Normative data and objective benchmarks for selected force plate tests for professional and youth soccer players in the English Football League

Badby, Andrew J; Comfort, Paul; Ripley, Nicholas J; Mundy, Peter D; Soriano, Marcos A; Robles-Palazón, Francisco J; Fahey, Jack; Sindall, Paul; Bramah, Christopher; Mcmahon, John J

Abstract

The aim of this study was to establish objective benchmarks for countermovement jump (CMJ), countermovement rebound jump (CMRJ), and isometric mid-thigh pull (IMTP) metrics in male professional and youth soccer players. Professional (N = 139; age: 24 ± 5 years; height: 184 ± 7 cm; mass: 81 ± 9 kg) and youth (N = 137; age: 17 ± 1 years; height: 178 ± 17 cm; mass: 72 ± 8 kg) soccer players were recruited from 7 separate clubs. Many CMJ (25/32), CMRJ (24/30), and (2/2) IMTP metrics discriminated between age groups. Significant (p < 0.05) differences were identified in CMJ outcome (4/4), propulsive kinetic (6/6), and relative propulsive kinetic (4/4) metrics, but trivial non-significant (p > 0.05) differences were identified in strategy (4/4) metrics. Rebound jump portion propulsive kinetic (4/4) metrics and braking depth demonstrated moderate to large differences between groups, but only one relative propulsive kinetic (1/4) metric demonstrated significant (p < 0.01) differences. Professional soccer players also demonstrated significantly (p < 0.001) greater IMTP peak force (3031 ± 549 N vs 2441 ± 452 N; g = 0.788) and relative peak force (37.39 ± 5.35 N/kg vs 34.01 ± 4.74 N/kg; g = 0.446) than youth soccer players.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 11, 2025
• Online Publication Date: Jul 11, 2025
• Publication Date: Jul 11, 2025
• Deposit Date: Jul 13, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 16, 2025
• Journal: Journal of Sports Sciences
• Print ISSN: 0264-0414
• Electronic ISSN: 1466-447X
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Pages: 1-18
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2025.2523671
• Additional Information: Peer Review Statement: The publishing and review policy for this title is described in its Aims & Scope.; Aim & Scope: http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?show=aimsScope&journalCode=rjsp20; Published: 2025-07-11