OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of different protocols for measurement of vertical jump tests for the diagnosis of explosive strength in soccer and volleyball players at puberty. METHOD: Cross-sectional study population of 110 non-probabilistic young male athletes (60 soccer players and 50 volleyball players) aged 13 to 18 belonging to clubs in the metropolitan region of Campinas, SP, Brazil. Participants had their biological maturation assessed by two methods: self-assessment and clinical measurement; after this evaluation, those classified as pubertal (25 soccer and 23 volleyball players) were included. Anthropometric data (body weight, height and skinfold thickness) and vertical jump tests: squat jump (SJ), countermovement jump (CMJ), drop jump (DJ, 40-cm height) and vertical jumps continuously with 5 seconds duration (CJ5s) were collected. The following measurements of diagnostic performance were calculated: sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy. Significance level of 5% was adopted for all tests. RESULTS: Explosive strength estimated by the SJ and CMJ methods showed equivalent sensitivities, while the SJ presented higher specificity than the three methods, and accuracy of SJ was different from the other methods, which was high (above 80%). CONCLUSION: The diagnosis of explosive strength as SJ test presented high sensitivity and specificity with high predictive value at puberty.
test; jump; strength; sensitivity and specificity; maturation; soccer and volleyball
