Does maturity status affect the mechanical response to high-speed running activities during international youth football match play?
Steve Barrett, Michael King, Nuttanan Wichitaksorn, Owain Prosser, Qinwei Liu, Kirsten Spencer et al. · International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching · 2026
Background: Alterations in running mechanics during Football match play have been associated with an increased risk of injury for youth athletes.
Objectives: To assess maturity status on youth football players’ gait outputs during match play and to examine within- and between-match observations.
Methods: Players (N = 147) anthropometric data (14.35 ± 1.33 years, height 166.28 ± 8.80 cm, weight 56.24 ± 10.85 kg; Seated height 89.14 ± 5.28 cm) were collected prior to the start of the tournament during familiarisation sessions). All matches were monitored using foot-mounted inertial measurement units (F-IMU; Playermaker TM ) to quantify the gait metrics (contact time, flight time, stride length), with estimations of vertical stiffness presented. Data were analysed using a linear mixed model. Statistical
Significance: was accepted as p ≤ 0.05, and effect size was calculated using partial eta-squared (η 2 ). Magnitude of effect sizes was small (0.2 0.01; Moderate to large effect sizes). Post-PHV players demonstrated greater odds of exceeding a 5% asymmetry threshold compared with their Pre-PHV counterparts.
Conclusion: Within-match increases in contact time and contact duration asymmetry were evident during high speed running activities as early as the second phase of match play for all maturity groups. Future research should examine the longitudinal relationship between in-match gait asymmetry, biological maturation, and injury incidence.