The examination of stretch shortening cycle (SSC) in children became an interesting topic for research during the past years
as it provides an important insight into the functioning of the neuromuscular system. This paper presents several studies
related to children and their ability to jump. The reasons for children doing more poorly in jumping as compared to adults are
complex and multi-factorial. Current data illustrate differences in biomechanical patterns, in the elicited ground reaction
forces and in the neuromuscular activation obtained by electromyography (EMG) during jumping. Most of the findings
converge towards the idea that children adopt a less mature and more inefficient technique which has some common
characteristics with the “absorbing type” jump of adult jumpers displaying poor technique. The conclusion is that the
children’s deficit in jumping can be attributed to differences in technique that lead to less efficient stiffness regulation and in
some cases, such as drop jumps, derive less benefit from the SSC mechanism.