## 4 Discussion
This difference may be attributed to the greater plasticity of the neuromuscular system in younger individuals, which allows for more pronounced adaptations to training [60; 68]. Adolescents are in a phase of rapid physiological growth, and their lower baseline levels of strength and power provide a higher potential for improvement [69]. CNT interventions may capitalize on this developmental window, leveraging the heightened adaptability of younger athletes to enhance COD performance more effectively [70]. Female athletes showed a larger effect size (ES = 1.59) compared to male athletes (ES = 0.78), indicating that CNT interventions may be particularly beneficial for female athletes. However, it is important to note that only three studies included female athletes, which makes generalizability limited. Despite this limitation, the observed difference may be related to the initial lower levels of strength and power in female athletes, providing more room for improvement [62; 71]. Additionally, gender-specific biomechanics and neuromuscular adaptations, such as differences in muscle activation patterns and joint stability, may contribute to this greater potential for improvement [6]. Hormonal differences between sexes, particularly the lower levels of testosterone in females, may also result in a greater relative response to training stimuli that enhance neuromuscular efficiency and power output [62]. Amateur athletes demonstrated greater improvements in COD performance compared to elite athletes. Elite athletes, who already possess high levels of strength and power, may have a smaller margin for improvement, making it more challenging to achieve significant gains in COD performance [54]. In contrast, amateur athletes, who typically have lower baseline levels of physical fitness, may experience more substantial improvements with CNT [61]. Despite the overall effectiveness of CNT in improving COD performance, our results showed no significant differences in the effects of CNT interventions across various sports, intervention frequencies, intensities, and durations (Pdiff > 0.05). This finding suggests that the benefits of CNT in enhancing COD performance may be consistent across these variables, at least within the range examined in this meta-analysis. However, it is important to note that the effects of CNT were more pronounced under certain specific training parameters. Specifically, when the training frequency was less than three sessions per week, the training intensity was below 85% 1 RM, and when the training duration exceeded 6 weeks, the effects of CNT were more prominent. This finding is consistent with the results of [PERSON] study [19], which demonstrated that CNT produced larger effect sizes under similar training conditions for sprint performance in team sports. This suggests that while the effectiveness of CNT may not be entirely dependent on specific training variables such as frequency, intensity, and duration, its effects may be more substantial within certain parameter ranges, even if these differences do not reach statistical significance. Our results indicate that CNT may be effective across varying levels of frequency, intensity, and duration, provided that the core principles of combining heavy-load strength exercises with lighter-load power exercises are maintained. However, this does not imply that optimal training parameters do not exist. Tests involving more than three direction changes (turn > 3) showed a higher effect size (ES = 1.08) compared to those with fewer changes (turn \(\leq\) 3, ES = 0.51). This indicates that CNT interventions are particularly effective for complex COD tasks, which require greater neuromuscular control and coordination [31]. The repeated deceleration and re-acceleration in tasks with multiple turns may benefit more from the enhanced rate of force development (RFD) and power output induced by CNT, as these adaptations are critical for rapid changes in direction and efficient force generation [31].