The paper
Systematic review and meta-analysis, 31 studies (25 meta-analysed), n=609 adult female team-sport athletes.
Found
Compared to controls, plyometric jump training (PJT) improved CMJ height (Hedges g=0.550, p<0.001), CMJ peak concentric velocity (g=0.623, p=0.011), drop jump reactive strength index (g=0.926, p=0.001), drop jump height (g=0.721, p=0.002), 10m sprint (g=0.712, p=0.032), 20m sprint (g=0.709, p<0.001), 30m sprint (g=1.018, p=0.001), Illinois agility time (g=1.225, p<0.001) and T-test sprint time (g=0.965, p<0.001); interventions of 8+ weeks outperformed those of 6 weeks or less on several measures.
Appraisal
The included studies are PEDro-rated, meaning this is randomised/controlled-trial evidence, so the finding is causal (PJT improves these jump and sprint metrics in adult female team-sport athletes), not just an association. What's uncertain is the magnitude: 20 of 31 studies carried only moderate risk of bias, heterogeneity reached ~73% in four of the pooled outcomes, and GRADE certainty sits at low-to-moderate, so treat the quoted effect sizes (g=0.55 to 1.22) as a plausible range for justifying a programme, not a number to promise an individual athlete.
The gap
The methods state 95% CIs were calculated for every pooled estimate, but this abstract excerpt doesn't show them, so the width of uncertainty around each effect size isn't visible from here. Moderate heterogeneity in four of the nine meta-analysed outcomes (up to I2=73%) also means some pooled estimates may be smoothing over real differences in programming and comparator quality. Worth pulling the full results table and any sensitivity analysis excluding the two high-RoB studies before quoting a specific number to a coach or athlete.
Landmark
This extends the broader plyometric-training evidence base built largely on male and youth athletes (foundational work such as de Villarreal et al.'s plyometric-training meta-analyses) into a population, adult female team-sport athletes, that has been comparatively under-studied, rather than overturning any single landmark trial.
On Monday
For a clinician or S&C coach already prescribing plyometrics to female team-sport athletes, this supports continuing and favours programming at 8 or more weeks rather than short blocks for sprint and agility gains; it does not establish a scenario where PJT should newly start where it wasn't already indicated.
