an 8-year period

Ruf, Ludwig ; Backfisch, Marco; Härtel, Sascha; Altmann, Stefan 1
1 Institut für Sport und Sportwissenschaft (IfSS), Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT)

Abstract (englisch):

The aims of this study were to investigate MSS development in highly trained male U12 to U19 soccer players by i) describing the absolute maximal sprinting speed (MSS) by age group, ii) assessing changes in players’ relative MSS development across consecutive age groups, and iii) analysing the long-term stability of MSS over an 8-year period.
Using a mixed-longitudinal design, we collected data from 475 players (n = 1042 datapoints). MSS was determined from the average velocity in the 20-30 m interval of a 30 m linear sprint. Percentile values were assigned to every MSS and players were classified into six performance groups based on their percentile value. The number of players moving up, down, or remaining in the same performance group across consecutive age groups was calculated. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC; 3,1) were computed to assess the long-term stability.
MSS improved consistently from U12 to U19, with the greatest improvements observed between the U14 to U16. Overall, more players transitioned to a slower performance group (41%) than remained in the same (34%) or moved to a faster group (25%) across consecutive age groups. ... mehr


Zugehörige Institution(en) am KIT Institut für Sport und Sportwissenschaft (IfSS)
Publikationstyp Zeitschriftenaufsatz
Publikationsjahr 2026
Sprache Englisch
Identifikator ISSN: 1747-9541, 2048-397X
KITopen-ID: 1000189609
Erschienen in International Journal of Sports Science and Coaching
Verlag SAGE Publications
Seiten 1
Vorab online veröffentlicht am 07.01.2026
Nachgewiesen in Scopus
Web of Science
OpenAlex
KIT – Die Universität in der Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft
KITopen Landing Page