The role of age and maturation on jump performance and postural control in female adolescent volleyball players over a season

Background: Jump performance and postural control are essential for success in technical/tactical actions and overall playing performance in volleyball. Youth athletes undergo significant physical and neuromuscular development during adolescence, which can impact these abilities. This study examined the effect of age and biological maturity, assessed as the distance from peak height velocity using the maturity offset (MO), on vertical and plyometric jumping abilities and postural control in adolescent female volleyball players across different age categories throughout a competitive season. Methods: Forty-five adolescent volleyball players (aged 12.5 to 17) from four age categories (U13, U14, U16, U18) of the same club participated in three testing sessions during a season. Jump performance was assessed through countermovement (CMJ) and drop jump (DJ) tests, while postural control was measured using a static balance task. All tests were conducted using force plates, sampling at 1000 Hz (for jumps) and 100 Hz (for static balance test), to study force-related and CoP outcomes, respectively. MANCOVA models were applied for each assessment to examine the effects of age category and season timepoint on selected performance variables, including MO as a covariate to account for the maturation effect. Follow-up univariate and linear regression models were performed in case of significance from the multivariate analysis. Results: MO significantly differed among all the age categories and session timepoints (p < 0.001). CMJ multivariate analysis revealed significant results regarding the session (p = 0.010, η2p = 0.49) and MO (p = 0.025, η2p = 0.29) effects, but not for age category (p = 0.165) or age category × session interaction (p = 0.152). Conversely, DJ and postural control showed no significant results for any studied effect. The session timepoint had a significant effect on the CMJ concentric impulse, while MO was significantly positively associated with peak power, jump momentum, concentric impulse, and eccentric impulse (p < 0.001, R2 = 0.31-0.57). Conclusions: The results emphasize the specific influence of biological maturation on power and force production during vertical jumps, while other specific plyometric and postural control adaptations seem to be less sensitive to chronological age and maturational changes during the adolescence period in female volleyball players.