Normative physical performance values and sex-bases developmental trajectories in Mexican school sport programs: a longitudinal study using VALD technology

The purpose of this study was to establish normative values and analyze the longitudinal development of physical performance in students from Mexican private institutions using VALD technology. Data were collected from 2,473 students aged 5 to 16 years who completed standardized tests of strength, power, speed, and agility. Two-way ANOVA revealed significant main effects of age and sex (all p < .001) and significant age-by-sex interaction effects across all tests, indicating that performance trajectories diverge between sexes with increasing age, particularly from age 12 onward. Centile curves were generated using generalized additive models to serve as normative references for school sport management. These findings provide the first technology-validated normative physical performance dataset for a school-aged Latin American population and offer a practical benchmarking framework for evidence-based planning in educational sport programs.