Speed, Agility and Quickness Training Versus Small-Sided Games: Effects on Physical and Cognitive Performance in Preadolescent Pickleball Players – A Randomised Controlled Trial

Abstract

Background: Pickleball participation among children is rising, yet little evidence guides how young players should train agility and perceptual skills. A four-week trial in preadolescent footballers found comparable gains from speed, agility and quickness (SAQ) training and small-sided games (SSG), but its sample was small.

Objective: To compare an eight-week SAQ programme with an equivalent SSG programme for physical (5 m sprint, 20 m sprint, 90° change of direction, COD90) and cognitive (Flanker and visual search reaction time) performance in preadolescent pickleball players.

Methods: In this two-arm parallel randomised controlled trial, 82 club-level players aged 8–12 years (41 per group) were allocated by block randomisation. Both groups completed two supervised 25-minute sessions weekly for eight weeks alongside usual club training. Outcomes were measured at baseline, week 4 and week 8. Groups were compared with independent t-tests at each time point, and change over time within groups with omnibus F-tests and Bonferroni-adjusted comparisons.

Results: Groups were comparable at baseline and did not differ at week 4. At week 8 the SAQ group was faster on all measures: 5 m sprint (mean difference −0.14 s), 20 m sprint (−0.30 s), COD90 (−0.49 s), Flanker reaction time (−38 ms) and visual search reaction time (−48 ms), all p = .001, with between-group effect sizes of d = 1.04–1.44. From baseline, SAQ participants improved by 10–17% across outcomes compared with 2–4% in the SSG group, whose cognitive scores did not change significantly.

Conclusion: Within eight weeks, SAQ training produced larger physical and cognitive gains than SSG in young pickleball players, with advantages emerging only in the second half of the programme. Findings support adding cue-based agility work to youth pickleball training, pending replication.