The Effect of Dropping Height on Jumping Performance in Trained and Untrained Prepubertal Boys and Girls

Abstract

Plyometric training in children, including different types of jumps, has become common practice during the last few years in different sports, although there is limited information about the adaptability of children with respect to different loads and the differences in performance between various jump types. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of gender and training background on the optimal drop jump height of 9- to 11-year-old children. Sixty prepubertal (untrained and track and field athletes, boys and girls, equally distributed in each group [n = 15]), performed the following in random order: 3 squat jumps, 3 countermovement jumps (CMJs) and 3 drop jumps from heights of 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 cm. The trial with the best performance in jump height of each test was used for further analysis. The jump type significantly affected the jump height. The jump height during the CMJ was the highest among all other jump types, resulting in advanced performance for both trained and untrained prepubertal boys and girls. However, increasing the dropping height did not change the jumping height or contact time during the drop jump. This possibly indicates an inability of prepubertal children to use their stored elastic energy to increase jumping height during drop jumps, irrespective of their gender or training status. This indicates that children, independent of gender and training status, have no performance gain during drop jumps from heights up to 50 cm, and therefore, it is recommended that only low drop jump heights be included in plyometric training to limit the probability of sustaining injuries.

Effects of Relative Drop Heights of Drop Jump Biomechanics in Male Volleyball Players

“…The DJ performance remained unchanged with incremental drop heights in the current study, which agreed with Bassa et al [40] and Bencke et al [41] but contrasted with Prieske et al [37], Andrade et al [38] and Lesinski et al [39]. Prieske et al [37] reported that both the DJH and RSI increased with drop heights from 20-to 50-cm and from 20-to 35-cm, respectively, in 239 adolescent handball players, irrespective of sex.…”

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“…The above mentioned studies (Bobbert et al, 1987;Quatmant et al, 1987,Bassa et al 2012 cannot provide explanation for the obtained data regarding JG, because in the current study we used DH normalized to maximal squat jump heights while they did not. Possibly the non existence of JG could be explained on the peculiarities related with people with MI during jumping.…”

“…For example, Bobbert, Huijing, and van Ingen Schenau (1987) observed no JG when male adults performed drop jumping from 20, 40, and 60 cm. Furthermore, Quatman, Quatman, and Hewett, (2009) did not observe any JG when young female basketball players executed DJ from 15, 35 and 45 cm.No jumping gain was also observed in children jumping from 10 up to 50 cm (Bassa et al 2012). However, there is strong evidence and widely accepted that JG up to a certain DH level, increases and then it is stabilized in trained and untrained adults (Komi & Bosco, 1978;Voigt et al, 1995).…”

“…Moreover, JG is also depended on performance level, gender and age (Komi & Bosco, 1978;Bosco, & Komi, 1980;Horita, Komi, Hamalainen, & Avela, 2003). Specifically, it has been reported that women achieve JG in lower DH than men (Komi & Bosco, 1978;Bosco & Komi, 1980), while athletes achieved JG in higher DH than untrained persons.Aditionally children do not present any JG from various DJ (Bassa, Patikas, Panagiotidou, Papadopoulou, Pylianidis, & Kotzamanidis, 2012;Lazardis, Bassa, Patikas, Hatzikotoulas, Lazaridis, & Kotzamanidis, 2013).…”

Prediction of reliability and correlation of methods and variables for determining the optimal drop height

“…2004;Byrne et al 2010;Pietraszewski & Rutkowska-Kucharska 2011) али његова поузданост и потребан број понављања да би се добила висока поузданост у наведеним студијама није проверавана. У великом броју досадашњих истраживања DH opt је одређивана варијаблом H методом бирања (Komi & Bosco 1978;Viitasalo 1982;Bobbert et al 1987;Lees & Fahmi 1994;Voigt et al 1994;Viitasalo et al 1998;Bassa et al . 2012).…”