The Development of Fast, Fit, and Fatigue Resistant Youth Field and Court Sport Athletes: A Narrative Review

Abstract

Humans are fascinated by the bipedal locomotor capacities at both ends of the athletic spectrum-sprinting speed and endurance. Some of the more popular field (eg, soccer, rugby, and lacrosse) and court (eg, basketball, tennis, and netball) sports utilize mixed energy systems requiring an interplay of both maximal sprinting speed (MSS) and maximal aerobic speed (MAS) to meet the high-intensity running demands of varying frequency, duration, intensity, and recovery. Recently, these locomotor capacities have been considered in combination to produce what is called the anaerobic speed reserve (ASR) as part of the locomotor profile concept (MSS, MAS, and ASR). The purpose of this narrative review is to (1) provide an overview of the locomotor profile concept; (2) review the assessment methods for estimating MSS, MAS, and ASR; (3) examine the age-, sex-, and maturity-associated variations in MSS, MAS, and ASR; (4) examine the trainability of MSS, MAS, and ASR in youth athletes; and (5) conclude with the practical applications using principles of long-term athlete development for training the locomotor profile in youth field and court sport athletes. Based on the available data in young male athletes, MSS, MAS, and ASR generally increase with age and across maturity groups and are trainable. Overall, decisions on training need to consider the sport demands, current fitness and maturity status, and targeted training adaptation sought.

Keywords: aerobic; anaerobic; conditioning; sprinting.