A Comprehensive Analysis of 10-Yard Sprint Reliability in Male and Female Youth Athletes

Wannouch, YJ, Leahey, SR, Whitworth-Turner, CM, Oliver, JL, YH, KC, Laffer, JC, and Leicht, AS. A comprehensive analysis of 10-yard sprint reliability in male and female youth athletes. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000-000, 2024 - This study investigates the inter-week test-retest reliability of 10-yard sprint times in youth athletes. Although essential for assessing athletic ability and training efficacy, the critical and comprehensive examination of both relative and absolute reliability indices for short-distance sprints has been insufficient in youth contexts. One hundred ninety-eight youth athletes (128 males and 70 females) underwent 2 sprint attempts across 2 separate trials 24 hours apart and within 7 days of each other. The sprints were measured using dual-beam timing gates to capture split times for 0-5, 5-10, and 0-10 yards. The minimal mean difference between the best sprint times across trials was 0.02 ± 0.13 seconds for males and 0.003 ± 0.14 seconds for females. No significant mean differences were found between trials for either gender (males: p = 0.0875; females: p = 0.8752), suggesting no systematic bias in sprint times. The SEM was 0.092 seconds for males and 0.099 seconds for females, with a corresponding SEM^CV%of 4.6 and 4.8%. The overall coefficient of variation was 9.8% for males and 8.9% for females. Intraclass correlation coefficient values suggested that the sprint times across trials were reliable (males: 0.80; females: 0.76). The minimal detectable change was 0.25 seconds for males, 0.27 seconds for females. Cohen's d indicated trivial effects (<0.2) for males (0.154) and females (0.021). Minimal mean differences, a low SEM, and consistent ICC values demonstrate that the 0-10-yard sprint is a reliable assessment in youth athletes.