Abstract / Summary
Plyometric jump training (PJT) improves physical fitness in youth soccer players, but integrating additional training stimuli into regular practice remains challenging. Microdosing, which distributes training stimuli throughout the week while maintaining or reducing overall volume, may facilitate PJT implementation. This study compared the effects of microdosed PJT (MicroPJT) and traditional PJT (TradPJT) on physical fitness in pre-peak height velocity (pre-PHV) male soccer players. Players were randomly assigned to MicroPJT group (n = 14) or TradPJT group (n = 13). Baseline-adjusted ANCOVA showed no significant between-group differences at post-test for any performance measure (p > 0.05; d = 0.06- 0.68). Within-group analyses revealed significant improvements in both groups. In the MicroPJT group, 5-m and 10-m sprint times improved significantly (p = 0.04 and 0.03; d = 0.85, and 0.83, respectively). No statistically detectable change was observed for the 20-m sprint (p = 0.08; d = 0.79). The TradPJT group showed significant improvements in 5-, 10-, and 20-m sprint performance (p = 0.002, 0.02, and 0.005; d = 1.46, 0.52, and 1.04, respectively). Both groups demonstrated improvements in 505 change-of-direction (CoD) performance (MicroPJT: p = 0.002, d = 1.66; TradPJT: p < 0.001, d = 2.42), countermovement-jump-height (MicroPJT: p = 0.006, d = 0.59; TradPJT: p = 0.010, d = 0.59), and standing-long-jump-distance (MicroPJT: p = 0.003, d = 0.68; TradPJT: p = 0.010, d = 0.81). Thus, both approaches improved physical fitness, with no statistically significant between-group differences detected. MicroPJT may offer a practical strategy for integrating PJT into regular soccer practice.