Muscle strength and speed performance in youth soccer players

Luis Peñailillo, Francisco Espíldora, Sebastián Jannas-Vela, Iñigo Mujika, Hermann Zbinden-Foncea

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

33 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the relationship between maximum leg extension strength and sprinting performance in youth elite male soccer players. Sixty-three youth players (12.5 ± 1.3 years) performed 5 m, flying 15 m and 20 m sprint tests and a zigzag agility test on a grass field using timing gates. Two days later, subjects performed a one-repetition maximum leg extension test (79.3 ± 26.9 kg). Weak to strong correlations were found between leg extension strength and the time to perform 5 m (r = -0.39, p = 0.001), flying 15 m (r = -0.72, p < 0.001) and 20 m (r = -0.67, p < 0.001) sprints; between body mass and 5 m (r = -0.43, p < 0.001), flying 15 m (r = -0.75, p < 0.001), 20 m (r = -0.65, p < 0.001) sprints and agility (r =-0.29, p < 0.001); and between height and 5 m (r = -0.33, p < 0.01) and flying 15 m (r = -0.74, p < 0.001) sprints. Our results show that leg muscle strength and anthropometric variables strongly correlate with sprinting ability. This suggests that anthropometric characteristics should be considered to compare among youth players, and that youth players should undergo strength training to improve running speed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)203-210
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Human Kinetics
Volume50
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Apr 2016

Keywords

  • development
  • maturation
  • soccer
  • sprint
  • strength training
  • youth players

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