Development of Speed, Agility, and Quickness for the Female Soccer Athlete

Abstract

Christopher W. Yap, CSCS, Broward Community CollegeLee E. Brown, MEd, CSCS*DDepartment of Health Sciences, Florida Atlantic UniversityGeoff Woodman, CSCS, Florida Atlantic UniversityKeywords: anterior cruciate ligament (ACL); college athletes; female soccer athletes.STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT female athletes are 2–3 times morelikely than male athletes to sus-tain noncontact anterior cruciateligament (ACL) injuries, especiallyin soccer and basketball programs(6). As one of the main ligamentsin the knee capsule, the ACL sta-bilizes the knee and connects theback of the femur to the front ofthe tibia. ACL injuries usuallyoccur when an athlete twists theknee beyond its normal range ofmotion while pivoting, cutting,twisting, jumping, or running.These injuries tend to increase incollege, because the transitionfrom high school to collegiate com-petition is more demanding.Upper level competition requiresan increase in neuromuscularconditioning because the athlete’slateral, linear, and vertical move-ment must be more precise, explo-sive, and automatic. Many female high school soc-cer athletes keep in shape by justtaking part in their chosen sport.While this repetition of specificskills may make them better play-ers, to be competitive at the collegelevel they must become better ath-letes. Core strength, overall forceproduction, stability, balance, lat-eral quickness, vertical power, andfirst-step reaction are all desirableathletic qualities that are integralto the game of soccer. These qual-ities may be increased throughspeed, agility, and quickness(SAQ) training. The inclusion offunctional training that focuses onsport-specific drills and plyomet-rics that focus on improving explo-siveness may assist in the overallathletic conditioning of female soc-cer players. Using this type of training, aminimum of 3 workouts a week for8–12 weeks will result in signifi-cant improvements in an athlete’sperformance, while programs asshort as 4 weeks may also providesome performance increase (7). Itis advisable for athletes to be cur-rently involved in a strength-train-ing program prior to implementingSAQ training. In addition, individ-uals with low skill levels (little tono experience) may require slowerprogram progression and the useof higher volumes with lower in-tensities (1, 2).This paper identifies a pro-gram that may help to conditionthe lower body of inexperienced fe-male soccer athletes for the rigorsof collegiate competition while de-creasing their chances of an ACLinjury. By implementing the useof SAQ, functional, and plyometrictraining principles, the low-skilledfemale soccer athlete may be bet-ter prepared for high-level play.