1. 4-Year Physical and Fitness Development in Elite Youth Athletes
of the Singapore Sports School
Taisuke Kinugasa, PhD
Lead Sports Physiologist
Sports Science Academy, Singapore Sports School, Singapore
To identify the magnitude of Practical implications
changes in physique and fitness Substantial changes in physical and fitness development in
of Singapore Sports School Singapore youth athletes over 4 years were found:
(SSS) athletes over 4 years. Sit ups Standing broad jump Sit and reach Boys: The jump performance and flexibility were greatly improved
compared to core and upper body strength, agility, and stamina
over the 4-year period
Girls: A moderate increase in flexibility was observed.
Coaches and Strength & Conditioning coaches can incorporate
Introduction Inclined pull ups 4x10m shuttle run 2.4km run these windows of trainability in their training programmes to
maximize potentials of youth athletes.
The Singapore Sports School (SSS) was Figure1. The NAPFA test (NAPFA, 2000)
officially launched in 2004. The Sports The mean values derived in the study can be used as a guide of
Science Academy plays an integral role in LTAD and possibly in talent identification in future.
the support and development of talented
youth athletes in their pursuit to achieve Methods
performance excellence. Results
Subject: 219 elite youth athletes (124 boys and 95 girls ranging from 12 to 16
Table 1. The magnitudes of changes in physique and fitness
This is achieved by adopting a multi- years of age).
over 4 years.
disciplinary and long-term athlete
development (LTAD) approach to apply The NAPFA test (Figure 1) results from 2004 to 2009 conducted at SSS
sports science in the training and were collected and analyzed.
education of youth athletes. However, like
all students in Singapore, athletes in SSS Height and mass were also measured with standard procedures.
are required to comply to the generic
fitness testing known as the National Design: A repeated trials design.
Physical Fitness Award (NAPFA) test on
a yearly basis. Statistical analysis:
The magnitudes of changes in physique and fitness over 4 years were
expressed as standardized mean differences (Cohen’s effect size, ES).
The criteria to interpret the magnitudes were: <0.2 trivial, 0.2-0.5 small,
0.6-1.1 moderate, 1.2-1.9 large, >2.0 very large (Hopkins, 2000).
The precision of the estimates was expressed as 90% confidence limits.