Comparative effects of exercise-based interventions on jump, linear sprint, and change-of-direction performance in female adolescent team-sport athletes: a systematic review and network meta-analysis

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Abstract

BACKGROUND: As the pace and physical demands of female adolescent team sports continue to rise, jumping, sprinting, and change-of-direction (COD) ability have become key markers of performance. However, current evidence is scattered, and most previous reviews used pairwise meta-analysis, which cannot compare several training methods at once. Therefore, this study used a network meta-analysis (NMA) to compare the effects of different exercise interventions on jumping, straight-line sprinting, and COD performance in female adolescent team-sport athletes. METHODS: PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane, Embase, SPORTDiscus, CNKI, WanFang, and VIP were searched from inception to March 18, 2026. Eligible studies were RCTs involving healthy female adolescent team-sport athletes. A frequentist random-effects NMA was conducted to calculate mean differences (MDs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Interventions were ranked in combination with SUCRA values. Risk of bias, consistency, heterogeneity, and certainty of evidence were assessed. Sensitivity and subgroup analyses were also performed. RESULTS: Forty-seven RCTs involving 1,433 athletes were included, covering eight intervention nodes. Overall, CT and PT showed the most consistent benefits for jumping and sprinting performance. For jumping, CT ranked first for CMJ (MD 6.62 cm, 95% CI 3.31 to 9.94; SUCRA 94.2%; moderate-certainty evidence) and SJ (MD 3.18 cm, 95% CI 2.51 to 3.85; SUCRA 82.0%). PT showed the greatest benefit for SLJ (MD 11.93 cm, 95% CI 1.35 to 22.52; SUCRA 64.0%). For sprinting, CT and PT performed best in the 20 m sprint. CT showed an MD of -0.21 s (95% CI -0.34 to -0.07; SUCRA 78.8%), while PT showed an MD of -0.20 s (95% CI -0.32 to -0.08; SUCRA 76.5%; moderate-certainty evidence). PT ranked first for the 30 m sprint (MD -0.67 s, 95% CI -1.03 to -0.30; SUCRA 93.2%). Both PT and CT also produced clear improvements in the 10 m sprint. For COD performance, NMT ranked first in the T-test (MD -1.14 s, 95% CI -1.46 to -0.82; SUCRA 88.4%), PT ranked first in the modified T-test (MD -0.94 s, 95% CI -1.48 to -0.40; SUCRA 95.8%), and CT ranked first in the Illinois test (MD -0.94 s, 95% CI -1.29 to -0.60; SUCRA 91.0%). Sensitivity analyses supported the stability of the main findings. Subgroup analyses suggested that interventions lasting more than 8 weeks and training programs matched to sport-specific movement patterns produced larger gains. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, CT and PT may be more effective for improving jump and linear sprint performance. In contrast, the best approach for improving change-of-direction ability appears to depend on the demands of the specific task. However, the current evidence is generally of low to moderate certainty, highlighting the need for further high-quality studies to confirm these findings. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/, identifier CRD420261358990.

Abstract as published, via PubMed.