Mechanical jumping power in young athletes.

Mechanical jumping power was determined for 286 young male athletes representing six sports events and ranging in calendar and skeletal ages from 8.8 to 17.1 and from 7.8 to 18.1 years, respectively. The subjects performed successive maximal vertical jumps on a contact mat for 30 s. The number of jumps and their cumulative flight time after 15 and 30 s were used for calculations of mechanical power. The jumping performances of the young athletes were found to be reproducible from the age of 10-12 years in respect to the angular displacement of the knee and duration of contact. Absolute mechanical power, as well as power related to body weight, increased with calendar and skeletal ages. Of the anthropometric characteristics, the circumference of the thigh and body weight showed the highest correlation with mechanical power; subjects with the greatest thigh circumference and body weight having the lowest mechanical power. The subjects were divided into 'power' (track and field, gymnastics) and 'endurance' (skiing, orienteering) groups. The former reached higher mechanical power values than the latter. Mechanical power for the second 15-s jumping period was on average 4.7% lower than for the first. The events did not differ from each other in respect of the decrease in power.