Physical Development Pathway Across Youth Soccer: Physical Demands and Characteristics in a Match Context

ABSTRACT In elite global soccer, professional clubs own and operate academy programs for talent identification and development purposes. The development of a youth player into an adult professional is a long-term process, requiring a combination of competitive match play and intensive training. Although developing maximum sprinting and acceleration are crucial, their physical development may be hindered by congested fixtures in youth soccer. Players compete for 40–50 games over 9 months of the in-season, including extremely dense/congested-schedule tournaments. Because of the different competition formats across the world, it is important to understand how youth players physically develop to reach from early development to the senior level and to maximize the efficacy of age-appropriate strength and conditioning programs. The purpose of the narrative review is to identify the physical performance in elite youth soccer players, spanning early to late stages of development and to discuss physical development plans aimed at supporting players transitioning from the youth to first team.