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    Longitudinal preliminary data on changes in physical fitness in young female volleyball players
    (European College of Sport Science, 2025) Paulo, Ana; Santos, Carla Sofia Pinho; Teixeira, Diogo dos Santos; Aleixo, Pedro Miguel Rosmaninho; PEREIRA, SARA ISABEL SAMPAIO; Marcora, S.; Narici, M.; Paoli, A.; De Vito, G.; Tsolakidis, E.; Thompson, J.L.; Ferrauti, A.; Piacentini, M.F.; FEFD - Faculty of Physical Education and Sport; CIDEFES - Research group in Sports behavior, Physical Education, and Exercise and Health Sciences; FDEF - Faculty of Sport and Physical Education
    INTRODUCTION: Physical fitness (PF) has been identified as a critical health marker in youth and is significantly influenced by environmental factors, such as the specificity of training [1]. While sports participation generally enhances PF levels [2], the relationship between training, lifestyle behaviors and fitness improvements is complex and multifaceted [3]. Volleyball is one of the most played sports worldwide, particularly among women. Given the specific characteristics of the volleyball game, it is essential to understand how regular practice influences physical fitness over time. Therefore, this study aims to investigate changes in motor, muscular and cardiorespiratory PF of young female Portuguese volleyball players over a one-year period, after adjusting for age. METHODS: A total of 51 female Portuguese volleyball players from the same club, aged 12 to 19, were sampled. The athletes practiced volleyball for an average of 7.45 hours per week (SD: 0.27 hours), 47 of which as their single sport participation (92 percent). Two assessments were conducted: one at baseline and another at a one-year follow-up. PF was assessed using four tests: the handgrip strength test (muscular fitness component, MFC), the three-minute step test (cardiorespiratory fitness component, CRFC), and the shuttle-run and 30-meter run tests (motor fitness component; MoFC). Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to examine yearly changes in PF across each test, with age included as covariate. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 29, with the significance level set at 5 per cent. RESULTS: Over the one-year period, changes in the volleyball players’ PF varied, depending on the PF component assessed and the test used. While the 30-meter run performance showed no significant changes (p>0.05), the shuttle-run test performance improved significantly (F=7.056, p=0.011, ηp2=0.13). Athletes reduced their shuttle-run test times by -0.327 s (SE: 0.074 s; p < 0.001). Handgrip strength also showed significant improvement (F=7.545, p=0.008, ηp2=0.13), with an increase of 0.918 kgf (SE: 0.448 kgf; p=0.046). Finally, the CRFC did not change over a one-year period (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: Young female volleyball players improved their PF over a one-year period, but dependant on component evaluated and test used on that regard. On performance-related PF, in the evaluation of this type of population, the shuttle run seems to be a better fit when evaluating the MoFC, than the 30-meter run. On health-related PF, though there was an improvement on the MFC, the lack of improvement in CRFC is concerning and warrants further investigation. Caution should be taken in the generalization of this results given small-sample size overestimation risks. 1.Sgrò, F. et al. (2024) 2.Prat, I. et al. (2020) 3.Tabacchi, G. et al. (2019)