Reliability, validity, and maturation-related differences of frontal and sagittal plane landing kinematic measures during drop jump and tuck jump screening tests in male youth soccer players

Objectives To determine the inter-rater and intra-rater reliability of frontal and sagittal plane landing kinematic measures during drop jump (DVJ) and tuck jump (TJA) tasks in male youth soccer players, to assess the concurrent validity between DVJ and TJA tests, and to evaluate the ability of both tasks to detect differences between players’ stage of maturation. Design Cross-sectional study. Participants 223 male youth soccer players. Main outcome measures Frontal plane knee projection angles (FPPA), and hip (HF), knee (KF) and ankle (AF) flexion angles at initial contact (IC) and peak flexion (PF) (i.e., the deepest landing position) in the sagittal plane were assessed. Results Good-to-excellent inter- and intra-rater reliability (ICC > 0.75; TEMST 10; error 0.6) were only identified for the TJA. Pre-PHV group reported higher FPPA, HF-IC, HF-PF, and KF-IC values, as well as lower AF-IC than post-PHV. Pre-PHV also displayed greater HF-IC and KF-IC than circa-PHV group. Conclusions Although both tests are reliable, the TJA might be viewed as a more informative tool given it shows greater FPPA and can also detect differences by maturity status.