Relationship between maturation, strength, movement competency and motor skill performance in adolescent males

Despite the limited research available, understanding how maturation, strength and movement skill influence long-term athletic development is crucial when working with young people. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between maturation, strength, movement competency and motor skill performance in young males. One-hundred and ten adolescent males (mean ± SD; age 13.8 ± 0.6 y; height = 165.8 ± 9.4 cm; mass = 57.1 ± 13.9 kg; maturity offset = 0.1 ± 0.9 y) were tested for movement competency (resistance training skills battery, RTSB), strength (isometric midthigh pull, IMTP), speed (10, 20, 30 m sprint), power (horizontal jump, HJ; vertical jump, CMJ; seated medicine ball throw, SMBT) and repeat sprint ability (RSA). Results showed that maturity offset had small correlations with CMJ (r = 0.25), moderate correlations with speed (r = -0.31 to -0.35) and HJ (r = 0.33), and strong correlations with absolute strength (r = 0.70) and SMBT (r = 0.76). Relative strength showed small to large correlations with all motor skill variables (r = 0.27-0.61), whereas absolute strength was significantly correlated with speed, power and RSA (r = 0.29-0.83). The RTSB score showed small to moderate correlations with RSA (r = 0.27) and 20 and 30 m sprint performance (r = -0.34). Relative strength was the strongest predictor for all sprints (adjusted R2 = 0.38-0.40), CMJ (adjusted R2 = 0.16) and RSA (adjusted R2 = 0.27), whereas absolute strength was strongest for HJ and SMBT (adjusted R2 = 0.21 and 0.70, respectively). Maturity offset further explained sprint, CMJ and SMBT performance whereas RTSB did not help predict the performance of any dependent variables. Strength, movement competency and maturity are important considerations for motor skill performance, but strength may be most important and should be developed early on using appropriate training recommendations