Performance adaptations to speed, agility, and quickness training in team-sport athletes: a systematic review and three-level meta-analysis.

Objective: This systematic review and three-level meta-analysis evaluated the effects of speed, agility, and quickness (SAQ) training on sprint, agility, and power performance in team-sport athletes and examined whether training characteristics and performance-test constructs moderated these adaptations. Methods: PubMed, Web of Science, EBSCO, ProQuest, the Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar were searched from inception to 1 July 2026. Randomised controlled trials involving team-sport athletes and SAQ interventions lasting at least 4 weeks were eligible. Three-level random-effects models accounted for dependent effect sizes, with cluster-robust variance estimation and the CR2 small-sample adjustment used for statistical inference. Subgroup analyses, meta-regression, and leave-one-study-out analyses were conducted. Risk of bias and certainty of evidence were assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias 2 tool and GRADE, respectively. Results: Sixteen studies were included. Sprint, agility, and power syntheses comprised 8 studies/17 effect sizes/344 athletes, 13/24/508, and 6/8/184, respectively. Pooled estimates favoured SAQ training for sprint (Hedges' g = 0.53, 95% CI [0.15, 0.91]), agility (g = 0.77, 95% CI [0.42, 1.12]), and power (g = 0.60, 95% CI [0.06, 1.15]), with statistical significance retained after CR2 adjustment. However, all 95% PIs included the null. Favourable effects were observed for 5-10-m and 20-30-m sprint performance and pre-planned change-of-direction ability, whereas the effect on reactive agility was not statistically significant. No significant subgroup differences were found for sprint distance, agility construct, jump direction, sex, comparator type, or intervention duration. Neither intervention duration nor weekly training frequency showed a clear linear dose-response association. Agility findings were more robust than those for sprint and power. The certainty of evidence was low for agility and very low for sprint and power. Conclusions: Pooled average effects suggest that SAQ training may improve sprint, agility, and power performance in team-sport athletes, with the largest estimate observed for agility. Nevertheless, the inclusion of the null in all 95% PIs and the low-to-very-low certainty of evidence indicate uncertainty across training contexts and warrant cautious interpretation. SAQ training may therefore be considered one component of a comprehensive conditioning programme tailored to sport-specific demands. Further adequately powered randomised controlled trials with comprehensive training-dose reporting are needed. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD420251273599, identifier CRD420251273599.