EFFECTS OF 10-WEEK IN-SEASON PLYOMETRIC TRAINING PROGRAM ON AGILITY PERFORMANCE IN MALE AMATEUR FOOTBALLERS

Abstract

This randomized controlled study aimed to investigate the effects of a 10-week in-season plyometric training program on agility performance. Thirty-one male soccer players (age = 28.8 ± 4.1 years; body mass = 73.7 ± 7.2 kg; height = 175.2 ± 6.0 cm) from an amateur soccer team were assigned into two groups, an experimental (EG; n=15) or a control (CG; n=16) group. The EG group performed a 10-week plyometric training program and the CG did not perform any plyometric training techniques. The program included one training session per week in place of a weekly usual soccer training session and lower limbs plyometric exercises at maximal intensity (total of 90 - 140-foot contacts/session) were executed. All subjects participated in two agility tests before and after the experiment: T-test and Illinois Agility Test. The EG group showed significantly ( p < 0.05, d = 0.7) improvement than CG in the T-test (-0.5 vs. 0.5 sec., -4.3 vs. 4.4%, respectively) and Illinois Agility test (-0.6 vs. 0.5 sec., -3.7 vs. 3.1%, respectively) after 10-week. Results suggest that amateur adult male soccer players that are participating in a plyometric training program can enhance their agility performance by replacing a part of their standard regimen with an in-season 10-week one-weekly program of plyometric training for the lower limbs. This study provided the first objective demonstration of plyometric training value in amateur soccer players. Article visualizations: